This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It's only fitting that an artist like Katsushika Hokusai should have his life story told in anime, as it is in the gorgeously rendered "Miss Hokusai," because it's the perfect medium to capture the combination of painterly beauty and otherworldliness that infused his work.

If you're not familiar with Hokusai's work, in the early half of the 19th century in Edo (now Tokyo), there's one image you will probably know: a massive tidal wave curving around the distant image of Mount Fuji. That's "The Great Wave Off Kanazawa," an iconic print produced in the 1820s.

The movie — adapted from Hanako Sugiura's popular manga biography — introduces Hokusai as a cantankerous artist in a disheveled house where the line between living space and workspace has been obliterated. He shares this space with his daughter, O-Ei (the "Miss" of the title), who is as nearly as talented an artist as her father.

Like her father, O-Ei is drawn to the unusual and dynamic sights in Edo, all the better to paint them later. She hears the alarms of the fire brigade and rushes to watch the flames. She accepts an invitation to a brothel so she can watch a famous courtesan sleep — when the madam's spirit seems to leave her body.

Her father and his drunken protégé, Zinjaro, note her painting skill, but also her lack of life experience. When O-Ei paints "pillow pictures" (the polite term for erotica), her female figures are spectacular but her males are inadequate — because she's a virgin and has never seen a naked man having sex. On commission, she paints a depiction of hell so convincing the buyer believes it's haunted, until Hokusai ties up the loose ends by adding a Buddha figurine, thus giving the owner's demons somewhere to go.

The story focuses mainly on O-Ei, as she struggles to create beautiful images and develop a style outside the shadow of her famous father. O-Ei also has a strong relationship with her blind kid sister, O-Nao, and a budding suitor in Koto, a fellow painter and acolyte of her father.

Director Keiichi Hara and his team apply their animation skills not just to re-creating Hokusai and O-Ei's images (that tidal wave pops up early, providing an aha moment for the art-school novices) but to the rich details of their Edo surroundings. They also stretch the animation, using supernatural imagery to suggest the ways inspiration strikes talented and temperamental artists. The results make "Miss Hokusai" a visually rich look at the often messy act of creation.

Twitter: @moviecricket —

HHH

'Miss Hokusai'

A striking biography of a legendary Japanese painter, seen through the eyes of his talented daughter.

Where • Broadway Centre Cinemas.

When • Opens Friday.

Rating • PG-13 for mature thematic material including sexual situations and images.

Running time • 90 minutes; matinees dubbed in English, evening screenings in Japanese with subtitles.