Flooded by gravity-defying rain bubbles and isolated from the rest of the world, Tokyo is becoming a playground for lost children battling in team-based parkour competitions. It sounds like a game. Instead, it’s a new original anime film called bladder, written by Puella Magi Madoka Magica Clerk Gen Urobuchi and directed by attack on Titan‘s Tetsurō Araki.
As pointed out by Polygon, the first trailer for bladder could very well be the animated opening of a wild, open world platformer. Maybe some kind of advancement of the free running action of EAs Mirror edge Series. Destroyed by these mysterious bubbles, Tokyo’s twisted towers make the perfect parkour proving ground where teenagers have collapsed, slid through rubble, climb overturned wagons, and ricochet off the airborne bubbles.
Of course there is more to it bladder than just teenagers walking around looking cool. The film focuses on Hibiki, a young parkour ace known for his ruthlessness. When the exciting teenager falls into the sea, he is rescued by a girl named Uta with mysterious powers. The whole thing is a unique take on the original Little Mermaid Fairy tale, just instead of the girl falling in love, her heart broken and turning into bubbles, here a bubble falls in love and becomes a girl. Stranger things have happened. Stranger things have happened in the anime, at least.
Bladder, which debuts worldwide on Netflix on April 28th, has an interesting story, great trailer, and pedigree that also includes Death report Artist Takeshi Obata on character designs and attack on Titan Composer Hiroyuki Sawano, who takes on musical duties. Now all I need is a video game connection so that I can play with Hibiki and friends.
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