Ten years ago, the Zol Empire conquered the neighboring lands of Aquafa, forcibly merging the two nations. Though the effort was a success, the Zol invasion could not seize Fire Horse Village, where an outbreak of a mysterious deadly disease known as Black Wolf Fever occurred. Since then, the people have believed the illness has been eradicated.
At a salt mine overseen by Zol authorities, Van Gansa is a prisoner of war carrying out a forced labor sentence. One night, a pack of spirit-like wolves attack the mine; while Van and a young girl named Yuna are bitten, the two escape as the only survivors. In the official investigation following the incident, the findings indicate that the wolves were carriers of Black Wolf Fever, which led to the swift deaths of the guards and workers.
Eager to experience freedom again, Van wastes no time settling down with Yuna in a small farming village. However, Van does not know that he is being followed. Pursued both by those who wish to harvest his blood to cure Black Wolf Fever and those who want to stop those efforts at all costs, Van faces a greater issue plaguing the nation that may spread to countries beyond.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Ardnaed
I'm upset because this movie could have been great. However, it somehow managed to make me feel like I was watching a cheap imitation of itself. Story: Awful pacing. They wanted to show a lot and didn't have the time. Also, this feels like someone not trying to copy other Ghibli films as much as someone who tried to learn from them and missed the mark. It was clear what every scene was trying to convey and how we were supposed to feel about the characters and that was the problem. This movie somehow managed to commit the tell not show error by showing toomuch. It was almost impressive. Additionally every scene switch felt weirdly jarring even when it was the same character just walking in one room to another to me. Reveals were misplaced and scenes used too many times, which also lent to the color by the number feel of this movie.
Art: Exquisite. We all knew that though. Without it, the cracks in this movie would be 10x clearer.
Sound: Beautiful music, however, like the story it felt awkwardly placed and sometimes too loud. It became music that said, you need to feel this now, instead of music that leant itself to the moment.
Character: I dislike Yuna almost solely based on the fact they tried so hard to get me to like her. Van was dull, they didn't quite figure out how to make him the tortured quiet heroic lead. The doctor gave me Howl vibes but ultimately seemed....unnecessary even though he most definitely was necessary. The female tracker was cool at first but also missed the mark with telling us exactly why she felt what she felt but also being vague? Her actions were at times inconsistent and not in a character growth kind of way. All in all, the characters had no room to breathe and come to life.
Enjoyment: I was angry watching this movie. I sat in the theatre lamenting on what this could have been. I was excited to see this had an R rating and even though I think they could have made it PG13 with what was shown, I appreciate the darker moments. In retrospect though, I look back and wonder if they may have not been confident in their ability to convey that darkness without showing it...
Overall, I think it was a decent movie that I won't watch again. It had the bones to be better. I think it could easily be redone by a different story teller or maybe the same person going back to the drawing board.
ZetaZ98
This review does NOT contain spoilers. This film harkens back to the old Ghibli films in its look and themes but is very much its own thing with a modern approach to animation. The director has made a point to highlight how this film's plot echoes the current times and that it only adds to the impact this film has on its viewers. The story is interesting and the animation is beautiful. If I were to give any criticisms it is that some of the side plots and minor characters go slightly underdeveloped to an extent where it is sometimes confusing if you are not payingvery close attention. This is 100% a film that benefits from being returned to and rewatched just like the old Ghibli films. You will notice and appreciate more/different things on a rewatch. Being an adaptation of a novel, I suspect some of the minor plot points feel a bit short or unclear because the film doesn't have the same time to get into them all the way but it never harms the film overall.
Easy contender for best anime movie of the year!
