Three main problems hinder Make a Girl as a film. First is its premise. Akira skillfully brought Zero, a living, breathing girl to life, literally, from nothing. Born as a teenager, the girl raised in his laboratory knew from birth all the information necessary to survive in human society (such as language skills and critical thinking )—even if she lacks the experience to use that data correctly. And to be clear, this isn't an everyday occurrence in the world of this film — other people don't just go around being teenagers on a whim.
Even so, no one batted an eye that Akira had created life. His friends just sighed in exasperation, and his fellow scientists found her interesting but not much more than that. What he did was reasonably world-shaking, but without government intervention or social outcry. People don't seem to think it's a big deal.
Starting from the premise issues, we have the next big problem: tone. Much of the movie is silly and fun, focusing on Zero adjusting to life in human society and trying to figure out his role as Akira's girlfriend. It's so light-hearted that, considering what should be a serious subject, it feels wrong. It almost feels like there's been some major shift in the work—like the whole world was made up or a dream or something. Suppressing skepticism is extremely difficult. Then comes the final climax, which is so intense and graphically violent that it feels like part of a different (and much more interesting) movie.
And here we come to the film's final vexing problem: its subject matter. When it comes to this issue, Make a Girl focuses on the question of free will. Does Zero love Akira because she was born that way or are all her feelings her own? But more than that, how could she prove it one way or another? That is the personal dilemma at the heart of the film. The problem is that instead of actually developing and exploring this conundrum, the film goes straight for testing it in the most extreme way. And while it makes for an exciting, visceral climax, the film has no theme to lay the groundwork for such an overreaction.
Of course, the movie isn't all bad—even among the above problems there are many interesting elements. An interesting aspect of the film is that the hero and villain face similar struggles. They're both banging their heads against the wall trying to understand the greatest scientific mind of the last generation: Akira's mother. They will both have to work hard to try and improve — to step out of the shadow of such a wonderful woman. But the pressure weighs heavily on their souls and causes them both to do things they regret. In this regard, their core problem is the same: both are unable to understand Akira's mother's thought process and are therefore unable to continue her work or even build upon it. .
Another interesting development is the investigation about love. While romantic love is the catalyst, the film also focuses on family love. It also has some fun playing with the idea of love triangles, childhood best friends, and how people use their roles in other people's lives to fill in the gaps in their lives. their own lives. Essentially, it explores how love can help you see the world in a new way—and can change your life to help you become a more balanced and productive person in the process.
Visually, Make a Girl is a mixed bag. Sometimes a 3D animated film actually looks like a traditional animated film—however, most of the time this is not the case. However, that doesn't mean it looks bad. The more action-packed the scene, the more impressive the film becomes. On the other hand, some notable wide shots are a bit odd. Although 3D models are used in the film, the characters seem to lack detail. There are also some strange frame rate drops in the animation.
The music isn't bad but it's definitely forgettable. Honestly, I can't remember a single beat of it — or even a moment where the music was the least prominent — positive or negative.
Ultimately, Make a Girl suffers from an immature premise, inconsistent tone, and underexplored themes. The animation itself is also filled with ups and downs in terms of quality. Simply put, this is a film with some interesting ideas but poor execution.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
