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| Good god, this movie sucked. Affair or not, that mother loved and cared for him and he pushed her aside, even to the point of making her cry -- several times. What a douche. Fuck, I'd rather have a slut for a mom that loves me, rather than a pure mom who doesn't love me at all. This is like the kiddie version of Blue Flames. I give this 2 shits out of 10. |
| great movie. great ending. but I feel like there's something missing to it... a scene of mommy gorilla lol! |
| My Guitar Covers: Playlist I CAN ALWAYS SHOW MY EVERYTHING TO YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU |
| The way Makoto's relationships with all of the characters were dealt with felt incomplete to me (with the exception of Saotome). Hiroka breaking into tears randomly and Makoto's dialogue in that scene felt really forced. So she wanted to ruin the painting? What does that have to do with anything else in the movie? Stupid. Overall, the movie had some great ideas but could have been a lot better. I particularly liked the twist at the end. |
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metamorphius said: The only thing I didn't quite understand was that art room scene with Hiroka (around 1h:33m). After saying 'I won't ever die' she seems to have suddenly disappeared. What was that? Was she also already dead? Don't know what to think about that but I found the scene somewhat confusing and ambiguous. This. Was surprised to see no one else discussing this scene. After seeing her with her speech on wanting to kill herself, it made me think as though she was actually the soul of the sinner who possessed Makoto during the time before he possessed Makoto. That is to say, he the soul was actually Hiroka, a girl who committed suicide. Assuming that was true, despite evidence to the contrary, I thought that Makoto was talking to 'himself' (the girl version of him from when he or she was still alive) in that scene and telling himself (herself?) to cherish life more (self-realisation sort of thing). She does disappear and didn't seem to ever reappear for the rest of the movie. Of course, Makoto revealed in the end that he was himself who died and came back to get his life. But that may not be the truth and it is possible that PuraPura could've been deceiving Makoto (playing along with what Makoto realised for himself that he was the Makoto who killed himself). So the current Makoto is actually Hiroka in Makoto's body and that the real Makoto's soul is somewhere else, possibly in Hiroka's body so it's like a body swap. Anyone else with thoughts one this? |
BocchiJul 30, 2012 3:10 AM
| This movie had such a despondent start, I honestly thought this was going to have a dismal, tragic end. |
| Movie was meh. I hated Makoto bad treatment of his mother. She's a two timer, but she still your mother. He should of stayed dead during half way through the movie, instead of bring more misery to the living, but I guess he made it up in the end. Wistaire said: When you cheat on your husband and look back at this movie, maybe you'll understand her situation bit more." I hope to live forever, yet I feel like dying everyday." This did it for me, it home really hard... Just like a lot of other moments in this movie. About what everyone else is saying about how Makoto was treating his mother; maybe I'm just a bitch but... if I caught my mother having an affair, I wouldn't have reacted all that differently. Even if she's regretful, that still doesn't make it right. O^O |
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| It almost feels like the writer knows someone who ended their life, or has thought about it themselves. I think in that respect the film was an accurate reflection of loss. The decision to live is most often based on our day to day happenings, as mundane as they are. I really like that the film took its time to really develop Matoko's character and his gradual acceptance of these happenings and his existence in general. Also for everyone saying Matoko's mother deserved it? Really? I know it sounds cliche, but maybe when you're older you'll understand and put things in context. My father had an affair with my mother - and I've forgiven him a long time ago. People are very complicated, and there are two sides to every story. In summary, 9/10. Beautifully animated, and interesting story. It's nice to find something like this |
| I'd want a pal like Saotome XD and is it just me or does PuraPura sound like Aang D: a Japanese Aang~ |
| A movie that doesn't make me feel like I wasted my time and rage. Is this real life? engaging story, sub-par voice acting, good animation/art makes me love my mom a whole lot more.. (no homo) 9/10 |
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| It was a good movie, but at times it was painfully slow. I actually had to speed watch some scenes or else I would have fallen asleep. 7/10 |
| grrr! really nice movie, I just dislike it when memories are erased T_T |
