Lovely.
My one-word review is that Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom is” lovely”.
However, watching it, I wondered whether a second word would be “naive.”
You see, Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom is set 50 years after a war between two kingdoms with a long and stupid history of going to war. As the film starts, two things happen, connecting naivety and war.
Firstly, it becomes clear that these two kingdoms seem intent on going to war again. Secondly, a dog and a cat become immediate friends.
The cynic in me is sure that would never happen. I wondered whether Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom would next show a leopard changing its spots.
Look and Feel
I watched Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom on the big screen at Scotland Loves Anime, which helped it look spectacular. Also, the introduction from Anime LTD’s Andrew Partridge, the festival director, explained that the anime is hand-drawn.
In fact, it was hand-drawn during a C19 lockdown! Given the rules about animators not being together, can you imagine how hard that was? I wonder how many cells were mailed. Visually, the oddball character is the hero princess. In the story, she’s almost Chibi and is criticised over her appearance. They were going for chubby cute, but Princess Sarah is cute and hardly chubby. For the most part, the character design is spot-on and similar to a blockbuster anime action movie. Don’t mistake “hand-drawn” for lacking in effectiveness.
The two Kingdoms are only separated by a wall in the plot but are a world apart visually. The Gold Kingdom is yellow and orange. Yes, and gold. The Water Kingdom is green and grey. More significantly, the clothes and architecture of the two rivals are entirely different. These are two fundamental distinct cultures.
Plot
It’s a really easy anime to follow, and at times, that’s a strength, ergo; at other times, it’s a weakness. The story is from Nao Iwamoto’s manga of the same name. That was a one-and-done story, so the anime is, I’m told, a simple lift and shift. There’s been limited retelling, cutting or fiddling.
The two Kingdoms should be paying lip service to their truce through some awkward arranged marriage. You can already see where this is going.
The kind Princess Sarah and the smart Naranbayer, a mere peasant, decide that they can and should bring their two countries to peace. If they don’t, then there will be a war, and it’ll likely be the last one.
I’m not sure there’s much in the way of character development, which is one of my few criticisms of the anime. Sarah and Naranbayer are fantastic out of the box, rushing to seize their chance to be goodie-goodies from the outset.
However, the plot expertly tackles the shades of grey that are everywhere in both Kingdoms. People make mistakes, no one is a straight-up villain, and with people so willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, don’t expect the plot to end well for al involved.
Highlights
Both Sarah and Naranbayer are bearably perfect.
Early on, I thought “Granny” would be my favourite other character, and really, we all need an over-protective sword-swinging granny in our lives.
Sorry, Granny, you were easily eclipsed by Lailala. Now, I’m not sure Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom gets full marks on its sensitivity rating, as the only gay character is hardly sympathetic. However, I think that’s a Burqa that Lailala wears, and she wears it throughout and does so while kicking ass. Even here, though, there’s no good or evil character. Cool Lailala does some pretty extreme stuff.
Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom is directed by Kotono Watanabe, who has been working at Madhouse for years and is a rare female anime director.
Overall
Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom is worth your time and a reminder of how excellent anime storytelling can be despite a few wrinkles.
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