Ghibli Meets GoT: Hong Kong Animation's Dark Fairytale

A visually stunning and deeply strange animated film from Hong Kong blends the wonder of Studio Ghibli with the gruesomeness of Game of Thrones. This unique animation presents a fairytale world where adorable spirits, known as soul keepers, guide the deceased towards reincarnation in an afterlife stopover called Another World. These spirits help the dead leave behind unresolved resentments, visualized as knots tied in red silk.

The film, however, is not for children due to its intense and gut-wrenching violence, which includes scenes of peasants being burned alive and a princess whipping a general. Goddess Mira, who runs Another World, grapples with the persistence of human hate despite millennia of work. One soul keeper, Gudo, becomes fascinated by human emotions, leading to narratives about the souls he assists, such as a girl searching for her brother and a grief-stricken princess.

The narrative delves into how human destructiveness mars everything but also highlights the inherent beauty of the human heart. Despite its inventive and imaginative nature, the film's constant swirl of ideas and stories may leave some viewers feeling psychologically uninvolved.