| I thought the parts where he insulted his mother were brutal... The movie was still very good though nonetheless. 8/10 |
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| I loved this movie! The movie did have slow pacing, but it still kept me interested. I was very surprised at the ending. To at least it was a twist. As for Matoko s moms, I did feel sad for her. But with that being said, what she did was wrong. There is no excuse cheat whatsoever. If you are unhappy leave, don't cheat. She had children and seemingly sweet husband. She betrayed her marriage and let down her child. Yes the way Matoko treated his mother was harsh, but it was completely understandable. It is not like he heard it from his father, he witnessed his mothers betrayal. For Matoko that must have been a hard pill to sallow and inevitably pushed him over the edge. But I can appreciate her love for her child. Even though Matoko treated her harshly she still persevered through her hardship and tried to seek his forgiveness even more. At the end of the day she made a bad decision and got caught, and she had to face the consequences of her actions. Matoko may not have forgiven her completely (nor should we expect him to forgive her right away), he is still attempting to mend their relationship. vansonbee said: When you cheat on your husband and look back at this movie, maybe you'll understand her situation bit more. O^O If I cheated on my husband and my child found out, I fully expect for my child to be hurt and angry with me. There is never any reason to cheat. She had other options, she could have sought marriage counseling or communicated her unhappiness with her husband. If all else fails, get a divorce, not a lover. This woman had children and a marriage to commit to and she betrayed them. She was wrong for cheating, end of story. kaleidome said: It almost feels like the writer knows someone who ended their life, or has thought about it themselves. I think in that respect the film was an accurate reflection of loss. The decision to live is most often based on our day to day happenings, as mundane as they are. I really like that the film took its time to really develop Matoko 's character and his gradual acceptance of these happenings and his existence in general. Also for everyone saying Matoko 's mother deserved it? Really? I know it sounds cliche, but maybe when you're older you'll understand and put things in context. My father had an affair with my mother - and I've forgiven him a long time ago. People are very complicated, and there are two sides to every story. In summary, 9/10. Beautifully animated, and interesting story. It's nice to find something like this I am older and I was cheated on and I forgave that person. But that doesn't change the fact that he was in the wrong and betrayed our relationship. Once again there is no excuse to cheat. I can be sympathetic towards a persons situation, but I am not going make excuses for your bad decision. You are right there are two sides to every story, but once you cheat there is nothing you can say to make your betrayal any less terrible. Also yes I know no one is perfect. I am far from perfect. But when I knowingly do something wrong I expect consequences. If I betrayed or hurt someone, I would hope that could find it in their hearts to forgive me. Though I also would not expect them to forgive me just because we are friends or family. I also don't expect people to make excuses for my behavior. Part of being an adult is accepting our consequences when we do something wrong, and trying to make amends when we hurt someone. With all that being said I hope that Matoko and his mother can salvage their relationship. I also hope that if she did not tell her husband the truth, that she eventually will come clean. Her husband deserves to know the truth, and make an informed decision about their marriage. I give this move 9/10 rating. |
| Great movie ... I kinda expected the twist though but over all .. it was enjoyable. I actually have suicidal thoughts. Thank you for this movie .. amazingly done |
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Kayro said: It was a good movie, but at times it was painfully slow. I actually had to speed watch some scenes or else I would have fallen asleep. 7/10 Same here. I liked the little twist at the end even though I predict it, the first part of the movie was somewhat annoying. 7/10 |
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| This is reaaally beautiful , i dont give much movies or animes a 10. But damn this one deserves it, it made me cry.. It touched my heart |
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| "I get the urge to do it once every three days" Let me help you with that, little whore-chan. Those japaneses are pretty good at drawing slutty characters, i knew she was one the moment i saw her. That oji-san sure is one lucky mofo haha. Aside from Hiroka, i really like this movie. A lot of people are angry at Makoto for treating her mother like that but come on, she was cheating on his father who was working his ass off at work and apart from that she already had 2 children. It's common to treat her like that. A little less yaoi would have been better, nonetheless a 8/10. |
