There have been some impressive advances in the world of animation over the years, especially when you consider what Pixar have managed to produce with their computer generated imagery.

There is a worry however that AI could eventually create animated features in their entirety, as it can already generate short features.

It’s almost a relief then that an animated film like this, that is entirely hand-drawn, can still manage to compete with those creative robots.

Preparing for his glass exhibition is artist Vincent (Sacha Dhawan). Then, in his workshop, he discovers a letter, written to him by a young woman Alliz (Anji Mohindra), which soon finds Vincent reminiscing about his time as a young boy, working with his father Tomas (Art Malik) in his studio, at their home in Waterfront Town.

It’s there that saw the arrival of Colonel Amano (Tony Jayawardena), with his daughter Alliz, who Vincent was soon captivated by, and young love blossomed. But it was a love that took a difficult path, as the town and their people soon found themselves dragged into a war, which would take its toll on the town, its people, and Vincent and Alliz’s relationship.

This is an impressive film on many fronts; not only does it have an exquisite art style, heavily influenced by anime, and beautifully rendered by hand, it also marks the first ever hand-drawn film from Pakistan.

It was also partly produced by crowdfunding, which shows that there’s certainly still an appetite for such a project.

And although it is essentially a love story, it certainly carries with it a hefty anti-war message, set against a background of a violent war. It’s quite clever too in never revealing who the enemy is, and therefore the audience is never aware whether Colonel Amano and his army are the good guys or the bad. And it’s this ambiguity that just helps maintain the ideology that all war is bad.

But at its heart is a story of young love, which essentially struggles to survive in this climate of war, especially as Vincent and his father are fervently against it.

On top of that there’s also a supernatural element, with the introduction of a Djinn – a fire spirit – that lives in a cave under the town, that Vincent isn’t sure is good or bad. It has a playful part to play in proceedings, at least at the start, but has a more prominent role towards its finale. It’s an element that does jar a little with the rest of the film, which is mostly set in a reality, but its inclusion can be forgiven.

It’s not just in its artwork that the film is linked to anime; it’s an animation that it certainly aimed towards an older audience, and wouldn’t be recommended for the very young, especially as it contains one very graphic scene in particular, that may haunt a few adults, never mind anyone younger.

Certainly the kind of work studios like Pixar are doing is breathtaking, but there’s something special about the human touch on display here, with an organic feel the delivers a real warmth, knowing that the emotionally driven story was painstakingly drawn by hand.

If you’re a fan of anime, this is a must, but if you’re just a fan of animation generally, you will not fail to be impressed with this sumptuous animation.