Anime: Kumo no You ni Kaze no You ni

This is a tv-special which tries to show too much, in too little time. It also has some really heavy themes but otherwise it’s supposed to be family material. So it ain’t hard to figure out how it was not successful at what it set out to do.

The premise is somewhat interesting; it is about the new emperor of an empire that “looks” like ancient China, looking for a proper wife and for that reason candidates poor from all over the land, training in the castle in order for the most appropriate to get the position. The funny thing here is that ANY WOMAN can participate, regardless of class, something of which never really happened in China… or in any other nation for the same manner… Heck, not even in fairy tales. The premise is still interesting though.

So the heroine of the movie is Ginga, an energetic peasant girl who dreams of an easy life. Her manners are rude but otherwise manages to stand out in the crowd and even makes the emperor (who looks like a girl) to take notice of her for speaking her mind instead of just trying to impress him with good manners. This is again an interesting topic, as it shows how sincerity and boldness are sometimes more important than etiquette and ass-kissing. Other than that, we just have to accept they would allow a woman in ancient times to be so rude to royalty without being executed on the spot. Heck, women weren’t even allowed to speak in most ancient kingdoms. But anyways, it is a story for kids and parents, so it’s not like you need to expect historical accuracy. I guess they wanted to make a point about gender roles, since even the emperor is very feminine and hardly acts as he should.

A side story also regards the campaign of a pair of bandits, who after making a joke about becoming rich and powerful, literally proceed to gather around their own army and see how far they can go. A rebellion is formed out of anyone who wants to take down the unjust emperor. This is again interesting to see how it all started as a joke and escalated to something beyond their own reach. It’s not like we see exactly how they are being so successful in their campaign; they just win out of screen and reach outside the imperial palace just like that. And in a similar way there was a coup of sorts forming in the palace to usurp the throne but they barely deal with it before it is all over.

As interesting as the above themes are, the story barely lasts enough to fully make use of them. Everything moves very fast and even has weird mood swings from comedy to serious drama. This is what eventually ruins all the mood, as you are constantly bombarded with different themes and emotions that hardly last enough for you to care about. Not even the ending is doing a good job to wrap everything up properly, as they rush through the events, the tv-special ends, and then a narration tells you of things that happened later on. That was simply lame.

The production values are ok for the little tale they made here. It kinda feels like Ghibli in the simplicity of the faces (actually the character designer was from Ghibli) but it hardly has their high budget to offer variety to colours and exceptionally smooth animation. The soundtrack is quite unremarkable and I can even say it hardly fits the mood of the story or that each tune was not always properly following what was going on with the plot. Voice acting… well, nothing much.

So in all, it’s as if the makers of this weren’t trying much to create something great. They went too light and humorous and then just switched to drama for the lulz. You hardly get to appreciate Ginga’s escapades in the castle, since they last too little and the rebellion leaders are acting like they are going on a picnic instead of trying to accomplish a lot. Nobody besides the heroine is fleshed out properly and there was enough material to fill a full-season series here. They even have a sex scene of sorts towards the end but everything happens out of screen and you are just wondering WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? It will disappoint most viewers since it hardly makes use of its own setting.

Kumo no You ni, Kaze no You ni - A great story stuffed into too small a package

After the Emperor dies, his son the Prince is set to take the throne. However, he must have a bride as soon as possible, with which to cement his rule and spawn the next generation. So a call is put out for women, and country girl Ginga decides to apply for the job, but faces a six month training school and competition from women around the country. Meanwhile, one of the previous Emperor's wives plots to have the Prince killed so her son can take the throne, and a group of bandits decide to raise an army in rebellion.

It should be noted that for a variety of reasons, some listed below, that this film was though to be a Studio Ghibli film for a fairly long time, when it is in fact not the case, but not without its reasons.

Animation - 8/10
The animation is, for the most part, fairly well done.

Backgrounds - 8/10
The backgrounds are very well done, and give a great feel for the setting. Most backgrounds feel very open and give a great sense of spaciousness, which helps the "little girl entering the big world" feeling the movie starts off on.

Characters - 8/10
The character designs and movement are also very well done, with all of the characters looking distinct and interesting, but occasionally the animators use a loop of a few frames during talking head scenes, with the character simply moving their mouth and nothing else, which makes the character comes across as stiff and wooden for that bit, which can take you out of the movie for a bit.

The character designs are by Katsuya Kondo, a Studio Ghiblianimator who also did character designs for Kiki's Delivery Service, and it shows, as the main character Ginga immediately reminded of cross between Kiki and Mei from My Neighbor Totoro. It's no wonder so many people though this was a Studio Ghibli film.

Sound - 7/10
Overall the sound is of fair quality.

OP/ED - 7/10
The opening song is a rather basic melody that plays over the opening credits, I don't know if it even qualifies as as one.

The ending song is nice, but doesn't seem to quite fit with the movie. A little to J-Pop for a movie which takes place in a feudal China-esque setting and spends the third act focusing on a large scale rebellion. I wonder if some deal wasn't created behind the scenes for a flavor-of-the-month or "on the rise" J-Pop artist to do this on the cheap in exchange for the publicity.

