“Fans of Yasuhiro Yoshiura who enjoyed his first full-length 2010 anime Time of Eve, will undoubtedly love Patema Inverted. It may not be just as immersive as his debut movie, it is, however, another winner.”
by Nav Qateel
Written and directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura, Patema Inverted, like a majority of Japanese animated features, is constructed around a strange yet wonderful idea. Many years ago, scientists were experimenting with gravity. Something went horribly wrong during the experiment, causing the Earth’s gravity to reverse for most of the people, taking them up into the sky never to be seen again.
- Patema Inverted
- Written & Directed by
Yasuhiro Yoshiura - Cast
Yukiyo Fujii, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Shintarô Oohata - Release Date
Out Now - Nav’s Grade: A-
There are now two groups of survivors remaining on Earth; the Aigans, who claim to be the rightful survivors, then there’s the Inverts, who live upside down in an underground facility. The totalitarian rulers of Aiga, led by a cardboard cutout bad guy named Izamura, are keeping the fact a secret that some Inverts still remain. Inverts are seen as sinners that deserved what they got, and in school Aigan children with glazed-over eyes are continually fed the same information: “Aiga is the absolute lone world for humans to live in. There is no world outside of Aiga. Aigans that stand the right way up are the true humans.”
The rebellious Patema is such an Invert. The 14-year-old girl has always been fascinated by what lies outside of her cramped dwelling. After a freak accident, Patima finds herself upside down in Aiga, where she befriends the rebellious Age, an Aigan boy of the same age. Together, Patema and Age take on the establishment and uncover the secrets of their worlds.
*****
Although Patema Inverted is somewhat original, while watching the anime, two movies did spring to mind. Last year’s romantic-sci-fi muddle Upside Down, and the short anime from 2006 Pale Cocoon, also made by Yoshiura. It looks like director Yoshiura took a lot of his own ideas from Pale Cocoon, then expanded them for Patema Inverted. Both anime are about a closed off society with a major secret that needs to be uncovered.
The animation itself is beautifully rendered, particularly when we’re seeing the effects of anti-gravity on the characters. Of course, the science isn’t correct but for the sake of argument, we’ll just pretend it is. Strangely, I couldn’t enjoy anything about Upside Down because of its science, yet I find it easier to forgive those same faults in this instance. Go figure. The characters are drawn in a pleasing style, not unlike that of the master himself, Hayao Miyazaki. The score by Michiru Oshima was where Patema Inverted shone, as her music fit perfectly with each scene, elevating the entire production considerably. It’s no surprise the talented Oshima is sought after by so many.
Fans of Yasuhiro Yoshiura who enjoyed his first full-length 2010 anime Time of Eve, will undoubtedly love Patema Inverted. It may not be just as immersive as his debut movie, it is, however, another winner. It’s also one of the best anime I’ve seen this year.
