北極百貨店のコンシェルジュさん

HOKKYOKU HYAKKATEN NO CONCIERGE-SAN

MOVIE

MOVIE
Dubbed
SOURCE
MANGA
RELEASE
October 20, 2023
LENGTH
70 min

DESCRIPTION

“The word ‘no’ doesn’t exist in a concierge’s dictionary.”

That’s just one of the demanding rules that Akino must abide by in her new job as a saleswoman at the elegant and expansive Hokkyoku Department Store. It’s a very special store — the customers are all animals, and the most valued among them are of extinct species. Sea minks, laughing owls, Japanese wolves, even an enormous mammoth — that’s Mr. Woolly, the celebrated sculptor whose works are showcased at the store. It’s still a luxury retail space, though, and anxious Akino finds her hands full with the customers’ challenging requests. These range from hard-to-find merchandise to more complicated matters of the heart. Can the inexperienced Akino fulfill their whims and meet their expectations? If she wants to keep her job, she’ll have to succeed while under constant observation by the fussy floor manager Mr. Toudou, a creepy consultant eager to downsize the staff, and the store’s enigmatic president (who is not a penguin, by the way!).

(Source: Fantasia International Film Festival, edited)

CAST

Akino
Natsumi Kawaida
Elulu
Takeo Ootsuka
Woolly
Kenjirou Tsuda
Warai Fukurou Tsuma
Sumi Shimamoto
Barbary Lion
Ayumu Murase
Neko
Sumire Morohoshi
Umibeminku Musume
Minako Kotobuki
Iwase
Natsumi Fujiwara
Warai Fukurou Otto
Danshun Tatekawa
Barbary Lion Kanojo
Emiri Suyama
Gokurakuinko
Risa Shimizu
Maruki
Eiji Yoshitoshi
Umibeminku Chichi
Hiroshi Yanaka
Toudou
Nobuo Tobita
Osukujaku
Hiroki Nanami
Kyuujichou
Jun Fukuyama
Nihon Ookami Kanojo
Kana Hanazawa
Karibu Monkuazarashi
Kyouko Hikami
Mori
Megumi Han
Nihon Ookami
Miyu Irino
Tokiwa
Yuuichi Nakamura
Mesukujaku
Maria Kano

RELATED TO HOKKYOKU HYAKKATEN NO CONCIERGE-SAN

Cover Art for Hokkyoku Hyakkaten no Concierge-san

MANGA FantasyHokkyoku Hyakkaten no Concierge-san

REVIEWS

Mykurr
70/100
Welcome to the Hokkyoku Department Store!
Watching this anime movie makes me believe in the better of people. It conveys the message of how everyone who works all around you, despite the cynical truth of just wanting the paycheck at the end of the day, still wants you to at the very least enjoy yourself. This works really well with the animals being part of the setting as a way to display the harmony of society despite certain animals being shaped differently and in size, even accounting that some are natural predators to others. The Concierge is essentially the story of Akino as she begins her job as a concierge in-training, and from this we get to see her slowly get better at her job in entertaining customers. Being able to see her overcome trials and tribulations is just incredibly uplifting and makes it so you really want to root for her in becoming a competent concierge.

What is most likely to hook someone in watching the movie has to be the Hokkyoku Department store itself though, with its colorful cast of animal customers each with their own quirky personalities and wants in arriving at the department store. The highlights of this movie has to be in learning what their problems are and seeing how Akino can help in resolving them, creating this believable environment of a location you want to visit yourself. There was also some grand message about the reason of the Hokkyoku Department Store existing and its ties to the extinction of many animals with a lot of plot points meaning to parallel to real life events but I’ll be honest, I’m no expert in all that but it's definitely interesting to follow especially if you’re knowledgeable on the topic.

Being a feature film, the movie boasts a presentation befitting of its scope. The department store is portrayed beautifully with its bright yet warm colors, and every sector of the building feels incredibly distinct especially the interior of the individual stores. The character designs for the animals make each one distinct from each other which made it easy to differentiate even with the same species, but were also very close to the actual depiction of the animal without resorting too far in anthropomorphizing them. The human characters were also great with their designs really highlighting each personality quirk a person had which can be best seen with how stern the floor manager was and how his figure depicted that. Sound design was also great with a fitting soundtrack exemplifying all of Akino's struggles and solutions in balancing to please her clientele.

