Drifting Home’s main premise is a bunch of kids who somehow find themselves lost at sea in a giant abandoned apartment complex. It sounds like horror and could be seen a bit like that given the scenario plus when Natsume—one of the female leads—discovers near the final hours what lies below the ocean. There are times when these kids literally joke about where to pee and shower despite being, again, at sea. We even found the romance between the main male Kosuke and Natsume with a possible love triangle if you add in Reina. Drifting Home obviously isn’t ten different genres thrown into one movie but we loved how the entire 2-hour movie feels like an adventure that isn’t just a “growing up” tale or a simple fantasy plot. Drifting Home has layers upon layers that keep you, the viewer, constantly wondering what elements will pop up next and how they move the story forward.

There’s a sequence early on in Drifting Home where the scene flies under a canopy of trees and it was then we knew without a doubt Drifting Home would have some spectacular animation. Even when the kids are trapped in their floating abandoned apartment, the art and animation for Drifting Home screams high quality. Studio Colorido—Burn the Witch—hasn’t done many anime films but we need to see them more often as they have great potential! Drifting Home, from start to finish, felt like it was done by a bigger animation studio and that is shocking from their small list of works done previously. From the setting details—the apartment complex looks very realistic and kind of haunted—to the characters and how they move about make Drifting Home so appealing to the eyes.

Okay, we doubt anyone has ever been trapped on a giant apartment roof floating on the sea but that doesn’t mean Drifting Home isn’t relatable. Early on we talked about how friendships sometimes fall apart and that happens even more when death is added to the equation. When Kosuke’s grandad passed on, friction developed between him and Natsume. Watching Natsume and Kosuke go from childhood besties to barely talking to one another, will no doubt trigger some viewers as they relive their broken childhood friendship and maybe have lost great friends after a hard death. Drifting Home uses the supernatural theme smartly by not making this a survival anime film or even a horror, but a tale of how friends can rebuild what they have lost and what it means for bonds to strengthen in the most unusual situations.

Drifting Home is about a bunch of 11-year-olds and it can be sometimes annoying to listen to these kids even though they are kids. The way Natsume runs away and hides when asked simple questions or how Kosuke refuses to notice why Natsume is so down/depressed. Honestly, we really loved Reina—who clearly likes Kosuke—and her annoying attitude and constant failed attempts at “love”. Drifting Home’s main cast are children so at times you have to remember their oddities are natural but it can be equally difficult hearing them fight if you don’t remember your own youth and how silly we acted during those days.