Yemi_Hikari
Dear King feels like a love letter to Studio Ghibli. One of the first things those interested in this particular Anime title notice is that it utilizes a style very similar to the one used by Studio Ghibli. The story, despite the high rating, is also very family-oriented, but the Studio Ghibli movie that Dear King first and foremost reminded me of as I watched the movie wasn't Princess Mononoke but Grave of the Fireflies. The movie does, after all, cover the effects of war following a man who lost his wife and son before becoming a soldier in a war that led to him beinga worker down in the mines. This leads to him meeting Luna, whom he adopts as his daughter. Nor is the movie afraid to get nitty-gritty when it comes to the details, being very detail-orientated regarding what is going on and building up the two clashing cultures within the movie. Of course, certain elements seem trivial to certain viewers, such as the second prince's encounter with Van as a young soldier. Yet, in the end, these things are actually important to the narrative, with these small details woven into the plot that set up the ending in a way that makes sense.
Suppose there were two things that might turn viewers off. In that case, it may be the narrative point of view, that the narrator of the story is the doctor, as well as the fact we're still coming off the ramifications of the illness that actually delayed the release of this movie to the point delaying the movie until things died down makes sense, also resulting in the movie coming across as attempting to say something about what was going on despite not having been meant to do so in the first place, having been adapted from a novel by the same name.
Back to the movie feeling like a love letter to Studio Ghibli. This will of course make the movie of interest to fans of Studio Ghibli, but I think there is a chance that fans will also see elements from one of their favorite Ghibli movie in Dear King. Some of this is intentional, while some comes from the source material, but perhaps making the movie into a love letter to Studio Ghibli, which is in part known for it's adaptions of classic works makes sense in a work one might actually expect to be picked up by Studio Ghibli for adaption.
Einherjar81
Despite what its ratings might indicate, Shika no Ou (The Deer King) is a movie with a lot of interesting, worthy things to say, and is very deserving of your time, provided you're willing to forgive (or at least look past) the pacing issues typical of novel-to-movie anime adaptations. This is a film that, even with a nearly two-hour (quite long, by anime movie standards) runtime, still feels too tightly compressed, though stretching the story out over an entire season might have been a worse choice. Those who deride the movie for its purely visual similarities to Ghibli's Princess Mononoke ignore the widegulf between the themes of the works. On the surface, Shika no Ou is very clearly about the triumph of science over superstition, but at the same time it demonstrates the value of traditional practice, and the necessity of paternal duty. Yes, viewers who appreciate positive father-daughter stories will especially enjoy this one. It's hard to remember that the original novels were written nearly a decade ago, and the movie had already been in production for several years before the emergence of COVID-19; that's how poignant this film is at times.
Strong recommendation.
pocariswonk
5.5/10 The Deer King is an unfortunate bundle of squandered potential on all fronts of its story. It would not be hyperbole to call it "Walmart Mononoke Hime" There are WAY TOO MANY 'riding' scenes, where character are in chase/pursuit and barely anything happens, and they last too long. "Look, this guy is riding a deer! holy shit!" x5 The pacing falls apart at about the halfway mark after dragging its feet through a slow slog of unnecessary scenes as the writers clumsily try to curry your interest in the world. It just screams budget issues as the pacing ramps up while the writers scramble totie up all the loose ends.
The protagonist's character development falls flat. He is established as a large, brooding, quiet warrior with a tragic past, which isn't too hard to get right, but somehow he fails to be memorable in any way as his personable is slowly revealed to be that of an archetypal anime dad.
Throughout the story there are several significant plot points with great potential for interesting conflicts, but they are all glossed over and pushed aside as the studio slowly ran out of money. There is tons of buildup as you are groomed into expecting some sort of moral, a question to be left with, or a message-- but you, as the viewer, are let down one minute at a time as nothing is elaborated on.
Visuals wise, yeah, they're decent, sometimes good in a few places, but overall it's nothing special. It almost feels like the director is doing everything in their power to make fight scenes as short and sparse as possible and then replacing them with riding scenes.
