Brave Father Online: Our Story of Final Fantasy XIV

Brave Father Online: Our Story of Final Fantasy XIV
Directed by
  • Teruo Noguchi
  • Kiyoshi Yamamoto (game scenes)
Written byKota Fukihara
Based on
Produced by
  • Masahiro Honda
  • Kazuya Naito
  • Koji Shirasugi
  • Kazuhiro Yokoyama
  • Yanghwe Yoon
Starring
CinematographyHikaru Yasuda
Edited byTakeshi Wada
Music byHideharu Mori
Production
companies
Distributed byGaga Corporation
Release date
  • June 21, 2019 (2019-06-21) (Japan)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Brave Father Online: Our Story of Final Fantasy XIV (Japanese: 劇場版 ファイナルファンタジーXIV 光のお父さん, Hepburn: Gekijōban Fainaru Fantajī Fōtīn: Hikari no Otōsan, lit. "Final Fantasy XIV: The Movie: Dad of Light") is a 2019 Japanese comedy drama film based on a Japanese television drama miniseries Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light, which is based on blog post Dad of Light written by Maidy. The film stars Kentaro Sakaguchi, Kōtarō Yoshida, Maika Yamamoto and Naomi Zaizen.

Cast

Production

Original story author Maidy said that they were happy to help create a film version of their story as there were still issues to explore not covered by the television series. Differences from the television version of the story, Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light, include the addition of a fourth sibling to the family. Another change was to have other characters play Final Fantasy XIV not just father and son. Square Enix also gave the filmmakers their own game server to control the time of day and weather in order to film exactly the kinds of shots they wished.

With the production crew filming on a private server, crew members created characters and appeared in the background to make the world feel like the regular game. Since the television series was released, many features were added to make characters more expressive including group poses and facial expressions. Game footage was recorded at 120 frames per second to allow for the seamless use of slow motion effects. Changes were also made to a key story moment where the son is turned around by his father in game, changing the televisions wholly in-game perspective to one showing the father and son playing the game and deciding what to do.

Release and reception

The film was released in Japan by Gaga on June 21, 2019, and on Netflix Japan on July 21, 2020.

Famitsu recommended the film, saying that viewers familiar with the television version of the story or fans of massively multiplayer online role-playing games will particularly love the story. The film ranked first in Japanese survey app Pia for audience satisfaction for the weekend it released.

The South China Morning Post gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying the project was like a "glorified commercial" as well as a touching melodrama. A special screening of the film was done in Japan after Maidy, the story's original author, died from cancer.

References

  1. ^ a b Sin, Ben (October 15, 2019). "Brave Father Online: Our Story of Final Fantasy XIV film review – father and son bond over video game in Japanese family drama". South China Morning Post.
  2. ^ Holt, Kris (August 13, 2019). "'Brave Father Online' is a 'Final Fantasy' movie with heart". Engadget.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Yamaguchi, Kazunori (May 21, 2019). "CGと思ってくれたら勝ち！「劇場版 ファイナルファンタジーXIV 光のお父さん」の撮影現場をレポート。山本監督とマイディーさんのインタビューも" (in Japanese). 4Gamer. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  4. ^ "Netflixで『劇場版 ファイナルファンタジーXIV 光のお父さん』が配信スタート。ゲームで親子の絆を取り戻す、感動の実話" (in Japanese). Famitsu. July 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Mainai (June 17, 2019). "『FFXIV』の映画はテレビドラマ版とどう違う？『劇場版 ファイナルファンタジーXIV 光のお父さん』先行上映会リポート" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "『劇場版 ファイナルファンタジーXIV 光のお父さん』がぴあ映画初日満足度ランキングで第1位に！" (in Japanese). Famitsu. June 25, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "『劇場版 FF14 光のお父さん』12月25日より池袋HUMAXシネマズにて原作者・マイディーさんの追悼上映が決定" (in Japanese). Famitsu. December 23, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.