By Nick Nitkowski

“The Imaginary”, not to be confused with the horror movie “Imaginary” with the evil teddy bear, is a Netflix released anime film about a little girl named Amanda having make-believe adventures with her imaginary friend, a little boy named Rudger. After circumstances force them to separate, Rudger must find his way back to her while being hunted by a mysterious man who consumes imaginary friends. 

Most anime films out there have stories that can be perceived as a bit odd. This was a film that definitely demanded me to suspend my disbelief while watching. Usually an easy thing for me to do when it comes to anime, but this was definitely trying for me personally. It’s not exactly bad, but it was just really difficult for me to accept a villain who consumes imaginary friends. I also couldn’t help but make the connection of the villain’s imaginary friend looking like a cross between Wednesday Adams and the evil girl from “The Ring”. 

The animation, like with most anime films, was incredible. It was slightly different from the anime style that you’d expect. There were a lot more details added to the anime style. You may also notice a lot more shades of shadow and light colors that made it stand out more. I would say that some of the visuals might be considered a bit scary or intense for younger audiences since this movie is rated PG. There was one particular visual that widened my eyes and had me immediately think to myself, “That’s going to scare children.”

There’s been an ongoing debate on subs vs. dubs. I can take either one, but I have found subs to be the best option on more than one occasion. For “The Imaginary” I had the option to choose either the English or Japanese version of the film. I chose to go with the English version. That being said, I thought that the English voice actors did a decent enough job. A friend of mine had to point out that Kal Penn from “Harold and Kumar” was a voice for one of the characters. I certainly didn’t recognize his voice at first. 

I will say that this movie managed to strike an emotional chord with me mainly due to the timing of personal events that occurred on the exact same day that I watched this movie. I can’t say for sure if this movie will generate an emotional response for others, but it definitely triggered a massive emotional response out of me. So much so to the point where I started questioning whether it was the movie working its magic or just bad timing of events in my personal life. 

Overall, the animation is great as always. Some of the story elements were questionable for me personally, but perhaps other will be able to roll with the punches. And I got emotional watching it. It does have some scary elements that may scare kids, but aside from that one instance, it should be fine for families. It may not be considered one of my favorite anime films, but “The Imaginary” was an overall decent watch. Give it a watch when it streams on Netflix and see if its quality is the stuff of wonders or if it’s all just imaginary.

3.5 stars