Usually there’s a bit more to the title but it seems like most sites cut that intro part out so I’ll keep it direct too. At this point it’s been a while since I finished the manga but it still feels pretty recent. The movie does a good job of capturing the spirit of the series and the key parts from early on. The only thing I was expecting them to include that they didn’t was an old lady that shows up early on but I don’t think it was a bad idea to keep her out. This way you focus more on the two main characters.

The film starts with a bunch of shady soldiers seemingly on the lookout for some kind of monster. After they leave, one of these monsters arrives and finds a little girl named Shiva. She seems to have been completely abandoned and he decides to raise her, at least until he can find a safe way to get her back to humanity. We never find out his name here so I will refer to him as Teacher which is what Shiva calls him. Teacher’s situation is unique in that he cannot make any kind of contact with a human or else he will spread a plague that will destroy them.

The state of the world is such where once you make contact with a monster, you contract a disease and become a monster as well before you die. So the villages are very strictly quarantined and any monsters are hunted on sight. Monsters like Teacher no longer feel anything and they also can’t sleep anymore so they are constantly awake and alert. Fortunately for Teacher he seems to be able to exist indefinitely with his mind intact instead of eventually going insane and dying. So that’s very fortunate but he has complete memory loss of his human life. The film is mainly about his dynamic with Shiva as he has to decide what the best thing is for her. Continuing to live with him or being with the humans.

On one hand the humans seem like a good pick since they will really know how to take care of her, but on the other hand almost all of the humans we see are corrupt, sinister, or panic at the drop of a hat. Teacher may not be the best at the domestic life but he has given Shiva a roof over her head and can actually cook. Me personally? I’d stick with the monster who was looking out for me as opposed to taking my chances with a bunch of stranger. I know that the humans could maybe find out if I have family or not but considering that Shiva was ditched in the middle of nowhere…I wouldn’t like my odds banking on that.

I give Shiva a lot of credit overall because she doesn’t panic or act the way most kids in these things tend to be. She’s not immature or anything like that and doesn’t hold Teacher back. While the situation isn’t the most comfortable, Shiva never complains or makes things harder on him. She’s very supportive at all times and looks out for his emotional wellbeing as well. Shiva does her best at all times and is the kind of character who sees the bright side of things. It’s exactly what makes her such a great character. You know that she would be easy to get along with.

Meanwhile I’ve already talked a lot about Teacher so if it’s not obvious, I thought he was a great character as well. He’s also trying his best. It’s why the dynamic works here because he clearly has no experience raising a kid and so he is learning as he goes. Meanwhile Shiva does her best to be useful as well like we see her doing the chores and helping him out so it’s a real team effort. It’s a really wholesome vibe in what is otherwise a pretty dreary world. At all times you are well aware of how messed up the world is but the movie focuses on these characters which is why the whole thing is so wholesome.

Now there is some danger here like when one of the soldiers pops up and also with the other monsters getting closer. There is definitely tension here and you aren’t really sure how things will play out the whole time. You’re fairly confident in Teacher being able to handle himself but if he’s attacked by a lot of monsters then it’s game over. Not being able to sleep is a massive plus since he can always keep watch but at the same time it is rough having to live while basically looking over your shoulder the whole time. Nobody wants to live like that but it seems like there are enemies at all sides.

The ending taps into the anime-ness of this adventure as we start talking about souls and things get trippy. Anime-ness might not be a real word but you’ll get what I mean when you see the climax. I will say that Teacher almost made a big mistake since the ending involves taking a ton of risks but it all works out which is the important thing. You get the feeling that there is a lot of world building left to be explored when the film ends and that makes sense since this is really an intro to the series.

It’s an effective one because it tells you exactly how the series would play out. It does get a bit more dialogue heavy with more characters in the manga but the overall tone and themes are pretty similar. I would just say it ends up getting darker and darker as the series approaches the ending. For the most part this title adapts most of the best parts either way. The animation techniques for this one is also interesting. Characters are constantly flickering like a 30s animation.

It intentionally is going for a very old look. Maybe like an Aesop’s Fables or something like that. It does work for the tone and mood that the movie is going for but if I’m being 100% here…I would still take some shinier looking animation. It succeeds in looking old but of course that means it’s not looking quite as sharp as it should. Intentional or not, I do think you should always try to look as good as possible. The soundtrack is also more subdued to keep with the tone. Again, understandable but a solid rock theme would have been nice.

Overall, This is a pretty strong story. On the technical side it’s really not all that impressive but the actual story is good and I enjoyed the characters. It’s one of those stories that is very simple but very emotional and executes at a high level the whole time. I can safely recommend it to anyone as a result. It’s easy to understand and I found it to be engaging. It’s fairly short after all so no time to drag on or anything like that. It’ll be nice if they ever adapt the rest of the series.

Overall 7/10