Millennium Actress: anime review

Title: Millennium Actress
Genre: drama, fantasy, romance
Released date: September 14, 2002
Running Time: 87 minutes
Director: Satoshi Kon
Comment: Millennium Actress was one woman’s quest to find her true love. When she was a school girl, Chiyoko met a mysterious man who was a government rebel. She sheltered him and soon learned that he was a painter. One day the police found him and he ran away while Chiyoko wasn’t home. She tried to chase him but found only his key which was dropped behind. Since then she never stopped looking for the man and return the key to him even after she became a famous actress. The whole movie was about Chiyoko’s live, career and her quest to find her lost love. The real events were told parallel to the various scenes in Chiyoko’s movies which ranged from historical Japan to space traveling era. It was very exciting to see Chiyoko in many different rolls e.g. ninja, princess, war survivor and astronaut. Another important character was Tachibana. He held the key to Chiyoko’s past and the fate of the man she loved. He also served as a comic relief for the anime. I like how Tachibana participated in all the scenes from Chiyiko’s movies because he helped connect the past to the present, the fantasy to reality and represented his intimacy with Chiyoko’s works. The production was superb and the music was great. Millennium Actress differed from other Satoshi Kon’s works because not only it had unique style of story telling that combined reality with fantasy but it was also a heart warming anime. Conclusion: This kind of anime is the reason I love anime so much.
Rating: A+