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Children of the Sea (2019) poster

2019 · animation · fantasy · drama

Children of the Sea

Directed by Ayumu Watanabe1h 51m2019

Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.

Our read: Children of the Sea (2019) reads as a neutral, measured, surreal animation · fantasy · drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

Movie DNA

Neutral, measured, measured animation / fantasy, surreal in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured.

ElsewhereIMDb6.54kRT62%Metacritic74TMDB7.1344
  • measured
  • intense
  • surreal
  • signature
Game · before you press play

Watching Children of the Sea tonight? Spin for your lens.

Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.

Your lens for tonight

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Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.

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Where the cast leads
DNA · twelve axes

How Children of the Sea feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want a beautiful Japanese anime meditating on the ocean and human existence.”

ends warmit stays with youmeditativegrips by minute 28attention 4/5feels its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around

Skip it tonight — You dislike slow philosophical anime or surreal confusing third acts.

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Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like Children of the Sea, with why →

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