Despite what its ratings might indicate, Shika no Ou (The Deer King) is a movie with a lot of interesting, worthy things to say, and is very deserving of your time, provided you're willing to forgive (or at least look past) the pacing issues typical of novel-to-movie anime adaptations. This is a film that, even with a nearly two-hour (quite long, by anime movie standards) runtime, still feels too tightly compressed, though stretching the story out over an entire season might have been a worse choice. Those who deride the movie for its purely visual similarities to Ghibli's Princess Mononoke ignore the widegulf between the themes of the works. On the surface, Shika no Ou is very clearly about the triumph of science over superstition, but at the same time it demonstrates the value of traditional practice, and the necessity of paternal duty. Yes, viewers who appreciate positive father-daughter stories will especially enjoy this one. It's hard to remember that the original novels were written nearly a decade ago, and the movie had already been in production for several years before the emergence of COVID-19; that's how poignant this film is at times.

Strong recommendation.