It pains me to say this since the setting and world building is unique (for modern anime), but for most people this movie is just not worth watching. It's a 2 hour nothing burger and there are loads of better things to do.
adoyash
No spoilers meh if saw the reviews here before watching i wouldn't watch so THANK GOD i didn't to be fair parts of the story were confusing and you couldn't decide who is good & who is bad but i think that's a positive thing cause. yes in actual world everyone think they are on the right side. so for me it was a nice 2hr watching experience ... The deer king is held in its story so manny emotions i can't explain with words though i saw a lot says there is no emotions?! .. i did feel connected with most of the charactersand there ups and downs and specially liked the doctor maybe cause i'm in medical field!! ... I can say I enjoyed the mystery .. the creepiness .. the conspiracy ... the family bond ... the cuteness ... the fantasy & the science ... the science part was so logical for me and i appreciate that in anime ... no moment was boring but did feel lost at some parts ... so in my perspective it was a wholesome experience & i really encourage people to watch it .. just make sure keep watching till the end as don't close the movie when the ending song starts & god yes the ending song is perrrrfect & sang by Milet .. if you don't know her she sang one of the most epic anime ending songs for vinland saga which is Drown ... so yep just enjoy the music with the epilogue seen ❤️
MmmKale
Wowsers! This movie is so good. Not sure how the rating is so low. The art is absolutely amazing, the soundtrack great, and Yuna...one of the cutest characters I've ever seen. I do wish they had a second movie or made this one longer because I think they rushed the second half a bit. This movie really is just about a father and his daughter and besides that the story is not the craziest thing ever, but it is still very fun and reminds me of old Disney mixed with Studio Ghibli. Even if you do not end up liking the story, the characters makeup for it 10 fold in my opinion. Overall I'd highly recommend this movie! :D
whiteflame55
The movie evokes comparisons to Princess Mononoke, but falls short of it in virtually every measure. There's both too much going on to get a good grip of why things are happening (there are a lot of conflicting interests at play among the bigger groups as well as among a small number of more independent players), and too little that's all that interesting or unpredictable. I had trouble following why many of the people in this movie acted as they did and, based on what I've heard of the source material, it's because they cut quite a bit of it out. I had little troublefiguring out some of the central mysteries of the movie, which isn't a great sign, and the central characters are pretty bland. There are some decently cool visuals, the world seems decently interesting (wish we'd gotten to explore it more), and there are some decent battle scenes, but nothing really connected with me and the whole experience felt more confusing than it should. I keep reusing the word "decent," which is really all I can say about it. I give it props for the ambition of it, but it didn't really work for me.
Kongregate
Was first time watching an anime movie at a physical theater in America. Went to AMC , was going in knowing nothing about this show, all I saw was a photo of the cover. I wanted to go in fresh with no bias/no knowledge and make my own judgment. Was excited. The characters/story was boring to me. In Anime, the most important element are characters in my opinion. I have seen anime with amazing artwork and music but the characters just didn't do it for me and I did not enjoy or dropped the show. The characters looked and felt bland. To the point whereI honestly didn't care what they were saying or happened to them.
The story also is similar to a medieval / old setting where there are generals,farms,etc. None of the characters gave me any emotion / connection other than the little girl to be honest. And even the girl could have been better. Often didn't know what was going on in the movie, was just a bunch of dialogue and random scenes of blood. And a bunch of historical bla bla bla.
The ending was good though , the last twenty minutes or so with the music and beautiful artwork... that was about it. Big let down but definitely wouldn't say it was bad though just not good. It is average. Would I recommend/pay a lot of money to watch it? No
Kenjiii00
I'm not sure whether to recommend The Stag King. I will start with its artistic section, which I really liked. In my opinion, it is the best part of the film. The character design feels very strange. I feel like each character was created by a different artist. As for the story, I found it entertaining for some moments, but I expected more from the story knowing that one of the producers worked for Ghibli and Satoshi Kon, and I feel that its plot does not develop well at all and some things are left unfinished. For my part, I would not see it again but I invite youto see it and draw your conclusions.
Siluetta
On paper, it sounds like a grand fantasy, a former warrior, a little girl, a battle with a mysterious illness, and a journey through a brutal world. In practice, The Deer King is a more intimate story about bonds and survival, set against an epic backdrop. In the background, we have political conflict, imperialism, religious themes and the motif of ‘who deserves to survive’. Sounds epic? Yes, but the problem is that the film doesn't have time to develop all of this. Some of the themes are only touched upon, and the finale rushes a little to wrap up the story. But what works best isthe relationship between Van and Yuna. Intimate, touching, warm – it provides the emotional backbone of the entire story.
