Not all that glitters is gold in the anime industry, and unfortunately, even great masters can stumble. At a time where franchises like Kimetsu no Yaiba (overcoming the 730 million dollars), Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen they dominate the screens with monstrous figures, the acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda he has encountered a harsh reality. His new movie, Scarlet, has had a disastrous performance in Japan, even failing to secure a place within the top 5 at the box office.
What promised to be one of the hits of the year has become a headache for the production. The film has grossed between 450,000 and 1.9 million dollars, a figure very far from what was expected and which could not compete even close to the compilation Jujutsu Kaisen: Executive. To add salt to the wound, the critical reception has been just as cold: on the platform Filmmarks, the audience has given it an average rating of 2.9, placing it as one of the worst film productions of 2025 (a dubious honor that the third season of streaming holds One Punch Man).
What is Scarlet about?
The story follows an expert medieval princess and swordsman on a quest for revenge for her father's death. After being hurt and ending up in the "Other World", she meets an idealistic young man from our present who helps her heal and shows her a path free of hate. It's a premise about breaking the cycle of revenge, but it seems that this time, the message and execution failed to connect with the Japanese public.