Background - 7/10
Background effects and music are effective if spares, but are rarely anything beyond simple and the music's not very memorable.

Oh, and there's this one scene at the 30 minute mark, where we suddenly cut to a secondary character for a quick bit of "sinister music" before cutting back, with no explanation as to what this character, who's just walking down a path, is doing that is so sinister and why that music was needed at that bit. That bit could have been handled better, if only with some toned down music.

Vocals - 7/10
Average performances by the voice actors. Nobody really stands out, but all of the voices do sound appropriate for the characters and the relative scene.

Story - 9/10
A fantastic story, which really gives a feel for the historical China in which it is set, to the point were I first though it was based on actual events, which (sadly?) it is not. The story is based on the novel "Inner Palace Harem Story" (後宮小説, Kōkyū Shōsetsu) by Ken'ichi Sakemi, which apparently has never been translated into English, which is a shame because I'd like to see what got cut from the novel to compact it into movie form. The little narration at the end says than Ginga had more happen to her later, and I wonder if the novel followed Ginga further.

At any rate, the film is jam-packed with story, which does lead to the story's main fault - the pacing. The pacing is, within connected scenes, just fine, but it's when the film jumps ahead to a later point in time that it becomes a little off baring. The second act of the film is suppose to take place over six months, but it could have easily been a week with the way they paced things. This also affects the portrayals of the most of the other characters after Ginga, including the Emperor at the center of all of this, as they all seem to have interesting personalities and backgrounds, but they don't get any time to develop, but I'll get into that further below.

I feel that the novel probably would have been better adapted into a longer medium, like a TV or even OVA series, if only to give the series a better sense of time and the ability to flesh out its other characters

Character - 6/10
As I said earlier, the secondary characters, which is basically everybody but Ginga, are tragically underdeveloped. They are introduced in interesting ways, especially Ginga's roommates, such as Tamyūn walking into the room for the first, saying "So this is it" and then performing some sort of twirling double-bladed knife dance with no explanation before introduction herself. These introductions immediately draw you to the characters, but they never really develop beyond that, and one never really gets a mind for the character's though processes.

This leads too two big "Why the heck did they do that?" questions:


Like I said before, the novel would probably have been better adapted into TV series or OVA, which would have given more time for these characters to be fleshed out.

Value - 7/10
An average value. It helps that the Chinese historic background has accurate historical details, even if the story never actually took place, although this is mainly stuff in the background and probably wouldn't even notice, or is related to Chinese Emperor's brides. So, yeah, it's historically accurate on stuff that the majority of people probably don't care about, but if you're into Chinese history, maybe you'll learn something from this.

Enjoyment - 8/10
Like I said earlier, a lot of people mistook this for a Ghibli film, and it has the same vibe as a Ghibli film, but not quite the same tone. It's a bit of a cross between Whisper of the Heart and Spirited Away, but isn't at quite the same level, which I blame on the character underdevelopment, but if you enjoy the Ghibli films, you'll probably enjoy this film as well.

Though very similar to Ghibli style and setting, Kumo no You ni, Kaze no You ni embarks on a different cruiser altogether. It dramatizes the tale of the woman who gave birth to a new dynasty, although it could use some work in the character development area.

For Ginga, all that matters to her is getting three meals a day, and afternoon nap. If she could get that, she wouldn't mind doing anything - even going through training to become the Emperor's first wife!
With a rebellion going on in Japan, the Emperor's need for a strong, reliable partner has become a necessity - although it isn't obvious who he will choose for that position.

I assumed the story would focus on Ginga and her relationship with the Emperor. Well, I was wrong. The story focuses primarily on the historical concept, dramatizing Ginga's situation within the palace to add a personal perspective to the movie. While I liked the personal viewpoint, the historical concepts were unbecoming and quite obtrusive to the character development. I found myself bored throughout much of the narration.

Still, the story is great. It shows the life of women in the palace, their customs, their beliefs, and the amount of dedication they need to take on the position as Empress. Several philosophical questions are raised, but none of them are too confusing to truly cause any ruckus in a watcher's conscience. I would focus more on the plot rather than the theme in this anime.

Cartoon character development.

Kumo no You ni, Kaze no You ni unfortunately draws very flat, cartoonish characters. Ginga by far proves to be the only three dimensional character; even the antagonist had "Disney" written all over him. This is the biggest drawback to this anime. However, if you can look deeper and attempt to centralize a meaning on each of the characters, they can be really quite impressive in their greatest glory.

Okay sound, okay animation.

Average. That's pretty much it for the animation, except that it takes a Ghibli-like character design.

The music isn't all that bad, either. I didn't find anything I particularly liked from the anime, although I think the ending theme might not be bad. I'd consider the OST of it if I was in the mood.

Good movie. Couple weaknesses; consider if you are in the mood.

This is an "in the mood" movie. If you are looking for something to pass the time, this title can offer a little bit of education with it's package. I don't imagine I'd show this to any newbie, but I'd definitely toss it in to watch with friends who are familiar with anime. I don't see myself watching it in the future, though, so that probably won't ever happen.

I love the title, which is why I picked up this anime. "Like the Clouds, Like the Wind" doesn't mean anything particularly, but it definitely meets up to the amount of charm of this anime.