Anime film ‘Belle’ highlights when parasocial relationships aren’t enough
Over the past few decades have been de rigueur for the stories of science fiction that will be set in the virtual world, from the Styling Tron which is plated by the initial neon to the temple of a hedonistic pop culture that is ready. The stories have treats these places like the fantasy world equal to the middle earth or hyrule, but when we have approached them in reality they are increasingly boring, maybe even ordinary. With this shift, we have seen the real and virtual world increasingly collided, and it is an interconnection between the two which form the core of the new Belle’s new anime film, arriving at the US theater in January.
Belle is the latest film from Mamoru Hosoda, director who brought us a travel adventure time like a girl who jumped through time and Mirai. But he is also known for Summer Wars, a film that presents a world where everything is connected with virtual balls, not only to play but also work, finance and health care. Back in 2009, this looks like a little stretch, but when companies like Google, Apple and Amazon have expanded this concept have become diligent in scary. Now Hosoda once again handles the gap between the real world and virtual with Belle, a film that divides his time between the rural Japan and the computerized world “U.”
Belle is the story of Suzu Naito, “Country Bumpkin” who lived alone with his father and was still dealing with trauma losing his mother a few years before. When a friend sent him to invite, he found it to escape from trauma, where he was beautiful and could sing. His first performance quickly went viral, with a clip spread quickly and the phone exploded with a notice in Evan Hansen who was loved. He became a sensation, but his new fame was found out of the rail when one of his concerts was disturbed by a player known as “The Dragon.” Suzu / Belle became interested in the dragon and began an investigation into his identity, even as a guardian who was appointed himself to work to track and drive him away from U.
