The art here is rawer and more idiosyncratic than some other anime, and there is a pleasing matter-of-factness about fleshy matters - drinking, sex, sickness - even as the more abstract question of art's practice and power is under consideration.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 11, 2016

Visually gorgeous but doesn't adequately capture a compelling figure.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 3, 2016

The animation is superb, with fine attention to period detail, and director Keiichi Hara's use of modern music - some of it rock-infused - is apt accompaniment to a story of a young woman who lives life boldly by refusing to bend to cultural norms.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 28, 2016

This plush anime version of Hinako Sugiura's original manga tells a tale in a poetic, episodic fashion.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 28, 2016

Although it's lovely to look at, the movie is disjointed and is told through a seemingly random collection of vignettes, some of which are more memorable than others.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 27, 2016

A sumptuous tapestry of color, shadow, and light.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 27, 2016

The spell "Miss Hokusai" casts is a powerful one that lingers long after the lights go up in the theater.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 24, 2016

There are meditations on mortality, art, relationships, love, fear, sexuality and spirituality in this sumptuous-looking film. They cohere into a portrait of a young woman as complex as any big screen character can be.

| Original Score: B+ | Oct 21, 2016

Director Keiichi Hara achieves a balance between earthiness and aestheticism, suggesting a Japan on the cusp of modernity.

| Oct 20, 2016

It feels much longer than its 90 minutes, and I left it feeling like I didn't really learn much about its title character or her father.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 14, 2016

While it's not entirely kid-friendly, this portrait of an artist is both enchanting and thought provoking.

| Oct 13, 2016

Creating worlds with images is a form of magic. Miss Hokusai demonstrates that simply, with its extraordinary simulation of sunlight streaming through O'Ei's spread fingers.

| Oct 13, 2016

[An] unusual, visually adventurous animated feature, simultaneously modern and steeped in Japanese culture and history.

| Oct 13, 2016

Miss Hokusai is a lovely biopic, even if it never quite picks up and focuses on a single thread. (Then again, neither does life.)

| Oct 12, 2016

The "roaming hands" dream is one of Miss Hokusai's most memorable set pieces, but it's far from the only standout.

| Original Score: B+ | Oct 12, 2016

That an anime film can explore such complex subjects so beautifully in what's nominally an artist's biopic is a blessing in itself.

| Oct 12, 2016

It is an interesting work, delicately and discreetly animated, with a quiet visual coup in its final moments when the Edo (as it was then called) of 1814 is dreamily replaced by the Tokyo of the 21st century.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 12, 2016

The annals of Western art are woefully sparse when it comes to female painters, which is just one of perhaps a dozen reasons that Miss Hokusai comes as such a refreshing anomaly among anime exports.

| Oct 12, 2016

It condenses everyday interactions, memories, and dreams into a potent mix of all the major ingredients of a well-lived life.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 10, 2016

Miss Hokusai is a high-profile Japanese anime that is completely (and refreshingly) devoid of fantastical creatures, floating castles and sharpshooting cyborgs.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 4, 2016