This is a nice anime film - its got one or two mildly risque images, hence the 12 rating. The plot I found a little confusing but I enjoyed it for the nice landscapes and charming music, which is mostly light, airy and playful, traditional instrumental type music, with a sense of reminiscence I felt. I enjoyed the depictions of paintings - of course there's an irony, with such an animated film in itself depicting paintings within it. Most of the film features young children and indeed childhood innocence is a big part of the film. I thought some scenes were quite endearing, one example being seeing a young child playing with snow. I was a bit disappointed that it seemed the viewer wasn't shown too much time with the famous painter himself, Katsushika Hokusai. Of course the film is called Miss Hokusai and so it focusses on his daughter but I would have been interested to have seen a bit more of things from his perspective, although the story of the daughter, O-Ei, is interesting too. These people are, of course, real people, there was a famous painter called Hokusai etc. and so that appealed to me, as I love a good true story. I liked that at the end, there's more information given by way of text, which I assume to be accurate. I would recommend this to fans of anime who like a good 'based on a true story' film, although if your hoping for a thorough in depth film about Katsushika Hokusai's life then this may well disappoint you.

A Beautiful Animated Biopic that shines a light on a person that is forgotten worldwide

Probably one of the most earnest animated features with equal value of wonderment towards the humane beauty behind the captivating, hefty, passionately driven factual characters. (A-)

Beautiful and contemplative anime with adult themes and definitely not for children or people with the attention span of a gnat.

A charming depiction of Japanese folklore.

interesting animated movie from Studio Ghibli looking at the life of a young lady in Japan in the early 1800's

Beautiful and well written movie!

A feature that gets by solely on its animated details, "Miss Hokusai" never invested me as emotionally as well as it did visually.

Beautiful anime both for lovers of traditional anime and the artists known as Katsushika Hokusai and his daughter Katsushika Oi. The artwork that Hokusai is most known for is called The Great Wave. It is almost a puzzle hunt, looking for the art among the beautiful images of this film. Hokusai focused artwork on landscapes and images of Japanese people from all levels of society. However, this is primarily an anime about family, living your life and dedication. While there is a sadness, the movie does end on a positive feeling. No doubt assisted by the soundtrack. The details of Hokusai's life are not in documentary/fact format, but the viewer will get a true feel for his art and life by just watching and absorbing.

Well animated with a vibrant colour palette, the visuals are lovely to look at and the attention to detail concerning the surroundings is impressive and really allows you to immerse yourself in that period, but while the subject matter is an unusual and refreshing breath of fresh air, the presentation feels somewhat disjointed and doesn't flow very smoothly. The film opts to show the everyday life and struggle of an artist (a lot of discarded sketches, trying to find some sort of inspiration etc.) and doesn't put a lot of focus on the triumphs and successes, instead putting Miss Hokusai's relationships with others front and centre. Unfortunately, it didn't make for engaging viewing and, apart from a couple of scenes, lacked emotion and impact. In the end, it feels like the film's reach exceeds its grasp and the appropriately contemplative tone that it strives for is just not there -- watching how Miss Hokusai deals with subjects such as family, love, intimacy and the supernatural, as well as how these things affected her as a woman and a female artist in 19th century Japan, should have been a lot more interesting than it was. I can't tell you it's bad, or even that it's not enjoyable in parts; it's just not great.

The animation for this movie was outstanding. The story on the other hand though felt a bit jumbled. It was a collection of short stories all gathered into one movie.

Miss Hokusai after thoughts: a huge fan & follower of Japanese art, this film was well received by me. The drawing & anime depicted throughout the story was gracefully orchestrated. Favorite art piece by the famed artist Hokusai or Tetsuzo, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," is shown in this film that was a true Plus! Story was easy to follow but adult themed in nature. Something about the whole film reminded me of my passion for Okinawa & I enjoyed the characters. The rock music at some points was a bit distracting but overall do recommend watching for any Japanese fans. Thank you, Jacksonville Public Library! ????????????.5 of 5 (3.5 of 5)

Miss Hokusai is a historical animated feature about a woman, O-Ei who works with her father, the famous Hokusai, in making the best painting possible during Edo, Japan in 1814. The film explores a lot of deep meaning under Japanese folklore and proverbs. You will have to keep your eyes and ears focused often, but it is a very nicely done explored film basing in Japanese art. The animation style is nicely done with the expertise of how old schoo Tokyo (Edo) was drawn out. At one point, you can get a very nice detail of the bridge when Miss Hokusai and her sister rode their boat under it. It may not be superb to some popular anime you have seen if you compare art style but the classic Japanese art cannot be dismissed in this movie because it seem to mix in very well with the focused characters. Miss Hokusai has a good soundtrack to play with the theme of the film. The story may be missing some point on the plot but the objective is for O-Ei to make use of the art to help people fight away the demons of their paintings. O-Ei does her style of art very well and it amazes some folks but she cannot impress her father too soon. The half-sister of O-Ei is the motivation that will drive O-Ei to getting to where she goes in her artistic journey. Miss Hokusai is a fascinating,historical, educational, literature film that you may want to view if you want to see more of the heart of Japan.

Miss Hokusai is a graceful, quiet biopic that blends historical fiction, magical realism, and beautiful animation. I would recommend it, though it might be for special tastes.

I was greatly disappointed in this film. It had great promise, but fell short in so many ways. Lot's of little interesting side stories and characters left undeveloped. There were numerous parts left opened and not in a curious "use you're imagination" type of way. I appreciated the beauty of the art but it ended about there. I kept trying to decide which way the story could possibly go but by the last 30mins I could tell the answer wad absolutely nowhere. Even the "rock track" felt out of place with the entire movie. The pace was also unsettling. There would be a slow and calm mood and then BAM a high speed chase out of nowhere evoking suspense to then only reveal an emotionless reaction by our lead character. It felt completely contrived and I would never recommend to anyone.

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.

While the trailer had me excited for this movie, the pacing and story telling were lacking.

Su ritmo lento esta bien compensado con una historia poetica y un fino, delicado estilo de animacion que tiene su encanto. A ver.

This lovely thoughtful film recaps the real events of a famous Japanese artist. It provides an interesting commentary on artistic vision and how different perspectives effect our realities. A little slow but and not quite as magical as it should be. But very good and good looking

Beautiful animation, unconventional and at times disjointed narrative gives the story a broad scope and does not quite diminish the enjoyment of it.