ANI-MOVIES, *Junkers Come Here

An all-ages anime movie from 1995, Junkers Come Here was a Bandai production that wasn't put out in America until 2003. Director Junichi Sato worked on this after he did the first season of the original Sailor Moon anime series. The screenplay was written by Naoto Kine who is a musician in the new wave band TM Network and based on a series that books he wrote that were eventually turned into a manga plus this anime adaptation. It is a fresh idea about a girl with a talking dog, although that's nothing to unusual for American audiences who grew up on Hanna-Barbera, however this is more a family drama as it contends with divorce and coming-of-age.

Hiromi is a troubled 11-year-old Japanese girl whose parents are always separated by their careers, although she is fortunate enough to have quirky housekeeper plus a live-in tutor, a handsome young man named Keisuke who Hiromi has a crush on. Hiromi's other salvation is her dog Junkers which is pronounced "Yoon-kers" who for some unexplained reason can talk. The audience is never given any backstory about Hiromi first found out about her pet's extraordinary ability, so we're just expected to just go with it as talking dogs are not a natural occurrence in this world. Junkers abilities seem to go even beyond talking as he claims he can grant three wishes, and whether or not this is all in Hiromi's head is up to the viewer to interpret. Hiromi's parents are talking about getting a divorce because of their conflicting schedules, so how she takes advantage of Junkers' wish-granting plays out as to the authenticity of any fantasy elements are seriously in question.

Junkers Come Here has gorgeously fluid animation with bright backgrounds, and there's even a bit near the end which appears to be heavily inspired by The Snowman. The storytelling is very slice-of-life with some supernatural spice thrown in for good measure. The dub is subpar even with Light Yagami himself, Brad Swaile, playing Keisuke, and most of the rest of the cast giving watered down performances. The movie has been released DVD by Bandai Entertainment and is available on streaming, so this would make for a somewhat charming watch for the whole family even if it's not as memorable as your average Studio Ghibli feature.