Finally arriving for its limited Canadian run this weekend, after being released stateside weeks ago, is the newest release from Studio Ghibli’s acquisition shingle GKIDS, Another World. This Chinese animated film set records in its homeland, becoming the highest grossing film at the Hong Kong box office for 2025, as well as the highest grossing Hong Kong animated film in history. And while this is under the GKIDS label, Another World is not made for children in any way as it’s a dense and sometimes violent exploration of grief, despair, guilt and ultimately, forgiveness.

Gudo (Chung Suet Ying) is a Soul Keeper in a place called Another World. His job is to escort the recently arrived souls that have left earth after their demise and guide them through the path of reincarnation. But one day, he comes across a distraught young girl, Yuri (Choi Hui Tung) who has no idea she is deceased, but instead is frantically looking for her younger brother. She’s the only soul he’s encountered that isn’t solemn and disheartened due to her overwhelming concern for her brother, and this intrigues him to find out more.

After spending days upon end wandering through Another World, Gudo finally decides he needs to show Yuri what happened to forward her along her path. But the gruesome actions of the past only stir up feelings of hatred and anger within Yuri, causing her to become dangerously close to transforming into a ‘Wrath’, a vengeful spirit capable of destroying both Another World and Earth. Gudo, desperate to save his friend, strikes a deal with the goddess (Kay Tse) to look over Yuri and ensure she does not give in and turn for a millennium. At that point, she can then  properly reincarnate without the threat of being a Wrath.

The biggest issue with Another World is just how dense the writing and storytelling is, a fact that is also exacerbated by the constant time jumping. Time jumps here without context, happening through most of the first hour of the film. This is a film that requires the audience to unravel where they are in the story themselves, which can cause some major confusion at times. In fact, a lot of what is happening doesn’t start coming into focus until the final third of the film, but by then most of the audience will have drawn their own conclusion. This is a film that will challenge audiences, and will likely not be too engaging for children. It also features sporadic fits of violence that certainly makes this film aimed at teenagers and above.

The animation though is spectacular. Director Tommy Ng Kai Chung has delivered a visual treat that should be seen. And despite the denseness of the film, the voice acting from the cast combined with compelling visuals and stunning character design should be enough to keep the more engaged of audiences enthralled throughout. Despite some of the more impenetrable moments of the film, I myself was sucked in by the visuals and acting enough that I was sucked in until the final frames. And the finale makes it worth the journey.

Tough, dense and at times, unyielding, Another World isn’t the time of film that you can simply turn off your brain and enjoy. At times infuriating, while heart wrenching at others, Another World demands your attention just to keep up with what’s going on. But it does reward its audience with a final act that they should all be able to get behind. Another World is currently on a limited run in Toronto at the Fox Theater, with a VOD run scheduled for later this summer.