An Adventure Awaits Sometimes Right Underneath Our Feet
- Episodes : 115 Mins
- Genre : Adventure, Fantasy
- Airing Date : April, 2019
- Producers : Signal.MD
Contains Spoilers
Birthday Wonderland (The Wonderland) Introduction and Story
Birthday Wonderland tells the story of Akane, who seems to be your atypical teenage girl. Often by herself, Akane isn’t the best when it comes to socializing which can make her life a bit problematic. The day before her birthday, Akane’s mother asks her to head to her Aunt Chii’s curios store and that’s where things get a bit bizarre.
After putting her hand on a stone tablet, Akane ends up summoning a strange alchemist named Hippocrates and his servant Pipo. The two strangers who appear from the basement of Chii’s shop tell the two that they are here to find the Green Goddess and waste no time bring the pair to “The World Beyond”. After some strange meetups, Akane and Chii learn that this fantasy world is being plagued by a loss of water which is causing the trees to lose color and bigger issues to begin occurring. Add to that a strange mobile weapon called Armored Mouse has begun instilling fear into the citizens.
Akane, despite not believing she has any powers, ends up going on a journey with her aunt to save this strange world and find a way back home! Along the way, the duo ends up meeting weird/strange characters who will help their journey along and equally provide them with trouble! Their biggest threat though comes in the form of the two pilots of the Armored Mouse one of which is named Zan Gu who just screams antagonist and his cat partner Doropo.
The main goal of Akane, Chii, and Hippocrates is to save the world and also make sure the Prince—a character you’ll eventually learn more about—makes it to a special event that could alter the fate of the world. We won’t go into any further spoilers from here as Birthday Wonderland is an adventure of itself to watch but if you want to know some reasons why you should watch it—and possibly skip it—then continue below! In regards to the ending by the way, we will say it’s pretty solid overall and the movie has some great twists near the final thirty or so minutes that we were surprised to see!
1. Whimsical Animation
One can almost get lost while watching Birthday Wonderland. From the backdrops to the character animations, every piece of this nearly two hour animated film bursts with vibrant color/life. We have seen many anime films like Birthday Wonderland but Signal MD should be given praise for the work they put into this movie!
Intriguing Fantasy World
There have been numerous Wonderland-like films—both anime and non-anime—made in the last century but Birthday Wonderland oozes with originality and uniqueness. We loved how multiple settings seem to blend in this strange otherworld such as steampunk and classic fantasy. It’s rare a story can blend so many themes together well but Birthday Wonderland does it with ease.
3. Incredible OST/Voice Acting
Is there a soundtrack available for Birthday Wonderland? If there is, we need to buy it now. We were absolutely floored by the incredible music/ambiance found in Birthday Wonderland and the voice acting is also pretty darn solid! These characters in Birthday Wonderland are all quite charismatic and without solid voice acting, we could see this film being quite lifeless and flat.
1. No Time to Waste
While it might be a fantasy-themed adventure film, Birthday Wonderland doesn’t wait for setups or anything like it. After the first few minutes, Birthday Wonderland is a non-stop fantasy film and that might be a bit off-putting to those who like slower themed stories. We didn’t feel the movie suffered from this quick pace but we equally felt the pains of Akane being thrown into this new world without much rhyme or reason initially.
2. Not Enough Time…
Easily the most amazing thing about Birthday Wonderland was the different landscapes and towns Akane and her aunt visit on their journey. Unfortunately, as this isn’t a series, Birthday Wonderland doesn’t allow for these great vistas to be fully fleshed out. This isn’t a big issue mind you but for those who love deep lore and attention to detail when it comes to story, you might get annoyed a bit.
3. Fly Hippocrates
About halfway through Birthday Wonderland our grand alchemist Hippocrates—for reasons we won’t spoil—turns into a fly and while it is funny for a few minutes it lasts way too long. This comedic but overly long transformation allows Akane and Chii to have a better amount of time bonding together but we do miss Hippocrates’ cool movements and actions even if he is a bit of a jerk to them.
Final Thoughts
Birthday Wonderland was a truly enjoyable film that should appease both young kids and adults alike! We loved how it was never too serious but kept us glued to the screen wondering how Akane and her crazed aunt Chii could truly save a world they were so foreign to. Needless to say, Birthday Wonderland deserves a viewing and we think many of you fantasy/adventure fans will do so without us even needing to tell you! Did you already perhaps see Birthday Wonderland? Comment below if you did!
For even more anime movie reviews and other anime-themed articles be sure to keep stuck to our wondrous hive here at Honey’s Anime!
Author: Aaron
