Where is ours? Did other selves live before the internet? Director Mamoru Hosoda said: “Before, there was only one reality. His new movie, Belle, is about how the Internet has made it possible to exist many selves, in many worlds. Released in the US on Friday, Belle according to Suzu Naito as she scrambles for emerging fame as a pop star in the virtual world U. Online, Hosoda notes, “people can explore other possibilities. They can change what’s going on.” me and live more freely.” Well, when she’s Belle, that’s exactly what Suzu does.
In the sprawling digital city of U, Suzu marvels at her appearance as Belle, a glowing pink-haired girl. U’s technology automatically creates an avatar based on the user’s biometric information. In Suzu, who gave up singing after her mother passed away, U saw great potential. It was a fascinating concept – that a mysterious virtual world created by anonymous sages could recreate an ordinary girl as an idol. And it only works because Belle interested in emotional truths rather than technological truths.
Hosoda, who also directed Mirai, Wolf Children, and The war to buy he, has used the Internet as the theme of its anime films since 2002 Digiman: The Movie. His obsession with virtual as a place where our other selves appear fits into one of anime’s most dominant modern genres: isekai. Best performance in 2012 Sword Art Online, isekai depicts the transition and reincarnation of characters in other worlds, especially virtual worlds, where they actualize themselves. “When I look at other directors dealing with the Internet theme, it tends to be negative, like a backwardness,” Hosoda said. “But I have always considered the Internet as something for the younger generation to discover and create new worlds for. And to this day, I still use the Internet. So it’s always upbeat. ”
See Belle, it’s easy to get lost in that optimism. It’s visually stunning, with both rural landscapes and a tightly packed digital peak with a breathtaking pixel count. At times, Hosada’s films are even a bit overwhelming to watch. Diva Belle’s debut featured her riding on a giant flying whale, petals and confetti filling the sky. In her first performance, she appeared as the neck of a one-story high crystal chandelier, which exploded into a glittering constellation underwater. At some point in the movie, Hosoda turns the basics into higher-stakes animations that portray their true emotional impact — like a trivial fight into a strategy board game that has high difficulty. Hosoda handles these overwhelming scenes well, combining them with relaxed moments, slices of lo-fi life from Suzu’s country life.
Actually, BelleThe sexiest moments take place in the analog world (including the best anime confession scene ever). Suzu’s trips to and from school, across the same bridge and on the same train, are where we learn more about who she is alone, not in the U. That’s the first we hear saw her strained voice, saw her through a childhood friend. Much of her character development in the virtual world feels detached from her IRL character development. Suzu isolates herself from family, community, potential friends, and love until everyone is brought together through Belle, a metaphor for Suzu they all love – not diva, just a country girl who loves to sing.
In contrast, Suzu in U immediately felt completely at ease and completely at ease in her new role as an international pop musician. She sings, she dances, she swaps outfits with Ariana Grande’s poise. And she decided that she was specially equipped to draw “the Beast,” another player considered to be extremely intimidating. Where is this brave new Suzu in the real world?
Content
This content can also be viewed on the website derived are from.
Between IRL and U, each has different plots and love preferences, Belle like two or three different movies. Among them, its virtual world component is the weakest. Expands to cover a wide variety of topics and locations and everything, Belle only skimming the surface of its most motivating ideas — especially its message about the potential for empathy and human connection online.
Hosoda told WIRED he “didn’t have a specific virtual world that I modeled U”. In fact, a London architect, not a game designer, helped him design it. U is completely unrestricted, with no clear purpose, design principles, or topology. It’s also completely uncensored, with self-appointed policemen who have somehow acquired the technology to make avatars at will. And while we know users accessing U with headset technology tap into the “part of the brain that controls vision,” according to Hosada, it’s impossible to understand throughout the movie when the characters are inside and outside of U, and they go under any circumstances there.
