Despite being an animated film, "Miss Hosukai" is not a film for children nor was it ever intended to be. Instead, it's a very melancholy portrait of the life of the famed Japanese artist Hosukai and his daughter, O-Ei and it's seen through his eyes. But it's not a normal biography, as you only see bits an pieces of one period of Hosukai's life. If you want to learn a lot about the guy, you're better off reading a biography. The story itself is VERY meandering and this lack of direction to the film made it difficult viewing for me. You see how flawed a man Hosukai was and MOST of the information about him and O-Ei is learned at the very end through a very brief prologue. Beautifully animated but otherwise the film left me very cold and left me wanting to know more.

It's 1814 Edo, Japan. Tetsuzo is a famous painter. He lives with his daughter O-Ei. She also paints but he often critiques her work harshly. Zenjiro is a hanger-on, a former samurai who turned to painting. O-Ei hates Zenjiro's inferior work and ridicules him as Zen Zero. She often visits her blind half-sister O-Nao who lives with her mother and Tetsuzo rarely visits due to his aversion of the sick.

This evokes a time and place. It paints two great characters. The plot is episodic in nature and I would like more in terms of plot development. I love the woman haunted by O-Ei's painting. There are great bits of a story. I don't know if O-Ei's character development is enough. I am intrigued by her visit to the brothel but it comes to nothing. In the end, she marries but it's left to a postscript text. The script needs a plot development rewrite. It paints a beautiful picture but the picture doesn't really move. Does she become a great artist? Does she find true love? Does sex release her artistry? Is she gay? Does death give her art new depths? There are so many questions but this movie is reluctant to answer them.

I have to admit this is not my favorite style of anime.

I am the type that grew up on Dragonball Z and Akira, but at the same time, I can appreciate things like The Wind Rises and From Up on Poppy Hill.

I wish I felt the same about Miss Hokusai, but I don't. It's one of those stories that does not need animation to be told. Not much of it did anything to exploit the use of this technique. it was very standard.

On top of that, I thought the story was dull. based on the credits it's a loosely true story but most likely this woman's actual story would have been more interesting.

Good for a few amusing laughs but not my cup of tea