Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Some violence, peril in imaginative coming-of-age anime.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Drifting Home
What's the Story?
In DRIFTING HOME, Kosuke (Mutsumi Tamara) and Natsume are childhood friends who have started to lose touch with each other while completing sixth grade. As summer vacation begins, Kosuke and his friends go explore an abandoned apartment building scheduled to be demolished that's rumored to be haunted. It's also the apartment building where Kosuke and Natsume grew up. Shortly after Kosuke finds Natsume hiding in the building, the kids fall into unconsciousness, and when they wake up, they find that the apartment building is floating in the sea. Unsure of how this happened or how to get back to land, they also come across a mysterious boy named Noppo, who says that he also grew up in the building. As the kids struggle to find food and water, they also crash into other buildings from their past, and Kosuke and Natsume must find a way to become friends again while trying to get back on land.
Is It Any Good?
This is an imaginative coming-of-age anime about the difficulties of maintaining childhood friendships as we grow up. Drifting Home uses the magical realism of a group of tween friends lost at sea in an abandoned apartment building slated for demolition (and rumored to be haunted) as a somewhat obvious but still very creative symbol of how kids who were once close friends find it hard to stay friends as school cliques begin to form. The animation is richly detailed as the story's past and present seamlessly interweave.
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. Besides the character conflicts, the adventure itself is entertaining as buildings float around and into each other and the kids try to figure out how to survive. This is one of the better anime movies to come out in recent memory.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about anime like Drifting Home. How is this similar to and different from other movies of this genre that you've seen?
How did the movie explore relatable themes for tweens and teens like childhood friends starting to "drift" apart, or the loss of loved ones?
Was the violence and peril too much, or was it necessary for the story? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 16, 2022
- Cast : Mutsumi Tamura , Daiki Yamashita , Kana Hanazawa
- Director : Hiroyasu Ishida
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Anime
- Topics : Adventures , Friendship , School ( Middle School )
- Run time : 120 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : Thematic material, peril, language, some bloody images and brief smoking.
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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