Today sees the welcoming of a truly stunning addition to the anime world, on both DVD and Blu-ray. Journey to Agartha (Children Who Chase Lost Voices) is a story that will appeal to the masses. A beautifully simplistic narrative by Makoto Shinkai, who has previously been compared to Miyazaki.
The story follows a young girl named Asuna, who is both hard-working and adventurous. Asuna seems like an isolated child, having lost her father when she was younger and her mother is a nurse who has to work unsociable hours. One day she hears an enchanting and mysterious melody (with the help of a makeshift radio), from another world, one known as Agartha.
Asuna first hears about this mythical subterranean kingdom of Agartha from a mysterious boy named Shun, but not before he saves her from an ancient-like monster with the help of a high-powered crystal known as a ‘clavis’. After he saves the day and obtained a minor injury as a result, she takes him to her secret place and patches him up. The pair soon form a bond that will stay with Asuna for the entire story, one that forms the catalyst for the unfolding events during the film. This bond is enhanced when Asuna reveals to Shun that she had heard the mysterious melody, a beautiful song which she imaged is what music from the heart would sound like. Instantly Shun is intrigued, because it was infact his song she had heard, or I guess you could say his last. Shun had travelled to the surface world and it seems his purpose was fulfilled the moment she told him about the song. It is in this touching moment that he gives her a blessing in the form of a kiss, one that has young Asuna instantly blushing. But sadly, we later discover that Shun has been found dead, something which Asuna finds hard to accept.
It is in school that a substitute teacher Mr Morisaki tells the tale of Izanagi and Izanami; a legend of two deities, a husband and wife. When the wife dies, the husband journeys to the underworld in order to retrieve her. It is when the various names of this underworld are read out in class and one of those names being Agartha, that Asuna is instantly intrigued.
Asuna soon crosses paths with Shun’s brother, named Shin. The pair find themselves encountering a group called the Arch Angels who are after the way into Agartha, because this mythical land holds the potential to bring the dead back to life. It soon becomes known that one of the Arch Angels is Asuna’s substitute teacher, who had lost his wife and has that very intention - to bring her back from the dead. It is from here that we see the spectacular journey to Agartha commence. But with such a quest in sight there will no doubt be danger, excitement and revelations.
I found this a wonderful and endearing story. With beautifully simple, yet direct dialogue that works well in both English, and in my personal favourite: Japanese with subtitles - yes I watched both. The entire thing as a whole is full of beauty, from the sound, the visuals and the story.
Such a beautiful tale of a legendary land said to be hidden deep with the earth, and as a sucker for legendary tales and far off magical kingdoms, this excited me even more. The beauty of this anime is also in the message, especially in the idea that you have to find your happiness in life, even through all the pain that life can bring. This stunning tale of love and loss approaches the concept of the adventure of life and the inevitability of death being part of the same journey, that when something or someone dies they become a part of something bigger. Beautifully poetic.
Journey to Agartha is out on DVD & Blu-ray on 28th January from Manga Entertainment
Review by Samantha Buttigieg