Finally got a chance to watch Tales of Earthsea last night. I've been anticipating it for a long time, but, sadly, it didn't quite live up to the quality that I've come to expect with the Studio Ghibli name.

I've never read the original work the film is based on so I'm judging only the movie itself. The art work is excellent, as expected from Studio Ghibli. The character design is familiar, with a touch of distortion when the character is overtaken by fear and rage. I warmed up to the yakuru-like steed immediately. XD

The music isn't composed by Hisaishi Joe as most other Ghibli works, but Terashima Tamiya's music here is just great and fitting. Overlooking the panoramic scenes with the orchestra playing in the background really gives off a sense of majestic and depth.

So what let me down? The narrative. Artistic alone does not make a great tale. It has to be woven skilfully with a compelling story. This, to me, is what the film lacks.

While some of the ideas are interesting (having the "light" portion of the heart as the "shadow" chasing after the body, for one), there's too many loose threads and unanswered questions. The film focuses on Arren and his change of heart during the journey, but the quest feels really one-sided and the background setting somewhat shallow.

While the friendship between Arren and Teru is good and all, I have trouble figuring out the significance of dragons in the human world, and if Teru being one means anything. Needless to say I was disappointed when the 'END' word appeared on screen. It's not satisfying and left much to be desired. Maybe Miyazaki Gorou isn't quite ready for prime time...

At the end, though, I still gave it a B~B+. The narration may not be complete, but it still managed to establish a main storyline with lots of character growth. That, and I really liked the art and the music.

I look forward to the next master piece from the master himself, Kage no Ue no Ponyo.