Labyrinth is Proof That Kids Shouldn't Have Cell Phones

Macross creator's first original feature film is incredibly disjointed

Director Shoji Kawamori is best known for creating the Macross mecha anime franchise which has had a significant impact on Japanese Anime and animation-at-large. While he's been directly involved with many of the spin-offs and sequels, he hasn't really strayed away from the franchise that made him famous. That's until he started this project, Labyrinth, which is an anime original film. It has many of Macross' best known elements weaved into the production like– singing can save the universe, alternate dimensions, and yes, even giant battle robots. It sounds good on paper, but Labyrinth is overstuffed with ideas. It doesn't work and even when we've finally met the big conclusion, this is one concert that doesn't ring true.

Labyrinth follows high school girl Shiori Maezawa, who has aspirations of fame, but can't ignore the negative thoughts from stopping her. This anxiety has plagued her ever since she was 10-years-old when Shiori and her friend, Kirara, posted a video on social media of the two of them dancing. Kirara's social media account got over 150 likes, while her account only got about 15. She believes she'll never be as popular and loved as her friend. So one day when they are trying to go viral again, Shiori has a panic attack and tumbles down a flight of stairs. It's incredibly embarrassing for Shiori and she'd rather not relive that moment, but when the video of her fall shows up online, she instantly gets the attention that she craved.

This seismic event in Shiori's life leads to a fracture of her entire being. The side of her that has been timid and anxious has been whisked away into a fantasy realm filled with talking phone stickers and inescapable loneliness. Meanwhile her fame seeking persona transforms into a big time social media influencer, striving to hit 100 million "likes." These two alter egos communicate through the broken screen of Shiori's cell phone, as her influencer persona takes hold of society.

So the main thrust of the movie is about an anxious Shiori proving that she's loveable and deserving of inclusion alongside her famous alter ego. But Shiori only has a limited window in order to do this; once the battery on her phone dies she'll turn into a talking phone sticker herself. Yes, Labyrinth spends a lot of its time over cell phone battery woes that could be solved with an external battery charger. I'm sure those exist in Japan and guess what? During the finale someone even produces an external cell phone charger, but that doesn't have enough juice in it either.

What I haven't gotten to yet is that there is an evil mastermind, Suguru Kagami, behind this personality splitting world. He plans on using Shiori's newfound fame to push his scheme onto the unsuspecting populace. We don't know how old he really is, but he does have a thing for 17-year-old Shiori, which is quite disturbing in its own right.

At its core, Labyrinth wants to explore the personas we create online and how they differ from our real lives. What I took away from the film was how children really shouldn't be given cell phones. I thought a lot about a recent book, "The Anxious Generation," which discusses keeping smartphones away from children until 14 and delaying any social media until 16. How much were Shiori and Kirara's lives affected by the social media attention they were seeking? That's probably the bigger argument that Labyrinth should've made, but instead its climax includes giant mechs and music, like all of Kawamori's other titles.

I really wanted to like Labyrinth, but none of its many plot deviations amount to much. If you are looking for an intro to Kawamori's better works look at Macross. I would suggest you skip a trip into this madness. [D]

Labyrinth is opening in limited theaters on May 10th and 11th