Drifting Home (2022)

Kosuke Kumagaya and Natsume Tonai, both 11 years old, are childhood friends who grew up like siblings. The relationship between the two began to be strained after the death of Kosuke's grandfather, Yasuji. One day during the summer vacation, Kosuke and his classmates, Taishi, Yuzuru, Reina, and Juri, sneak into the "ghost housing complex" that has been slated for demolition. The housing complex was also a house full of memories where Kosuke and Natsume grew up. Kosuke unexpectedly encounters Natsume there and hears about the existence of a mysterious boy named Noppo in the complex. The group argues and heavy rain ensues. After the rain had stopped, the housing complex was suddenly drifting in the middle of the ocean.

Drifting Home (2022)

And then something suddenly happens to their befuddlement. Lots of rain is poured onto them and the apartment building, and, what do you know, Kōsuke and other kids are shocked and surprised to find that the apartment building is now drifting alone in the middle of some vast sea for no apparent reason. Furthermore, it turns out that there is indeed a ghost in the apartment, and the ghost, who appears as an older boy called Noppo (voiced by Ayumu Murase), seems to be connected with this inexplicable circumstance surrounding Kōsuke and other kids.

Meanwhile, the story by director Hiroyasu Ishida and his co-writers Hayashi Mori and Minaka Sakamoto attempts to go into more details on what is exactly happening around its young main characters, but what follows next is not particularly interesting on the whole. While it becomes clear to us that our young main characters are stuck in some kind of alternative universe, the film often fails to amaze or enchant us as merely drifting from one point to another, and the sudden inclusion of on substantial supporting character during its last act is rather distracting instead of being surprising or inspiring.

The drama anime follows two childhood friends (Kosuke and Natsume), who grow apart as they get older. But one day during summer vacation, Kosuke, Natsume, and their classmates sneak into their old, haunted apartment complex. While playing, they mysteriously lose consciousness. Once they wake up, they see a vast ocean before them as the apartment complex has drifted into a mysterious sea. The group of friends must then band together to figure out what happened and how to get back home.

At the complex, Kosuke and his friends discover Natsume, an argument breaks out and Natsume almost falls off the roof, but a miraculous phenomenon transports the complex into the middle of a vast ocean. Now Natsume, Kosuke, and their classmates are adrift in a mysterious sea on their childhood home. They must band together to survive and hopefully find a way back home.

Saito echoed the sentiments expressed by Ishida. He added that working on this film with Ishida gave him a sense of nostalgia and appreciation for his childhood home as he has moved around and lived in different cities across Japan. 041b061a72