Brave Father Online - Our Story of Final Fantasy XIV

Akio knows a lot about his virtual “friends” in the realm of Eorzea. The players behind the avatars in Final Fantasy XIV are happy to share their daily details, especially after a big win together. But his own father, Akira, remains a mystery, as he has been ever since Akio was a small boy. The distance between the workaholic salaryman and his now-adult son seems greater than ever when Akira, on the verge of a big promotion and raise, suddenly announces his retirement. Recalling his fondest childhood memories, bonding with his dad over 8-bit victories in the earliest Final Fantasy games, Akio hatches a plan. He’ll convince his father to take up gaming, befriend him anonymously within the online world, and rebuild their connection. Operation Dad the Warrior of Light is a go! But real life isn’t a game, and Akio can’t be sure of his surefire moves…

The latest feature film from the Final Fantasy franchise finds its foundation in the most unexpected of places — the ordinary lives of ordinary, flesh-and-blood people. At its root is the tear-jerking true story of a blogger, Maidy, bonding with his emotionally removed father, a tale that generated not only a lot of online attention at the time, but also a book and then the TV soap opera FINAL FANTASY XIV: DAD OF LIGHT. As they did on that popular series, the directorial tag team of Teruo Noguchi and Kiyoshi Yamamoto split the tasks on this latest and greatest version, the former overseeing the live-action scenes, the latter commanding a squad of online players (including Maidy himself!) in an inspired combination of virtual combat and animated melodrama. The two outdo themselves with a clever, thoughtful and flat-out great-looking film starring top-tier Japanese actors Kentaro Sakaguchi and Kotaro Yoshida, and featuring a theme song by J-Pop icons (and outspoken FF fans) GLAY. – Rupert Bottenberg