Scarlet

This year’s most spectacular anime adventure, loosely inspired by Hamlet, follows the princess and swordfighter Scarlet, who must choose between the path of revenge and that of forgiveness.

Oscar-nominated Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai, The Boy and the Beast) delivers a visually grand epic rooted in Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. But rather than strictly following the original, Hosoda transforms the tale into a powerful showdown between good and evil in a timeless, surreal realm of the dead. Princess Scarlet’s vengeful quest after her father’s death is interrupted by a young man from our own world, carrying more peaceful ideals. Scarlet is a visual feast and a narratively ambitious tale of grief, vengeance, and reconciliation.

• Johan Blomqvist