Drifting Home

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Drifting Home

PG

2022

1h 59m

Adventure

Anime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Kosuke and Natsume have been friends since childhood, but as time goes on the relationship between the two sixth graders seems strained as they keep avoiding one another. One day during their summer vacation, they go to a housing complex that is scheduled to be demolished. Having grown up there, the place holds a lot of memories. While playing, they suddenly get caught up in a mysterious phenomenon and when they regain consciousness, they see an entire ocean before them as the housing complex has drifted into a mysterious sea along with Kosuke and Natsume with it. Will they be able to return to their previous world? A summer farewell journey begins.

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Robbie Collin

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Oct 28, 2022

4/5

'Dreamlike’ is an easy word to swat around with animation – but this strange and beautiful new film from Studio Colorido really does feel like the product of a child’s imagination on rest mode.

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Kambole Campbell

Polygon

Sep 19, 2022

There’s enough liveliness to Drifting Home that two hours in a single location against a minimal background doesn’t actually feel like overkill.

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Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

Sep 16, 2022

The deep strangeness of “Drifting Home” can take some time to adjust to. But in this quirky and boisterous picture, the surreal predicament is ultimately just an offshoot of these kids’ common fears about growing up.

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Charles Hartford

But Why Tho?

Apr 15, 2023

Drifting Home delivers a strong cast and deep emotional moments, even if it leaves too many questions unanswered and gets a bit drawn out in its final act.

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Sam Haysom

Mashable

Sep 23, 2022

Weird, surreal, imperfect, and — despite its faults — memorably beautiful.

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Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

Sep 22, 2022

4/5

It has some of the perpetual problems of anime, such as at least one character too many and some overwrought emo melodrama. Fortunately, these limitations don't distract from the story, and they are far outweighed by everything that works about this movie

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diogo13 T

@Tua_mera Jul 15, 2026

The production shines brightly for its impeccable technical quality, beautiful aesthetics, and a lovely message about accepting the past and growing. Unfortunately, the film drags on much longer than necessary with repetitive drama, turning an original premise into a tiresome pastime due to its lack of pacing.

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Sep 13, 2025

A powerful story of kids finding themselves in either a vivid dream or a dreamy reality, processing childhood memories and feelings as they navigate adolescence.

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yann T

@RT59896949 Aug 14, 2025

I actually think this movie is pretty good overall. It has the feeling of a fever dream, with surprisingly deep character development. Watching it is a bit like experiencing those strange, vivid dreams you have just before you wake up.

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Gustavo R

@rodrigug Apr 10, 2025

Trippy anime. Childhood friends , Sasuke and Natsume. When Natsume gets nostalgic about the lose of her adopted grandfather, she spends time at the abandoned apartment building where he used to live. When Sasuke and other school friends find her, the whole building appears to be drifting in the ocean. Good animation. Story is a little trippy. Worth to check out for the anime Fan 🍿🍿🍿🍿/5 on Netflix

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Paul S

@PManRager Mar 4, 2025

I've seen this movie so many times and it warms my heart every time. The characters are fun and the plot is intriguing, and the visuals the film presents are spectacular. I highly recommend it!

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THE NASHVILLE I

@Nshvlleindie Feb 28, 2025

Very pleasant, but it seriously lacks premise. The characters are well developed and actually likeable enough you stay invested in them. Sadly though the plot really does “Drift” too much without setting up the stakes and ideas in the story.

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Hiroyasu Ishida

Director

Mutsumi Tamura

Kosuke Kumagai

Asami Seto

Natsume Touchi

Daiki Yamashita

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Synopsis

Kosuke and Natsume have been friends since childhood, but as time goes on the relationship between the two sixth graders seems strained as they keep avoiding one another. One day during their summer vacation, they go to a housing complex that is scheduled to be demolished. Having grown up there, the place holds a lot of memories. While playing, they suddenly get caught up in a mysterious phenomenon and when they regain consciousness, they see an entire ocean before them as the housing complex has drifted into a mysterious sea along with Kosuke and Natsume with it. Will they be able to return to their previous world? A summer farewell journey begins.

Director: Hiroyasu Ishida
Producer: Koji Yamamoto
Screenwriter: Hayashi Mori, Hiroyasu Ishida, Minaka Sakamoto
Production Co: Studio Colorido Co., Twin Engine
Rating: PG (Peril|Language|Brief Smoking|Some Bloody Images|Thematic Material)
Genre: Adventure, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2022
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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