“Maboroshi,” an animated feature by Mari Okada, was released by Netflix on Jan. 15.
Third-year middle school student Masamune lives in a town where time has stopped because a sudden explosion at a steelworks factory has sealed off all exits to the town. In order to hopefully one day return to normal, the residents of the town are forbidden from changing, and they live out their gloomy everyday lives.
Masamune’s enigmatic classmate Atsumi leads him one day to the fifth blast furnace of the steelworks factory, where they meet Itsumi, a girl who is wild like a wolf and cannot talk. The meeting of Masamune and these two girls upsets the balance of the world.
Originally titled “Alice to Therese no Maboroshi Kōjō,” the film was directed and written by Okada, animated by “Attack on Titan” animation studio MAPPA, and stars Junya Enoki, Reina Ueda and Misaki Kuno. It was released in Japan on Sept. 15 and won the Mainichi Film Award for best animated film.
The English voice cast is led by Max Mittelman, Jeannie Tirado and Kitana Turnbull.
Rated TV-14. For trailers and more information, go to: www.netflix.com/title/81450803