Overall the movie was simply entertaining on the base level and is a very comfortable seventy minutes in getting lost in a fantastic imagining of a Department Store following Akino’s struggles. Since it ran for seventy minutes, it’s only natural it would be a 7/10.
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FenrirBlack22
85/100
The Gift of Life Veiled Over the Cruelty of Mankind
The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store is several things besides a anime movie. It's a metaphor for darwinism and evolution as well a reminder for what the Earth has lost due to the selfishness of mankind. Its a story about a women struggling to adapt to her new job at a department store for animals of all shapes and sizes.

The film showcases several species of animals from small to large to giant. The ones the films chooses to focus on are the ones that don't exist anymore. The animals that either couldn't adapt to their environment or were cruelly hunted to extinction. Each animal provides a lesson for our heroine as well as a reminder of their own existence. The best thing this movie does is that is takes the idea of darwinism and survival of the fittest and shows it through the lens of shopping at a department store. The best parts of the film weren't the ones where Akino struggled then overcame the challenges brought forth by the animal customers but the times where she didn't do it alone. Two prime examples were the barbary lion and japanese wolf segments. In both cases it took a group of animals and humans respectively to solve each case. A beautiful metaphor for that idea that the lives of creatures are supported by others. Humans coming together to solve problems and maybe if animals had that same level of support they could as well. But that is just human ego talking but it's a nice thought. When different creatures come together maybe things could have been different. Maybe different species could have relied on the skills of others to survive against a threat that no individual animal or species could have on their own.

Metaphor is the most important aspect of this film. It is even brought up within the film that the entire department store itself is a fantasy playground. A place where animals of all kinds can come and be waited on by humans in an attempt to apologize for their wrongdoings. A place where survival of the fittest doesn't exist and animals can shop not for anything the need to live but simply for the joy of it. Truly a first world blessing.

The movie itself was well animated with beautiful unique backgrounds and well drawn animal characters. They were anthropomorphized buy not in a human way. They were simply themselves but bipedal for the most part which is an important distinction to make for a film like this. They have that sense of realism blended with the fantasy of the department store. Another reminder that these are real animals that do exist or at one time did.

The human characters were probably the weakest aspect of the movie aside from Akino. Mr. Todo provides comic relief and commentary but his otherwise cartoony antics do little to either move the plot or add conflict. Granted there is enough conflict working in retail without having your manager breathing down your neck. The other concierge's felt more like filler to add more human elements to the story without adding anything more the plot or conflict. It was actually Mr. Maruki who had the most impact of the minor human cast. An example of how cruel age and experience is in survival but how not being able to adapt to a rapidly changing environment is detrimental to one's chances of survival. Despite being seen for a brief section of the film, he is a paradox of a character but that's what makes him so critical to the story as a whole. He mattered not just for the plot but for the message and theme the movie was trying to convey.

The animal characters were of course the strongest aspect of the movie. Providing insight to their real life counter parts behaviors through the lens of department store shoppers. The variety and circumstances each one conveyed was nothing short than enjoyable to watch. They even included every retail worker's nightmare in the form of an impossible to please shopper. The fact that the movie takes place around Christmas was a very nice touch given the setting. There were so many little things that make this movie so great.

The ending was the best part. All the story line came together and we got to see all of Akino's hard work come to fruition. The lions filmed the past characters we met and we the audience got to experience a beautiful scene of al the different animals being showcased. A message of "we are still here". There were some parts the film's metaphor and message that were heavy handed. The fact that Great Auk went extinct the same year the first department store opened in Paris was a slap in the face. How many of those animals showcased were killed for satisfy the same human greed that first store was built for. The ice sculpture breaking as a symbol for the end of a species life. Nothing last forever. Life is a fleeting melting ice. But instead of being sad about it, move forward and try to find joy in the present. That is my personal feelings to what the movie was trying to convey. But I might not be correct and there may be no one correct interrelation of the movies message. That's what makes it a truly beautiful film. The subtext is whatever the viewer wants it to be. It can be examined in multiple ways and from multiple perspectives. To me that is the making a great story and a better film.

The Concierge at Hokkyouku Department Store is many things. It is a gift to all the animal species killed by humans, a legacy to their existence so they may never be forgotten, and an apology for what has been lost.
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