Book Review: Mirai by Mamoru Hosoda

“You think it’s a lie?” “Who knows? That’s why we call it a story.”

Little Kun isn’t too happy about the latest addition to his family. With the arrival of a new baby sister in the house, he worries his parents may not love him as much as they used to…But when a teenage girl shows up and tells Kun that she is his sister from the future, it may be that there’s more to this new relationship than Kun ever could’ve dreamed! (Goodreads)

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I was so thrilled when I first saw this book because it is created by one of my favorite animators–Mamoru Hosoda. He produced the legendary animated films “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” and “Summer Wars”. Now his most recent film “Mirai” (2018) is also available as a short novel and I couldn’t be happier! Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Yen On for giving me a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a series of dream-like adventures of a young boy who is struggling to accept the changes in his family set off by the arrival of his little sister. It is full of lovely sceneries and gorgeous (dream)worldbuilding as can only be expected from Mamoru Hosoda.

It is lovely to watch the main character’s development towards finally finding his place within his family. It is, however, not just about the young boy’s journey but his parents’ journey as well.

“As he grew, his parents wanted to remember every moment along the way, but they could hardly keep up with him from one day to the next.”

They say that when a child is born, a mother is born, too. But that’s not all—in a way we can say that a father is born, grandparents are born, and a big brother or big sister is born, too. Indeed it’s a major event with momentous impact to all of the members of the family.

“I’m trying to do my best raising the kids while I’m working…but when I stop to think about it, all I ever do is get mad. I worry I’m not doing a good job as a mother.”

Knowing how to raise and discipline my son is one of my biggest concerns at the moment. I am thankful to this story for giving me the insight I needed. It reminded me a lot of the time when we were just starting our small family. It seems like there are always equal parts of joy and worry.

“…Kids are so amazing. All of a sudden, one day, they’re just able to do things without anyone teaching them how.”

One of my main takeaways is that we shouldn’t forget the children we once were to be able to understand our young ones. In addition, the story also reminded me that we are products of our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and all their stories and experiences are always a part of us. Family history are memories we should all cherish and learn from, and enriched with stories of our own we have yet to make. 🌸

Overall Rating: 3.5/5⭐️

About the Author

Mamoru Hosoda (細田守 Hosoda Mamoru, born September 19, 1967) is a Japanese film director and animator.

Formerly employed at Toei Animation, Hosoda went to work at Madhouse from 2005 to 2011. Hosoda left Madhouse in 2011 to establish his own animation studio, Studio Chizu with Yuichiro Saito who produced “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006 film)” and “Summer Wars”. He first came to public attention in the early 2000s with the first two films in the Digimon Adventure series and the sixth film in the One Piece series. From the late 2000s, he earned critical acclaim with several other films, including 2006’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, 2009’s Summer Wars, 2012’s Wolf Children, 2015’s The Boy and the Beast, and 2018’s Mirai.