Animation & Art Style
The film is impressive in this regard.
Studio Production I.G. has created beautiful backgrounds, detailed landscapes and realistic motion animation. The scenes of nature, animals and the stag itself – wow. The atmosphere is a bit like Ghibli, only more serious. The fights are dynamic, though not as spectacular as they could be. However, the nature and atmosphere of the world are a huge plus.
Sound & Music
The music is beautiful, atmospheric, and often melancholic. It perfectly emphasises the emotions and mystical nature of the world. The opening and ending themes also have that certain something that sticks in your head. Voice acting: powerful, especially Van his voice conveys fatigue, strength and warmth all at once.
Enjoyment & Overall Thoughts
The Deer King is a film with heart and a beautiful world, but it gets a little lost in its attempt to be both an intimate drama and an epic fantasy tale. It works best when it focuses on Van and Yuna. It works worst when it tries to cram too much politics and lore into the limited running time of the film. Still, it's enjoyable to watch, and the emotions linger at the end.
Final Rating: 7/10 – Mixed Feelings (but worth watching)
Cute, emotional, but uneven. If you love fantasy stories with a father-child bond at the centre, it's definitely worth giving it a go.
Kays90
Before discussing about each aspect of the movie, I'm gonna reiterate this - "This movie doesn't really belong & feels like a movie of 2021-22. Its a through & through late 80s or 90s movie in every way". Now coming to the discussion about this movie, its gonna be broken into 5 broad aspects: Art & Animation, Sound, Character Development, Direction & Story;& Enjoyment. Let's talk about art & animation. It doesn't really belong to a movie in 2021 or 2022. For a movie, its a through & through late 80s & 90s style. It has similar art style found in Ghibli movies of those times &even this studio's anime TV series of 2000s.
Moribito from same author has exactly same vibes in this department & others as well. Animation is smoother here than from those days. Guess something is improved afterall its 2020s.
In sound department, the studio has done a great job. Guess something really great comes with going the late 80s & 90s route. Unlike most movies & animes of 2020s, it doesn't ignore the background effects. One can even hear the sound of wind blowing, leaves & branches in scenes. In English Dub, VAs have done a very good job as well.
Character Development is good for a movie. The movie developes the relationship of characters quite well. It does a decently good job in creating a connection between viewers & main characters as well, though it could be a bit better.
The direction of the movie is just fine. Had it been a bit better, then impact of the movie would've been great. The pacing of the movie could've been a bit better. Infact the shortfall mentioned in the above para is a direct result of the direction issue. Story, otherwise, is quite good.
Apart from the few shortfalls that I noticed, the movie has been quite enjoyable for me. I would recommend giving it a shot.
For those, who loved animes like Moribito, Princess Mononoke, etc must watch this movie.
ozuosoroshii
The Deer King is not like Princess Mononoke. It is not trying to be. It is not about the same things as Princess Mononoke. This movie has a character that rides a deer and there are wolves, but that does not make it the same. Don't let all the media-illiterate reviews drawing parallels between this movie and Princess Mononoke/Studio Ghibli movies bias your attempt to understand The Deer King. Trying to view it through that lens will just decrease your ability to understand it. Pro: Visually, this movie looks very good. There is some interesting world building and a decent story. Con: The most glaring issue is that this isa series of novels packed into a single less-than-2-hour movie. The pacing makes a valiant effort and they tried to write the screenplay to get as much in there as they could, but it leaves a lot of the character development feeling skeletal. It also makes following the political backstory difficult. As a result the movie is a bit hollow and muddled.
A lot of characters suffer from the Studio IG "always on tranqs" problem. If you aren't familiar, IG often struggles to show emotion in the face and body language of its characters when it uses this “serious” art style. Your mileage may vary on how much it bothers you personally, but it probably contributes to why people struggle to connect with this movie.
