When Hayao Miyazaki retired from directing anime features in 2013 (albeit temporarily) it seemed likely that his  company Studio Ghibli would eventually close up shop as well. This led Ghibli producer Yoshiaki Nishimura to step out and form his own company. Studio Ponoc opened for business in 2015, and its first anime feature Mary and the Witch’s Flower was directed by former Ghibli director Hiromasa Yonebayashi in 2017. Now its second feature, 2023’s The Imaginary, has come to international audiences via Netflix. Directed by Yoshiyuki Momose (Ni No Kuni), it is a superb piece of work.

Rudger (Kokora Terada) is a boy who lives in an apartment above a bookshop with a young girl named Amanda (Rio Suzuki). Amanda is real; Rudger is not. As her imaginary friend, Rudger shares in Amanda’s flights of fancy and dreamed-up adventures. Their idyllic friendship is threatened with the arrival downstairs of the mysterious Mr Bunting (Issey Ogata): a man who hunts down and eats the imaginary.

The influence of Miyazaki on Studio Ponoc’s output is strong and, in all honesty, to be expected. Director Yoshiyuki Momose worked as an artist, animator, and designer on a raft of Studio Ghibli productions, including Grave of the Fireflies, Porco Rosso, and Spirited Away. At the same time it is difficult to look at The Imaginary‘s hugely inspired and imaginative array of dream worlds and creatures and not be immediately reminded of the late Satoshi Kon’s similarly imagined masterpiece Paprika. In many respects The Imaginary settles into being a cross between the two aesthetics, combined with the pastel-coloured storybook aesthetic of Momose’s videogame and film works Ni No Kuni.

The beautiful visuals might suggest a particularly soft, gentle film for children, but The Imaginary boasts a far more literary sense of drama and adventure. This is no surprise – the film is based on a novel by A.F. Harrold – but it is striking how strong the sense of peril and mild horror actually is. It is perfectly suitable for children, but it might give nervous parents some pause. As far as family entertainment goes, The Imaginary hews a closer line to Dahl’s The Witches than Bond’s Paddington.

Kenji Tamai’s musical score is evocative and dramatic. The film boasts a starry voice cast as well, no matter your language preference. The Japanese dub includes the likes of Rio Suzuki (Dororo), Sakura Ando (Shoplifters, Godzilla Minus One) and Akira Terao (Ran, After the Rain). English-speaking audiences get Hayley Atwell (Captain America), Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar), and LeVar Burton (Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation). Viewers should, as always, feel free to watch whatever combination of dubs and subtitles they enjoy the most.

The Imaginary is a fantastic new addition to a long-running tradition of exceptional Japanese fantasies. Not only that, but it is a major improvement over Ponoc’s previous feature Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Hopefully they continue producing such high-quality entertainment for many years to come.