‘Scarlet’ Review: Mana Ashida’s Vocal Performance Highlights Mamoru Hosoda’s Animated Fantasy [B] TIFF
Minutes into Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet, we are thrust into a world that thematically plays with elements of his past works – films like Digimon, Summer Wars, and Belle – but with a completely different aesthetic. Our titular character looks up at the sky, which ebbs and flows like a torrential ocean. Then, a grand multi-stranded crack of lightning, illuminating a massive enormous being floating in the sky. The imagery is instantly stunning and jaw-dropping, as we begin to wonder just what Hosoda has in store for us this time.
Described as the “Otherworld,” the main realm of our story exists as a blend of past and future. People who die, in any era, in any part of human history, will arrive at the “Otherworld.” While some choose to survive and continue in this strange barren limbo, others journey to the ends of the world in hopes of finding Eternity – the film’s interpretation of a paradise.
Stuck in this world is Scarlet (Mana Ashida), a young princess who lived near the end of the 16th century. Innocent and full of joy and creativity, Scarlet found her life completely shattered when she witnessed her father – the King – betrayed by her uncle Claudius. Her father was executed, and her uncle greedily took the throne and became the new King, oppressing the people and leading the kingdom into a deeper war. Meanwhile, Scarlet spent years and years of her life training and preparing for revenge. But as shown from the opening, with Scarlet wandering in the “Otherworld,” we learn that Scarlet failed to avenge her father’s murder. But even in this land of the dead, her need to avenge her father still drives her, as she treks across the wasteland in hopes of killing Claudius.
If this story (and that character name) sounds familiar at all, that is because it is completely intentional. Our Prince Hamlet is indeed Princess Scarlet. Accompanying her on her quest is Hijiri (Masaki Okada), a nurse from the present day, whose ideals and outlooks on the world directly contrast with her thirst for revenge.
During the early parts of our characters’ journey, as they encounter enemies of different eras as well as characters who Scarlet recognizes as men who were involved with her father’s execution, Scarlet can certainly feel a bit sporadic and narratively scattered. Though Hosoda brings plenty of medieval action scenes and fantasy imagery, where he blends traditional anime cel-shading with modern CGI animation (think Belle’s virtual world), you might be scratching your head over where the story is going and what exactly is the thematic takeaway.
It’s not until the second half of the film that things start to click together and take shape, as we learn more about Claudius’ greed and role as King even in the “Otherworld,” where he speaks to men, women, and children from all eras in human history and assures them of the false promise that he will lead them to Eternity – in a very similar fashion to Immortan Joe promising Valhalla to his dying citizens.
With some truly stunning and breathtaking imagery, along with a pensive musical score, Hosoda takes his characters and makes them confront some of Shakespeare’s original writing in Hamlet. Whilst the original play is morally ambiguous and rather existential, Hosoda plants his feet down on the ground and leads Scarlet to a defiantly sentimental message, one that is classic and much appreciated amongst many Japanese and East Asian stories. It’s an interesting take on the original source material, as Hosoda expressed his desire to have a story of love and unity be told today, given today’s political climate. The end result is a fascinating albeit divisive experience, with a thematic takeaway that some would find moving while others would find naive and overly simplistic.
Though the film’s message may wobble from a big picture perspective – especially because of how it merges all cultural civilizations into one place to make a point – it lands quite effectively on a personal intimate level. The character of Scarlet is written to be a flawed, imperfect human being, bent on a desire for revenge that is so strong that her identity has become forged by it. Mana Ashida gives a fierce vocal performance that goes from rage to despair. With her mission and sense of duty conflicting with her experiences with Hijiri and making other companions and allies along the way, Scarlet begins to feel her sense of self crumble. It’s a compelling heroine whose arc won me over by the end, in a climactic resolution that was gorgeous and emotionally satisfying.
Scarlet is far from perfect. It’s a little rough on its pacing and the thematic message is certainly idealistic to a fault. But it’s also an awe-inspiring fantasy that transcends time and space, life and death, and everything in between. Though Hosoda’s writing and storytelling lacks the nuance or maturity one may hope from this material, I applaud his sincerity and heartfelt cry.
Grade: B
This review is from the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival where Scarlet had its North American Premiere. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in the U.S. in 2026 after an awards-qualifying release in December.
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