siderite The animation looked shoddy from the start, especially facial expressions, but I thought I would give this Korean anime a chance. It is about two close childhood friends that meet when they are adults and reminisce about the good old times. Or at least, this my interpretation of the vague plot. The reality of the film is that these two adults meet, you get a feeling they are old friends, and then there they are, as children, for the rest of the movie.Now, the story is something of a childhood fantasy, where the two boys find a magical marble that transposes them into an alternate reality. It doesn't happen all the time, only at random moments that seem to have no connection to what goes on around. Then there are bits of school and personal life that defines the characters. It all ends when one of the boys has to leave for Seoul.I felt it tried to be a Korean Miyazaki clone, but failed. The animation could have been better, but then again, if the story was good, I could have ignored it. The story was good in principle, too, with the childhood friendship, the mysterious girl (I guess she was a girl) from the fantasy world, the fluffy things, etc. However, it was all fragmented, unclear, like they wanted to make a series and then they collapsed all into a anime movie, with only the relevant bits salvaged for the end product.Bottom line: If they wanted a masterpiece of atmosphere and animation, they couldn't do it. If they thought they were doing something with a deep plot and emotional story, they failed. The result is somewhat in the middle, not one nor the other, and feels unnatural, broken.

jpb58 This was my first-watched Korean anime, from director Seong-Kang Lee, called My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002). The artwork and the music are truly beautiful. This looked different from much Japanese anime I've seen. In many of those anime they seem to try and hide Japanese facial features (i.e. minimize slanted eyes). In this film the children look Korean. I think it's refreshing.The story is about a withdrawn boy named Nam Woo whose father committed suicide. His mother is starting to date again and he's feeling neglected and ignored; even when the mother tries to arrange outings for her and her son and her new love interest Nam Woo has to be cajoled into going. He'd rather stay home and play with his cat.The boy has one close male friend; they are almost like brothers, however this friend is about to go away to boarding school, leaving Nam Woo feeling even more deserted by the people he loves. His grandmother has a heart attack and is sent to the hospital. Possibly another death in the family.Dealing with all the angst of growing up is never easy and so begins the strange adventure, whether real or imagined - it's never fully revealed, between Nam Woo and a beautiful voiceless girl who appears before him whenever he visits the top of the local lighthouse and rubs a marble with a tiny female image inside. Mari lives on the back of a giant white-pink dog who appears in the sky like a cloud. She takes Nam Woo on beautiful journeys and helps him to heal from his loneliness and sense of abandonment.Nam Woo's friend's father owns a charter boat and one day he's out doing an extra run to make money for his son's school tuition, when a huge storm appears over the water and shoreline. Nam Woo implores his friend to come with him and they run to the lighthouse, hoping that Mari can stop the storm and prevent the man's death. But Mari won't come when Nam Woo rubs the marble. The lighthouse is breaking up and it looks like a tidal wave is about to hit. Suddenly a bolt of lightning hits the lighthouse and Mari descends from on high, spreading a veil of peace, light, and beauty around everyone, calming the sea. The friend's father is saved.The friend goes off to his new school on the train, and as a parting gift Nam Woo hands him a little box. Inside is the treasured marble.Several years pass and Nam Woo and his friend are grown men. They have jobs in different parts of the country. The friend makes an effort to visit Nam Woo however -- and at the train station where they say goodbye the friend hands Nam Woo back the little box with the marble inside.Perhaps My Beautiful Girl Mari was a little slow at the start, but it's a dreamy, relaxing picture and so you should be prepared to be in a quiet room when you watch it, without disturbances, so you can enjoy its particular style of magic. 9 out of 10. If you love anime, don't miss it.

Jay Sondh-Panesar Just as the above user states - a unique and visually stunning animation piece from Korea! Highly recommended!Namoo, a young boy living with his mother and grandmother, explores an old lighthouse with his friend Junho and his cat, Yeo. They discover a mysterious marble which transports them to a rich and vibrant fantasy world.Unavailable outside of Korea? - Well, I recently (May 2004) imported the Region 3 DVD to the UK from Hong Kong for a very low price. Beautiful cover - that's what initially grabbed my attention! I'm certainly glad it did! My copy's entitled "Love Fantasy* My Beautiful Girl, Mari". Seek it out!

anthropomorphisminc South Korea is a country mostly known in the animation industry for provided low cost labor in the completion of animation from other countries. Mari Iyagi is one, bright, shining attempt to show the originality and amazing work that Korean animators are capable of. It's a lone gun in the ambitiousness of such a project, and sadly, due to it's disappointing box office figures, may be for a long time.To describe the visual style of the film, I can only say to take a little touch of Samurai Jack, a heaping helping of Myazaki, and a dash of Waking life (minus the lack of fluidity in animation and pretentiousness of story) to flavor. Then realize that doesn't begin to describe the unique look of this film, that can't be classified as traditional, digital, or 3d. It's a remarkable blend of Flash, Traditional, rotoscoping, and 3D Studio Max that captures both realistic environments and fantasy worlds like none other. The story builds up nicely, until it reaches the end and never goes anywhere, but for all the times it made me laugh out loud, feel for a character, or gape in awe, I forgave it.It's not looking as though this film will get much of a release outside Korea, but if you ever get the chance to see it, don't let it slip by.