Masashi Ando, recognized as one of the two directors behind The Deer King, faced a notable professional change when he was dismissed from his post as animation director or supervisor on this project. The news around his departure circulated in industry circles, especially given his long association with some of the most celebrated names in Japanese animation. Ando is frequently discussed alongside legends who shaped modern anime culture, including a figure connected to Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, and another whose work spans Ghost in the Shell and its sequels. The blend of collaborations in Ando’s career highlights a path through a diverse landscape of visual storytelling, where his unique approach to timing, composition, and color has consistently sparked conversation among peers and fans alike. This background sets a context for understanding his impact and the distinct sensibilities he brought to any project he touched.
This film is a journey into adventure and a medieval fantasy landscape that also contends with an epidemic and, above all, the deepening ties that form between two characters who arrive from opposite ends of a spectrum of hostility. The narrative follows a seasoned warrior who has fallen into captivity within salt mines and a survivor girl who endured a brutal massacre wrought by wolf-shaped creatures. As the unlikely pair navigate a perilous world, they race against time to uncover a cure while a disease spreads with the relentlessness of a plague. Ando and his assistant director, Masayuki Miyaji, who also hails from the same studio family, shape the tale with a clarity of medium intensity. Yet what truly makes the film stand out are the moments when the characters break from rigid forms, and the visual engine behind each frame shows a bold confidence in line and movement, delivering a kinetic energy that lingers long after the screen fades. The journey underscores not just a fight against external dangers but a quiet exploration of resilience, trust, and the fragile bonds that can emerge in the most challenging of circumstances.