Lonely Castle in the Mirror made me think of Scooby-Doo because the kids are nothing like the plucky Mystery Machine gang who make themselves busy solving supernatural puzzles. Or apparently supernatural puzzles.
There’s even a character in a mask in Lonley Castle in the Mirror, and I’ll not spoil whether that turns out to be an old white guy after money.
The Lonely Castle in the Mirror is as advertised; it’s a lonely castle through which seven kids can access via their mirrors. We follow just one, a quiet kid who is being bullied at school and embraces this chance not to worry much about real life and visit the castle whenever possible.
There is a mystery to solve, but all seven kids pretty much take a “I’ll do it later” approach and sit around talking about nothing, playing games and squabbling instead. For months.
Look and Feel
Lonely Castle in the Mirror looks wonderful and feels serious and sombre. That’s another reason why it’s the anti-Scooby-Doo.
The castle looks real despite a landscape of water, like a bizarre and awkward fantasy RPG setting. There’s no fancy stuff going on inside. It’s a bit like walking into a cottage you might have rented for two weeks in the countryside to escape from the rat race for a while. Even down to the water not running and a great kitchen with no food in it.
If the fantasy half of this story is described as ‘real but broken’ then you can imagine what the urban-truth part of the story is like.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror tackles bullying, and that’s always an awkward topic. There’s no forgiveness here for the bullies, and barely any for the parents that let it happen, and there’s no sugarcoating at all.
There’s even a scene with the threat of sexual violence in it. Lonely Castle in the Mirror is not for young kids.
Characters
The seven kids and the weird Wolf Queen kidnapper-come-guide all develop and grow as characters, albeit the Wolf Queen much later and much more slowly.
There are times when you might want to throttle the kids. If it wasn’t for our main character being bullied and the suggestion the other kids weren’t immune from it – they even do it – I bet there are definitely moments you’ll want to urge them to bloomin’ well do something.
There’s a hallelujah moment when a minor character says something like, “It’s only school” and you can see the scales fall from our would-be-heroes eyes as that finally sinks in.
The adults are a bit less frustrating, except for the nice but dim teacher who dials it in and, sadly, I suspect mirrrors an all-to-common reality.
Conclusion
I suspect Keiichi Hara and A-1 Pictures anime movies will divide opinion. I know it will as I watched it at Scotland Loves Anime, and it is one of my 2023 favourites while I’ve overheard queue discussions from people who thought it was one of the weakest in the lineup.
If you like good stories and not too much mystery (I think the twist in the tale is easy to spot), then I’d recommend taking a trip to the Castle.
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