Acclaimed anime director Mamoru Hosoda's latest film, "Scarlet," dropped in Japan on November 21. But with many netizens already wary of Hosoda's screenwriting chops, and a less-than-stellar premiere at the Venice Film Festival back in September, expectations were already pretty low.
Now, Japanese social media is absolutely flooded with negative reviews for "Scarlet." In a shocking turn, less than a week after its release, theaters are reportedly almost completely empty, making the film a hot topic for all the wrong reasons.
Since its premiere on the 21st, many Japanese netizens have flocked to see the film. However, a quick scroll through social media reveals almost no positive feedback, with many critiques specifically targeting the "Mamoru Hosoda" brand itself.
One netizen declared the entire film "unbelievably boring," calling it the "worst movie of the year, even worse than 'Snow White'." They likened it to "a nightmare brought on by the flu," "absolute hell," and "sitting through two hours of a dull, rambling lecture." They added, "My head was pounding, and I was utterly desperate before and after some bizarre song-and-dance number. Just run away!"
Another viewer, who admittedly felt super sleepy but still went to see it on opening day, simply concluded it was "truly the worst of the year."
Some netizens even expressed regret for wasting their time sitting through the film, commenting: "Mana Ashida, please stop taking these kinds of roles... this is going to be a black mark on your career." "If you want to do Shakespeare, please, for the love of god, do it with more punch." And, "Director Hosoda really does that 'Huh? Why are you thinking something perverted? Are you impure?' schtick in every single one of his films, doesn't he?"
Netizens are also strongly suggesting that Mamoru Hosoda should step away from screenwriting and leave it to professional scriptwriters. They point out that his past hits like "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time," "Summer Wars," and "Wolf Children" all soared to success thanks to Satoko Okudera's writing. This year, Okudera's latest script, "National Treasure," even became the highest-grossing live-action film in Japanese cinema history.
Another netizen felt that while the film's plot had some substance, it felt like stretching a three-minute YOASOBI song like "UNDEAD" into a two-hour anime movie, making it incredibly dull to watch.
Of course, it wasn't all doom and gloom. Some viewers praised Mana Ashida's acting and singing in the film, also commending the animation for its stunning depiction of backgrounds and water surfaces.
This avalanche of negative online buzz seems to have scared off many potential moviegoers. On opening day, November 21st, a cinema at Yokohama Station reportedly saw only a handful of attendees.
Even more shockingly, on Sunday of the recent three-day weekend, a cinema in Tokyo had only one person seated before the film started! It's clear that online word-of-mouth is having a massive impact, with "Scarlet"'s third-day attendance looking worse than many films that have been out for over a month.
Of course, film taste is subjective, and everyone has their own preferences. But the word-of-mouth for Mamoru Hosoda's "Scarlet" is truly abysmal, making it highly unlikely to match the 6.6 billion yen box office success of his previous 2021 work, "Belle." So, if you're curious to see just how bad (or good?) it really is, you'll have to brave the empty theaters and witness it for yourself...