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| Well that's an awkward start.. It looked almost like hell to me. I just love the theme of this movie though. The idea of souls intrigues me. So I was curious about this Makoto kid. Why did he commit suicide in the first place?.. I find the first 30 minutes of the movie to be both calm but with a hollow-like state of loneliness. Hiroka is really pathetic though in this movie. I mean, the things she said and her motives..I can't believe Makoto once had a crush on her. *sigh*. Good thing Makoto found a new friend though. I enjoyed watching the bro moments honestly. Sometimes, friendship > love. However, I did enjoy his conversation with her later on in the movie. "Dear someone, I am living" Overall, pretty decent movie. I'm rating this one 8/10. The artwork, themes, characters, setting, and tone tied it together nicely. I might re-watch this someday. |
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| A very relaxing and easy to watch movie. I liked the philosophical theme but the phasing was slow at times. |
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| The part where he finally remembered everything including the reasons why he committed suicide and the bullying part, was kind of .. I dunno, lacking? I just can't feel it for some reason. It could have been better. Also, I was hoping I get to see Makoto reconcile with his mother but I guess it'll take time. Seeing him wearing that blue jacket at the end, I'm sure that's the start. 8/10. I was expecting for something a little more depressing. |
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| I recently discovered "Colorful" and found it absolutely compelling in many respects. Sadly, few people seem to be aware of this gem, and this was the only discussion thread I could find on google, so I joined and this is my first post. I have been watching anime since the mid 80s, on a chance discovery. I've quickly found a strong affinity for 'slice of life' anime, like Omohide Poro Poro and Umi ga Kikoeru, and of course, I like the Studio Ghibli films alot. They set a high water mark for anime, so when I state that I think that "Colorful" makes them look simple by comparison, I do not say it lightly or carelessly. Colorful is 'high fidelity' animation. The story, from what I could research, came about because of the Japanese recession causing a surge in teen suicides.. 32,000 teens a year choose to end their lives, according to the latest statistics I was able to find. So this story is not only a beautiful film, but also serves an important service in the message that it carries. Some here have wondered about the locations in the film. I became curious after the first viewing, and by the fourth viewing, I was still discovering clues that I'd missed before, not to mention having certain scenes "click", once the context finally sunk in. Where do parts of Colorful take place? Well, I heard Hiroka say that she bought candy in Nikotama, but when I looked it up, I couldn’t find it on the map. More research revealed that it is a local colloquial term for the the area located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The area surrounding the station is commonly called Futako-Tamagawa, and often refers to the Tamagawa and Seta districts of Setagaya, but there is no precise definition. It is colloquially referred to as "Futako" or "Nikotama". With the above information, I was able to use Google Earth to find the aerial views that open the film. The three bridges crossing the Tama River are the Atsugi Highway to the far west, the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line, and, closest is the Daisan Keihin Road. The next shot is closer, and we are looking northwest over the Meguro Dori, ending up with the edge of the grounds of the Tamagawa Elementary School at the upper right of the screen. The next two closer pan shots I have not been able to identify yet. Throughout the movie, there are shots of the Futaku-Tamagawa Station, the pedestrian crosswalk over the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line at 1:07:07, the Futaku-Tamagawa Station in the background, seen from where Saotome and Makoto are standing in the pedestrian lane of the Atsugi Highway bridge. To the left, we see Futako Tamagawa Rise Tower & Residence, still under construction, on the left upper part of the frame at 2:01:52. Earlier in the film, at 1:15:23, where Saotome and Makoto are discussing history and loss of a set of sneakers, part of the fence and a light pole from a sports field just west of the Komazawa University campus is visible. They are facing the Tama River. Other scenes looking across the Tama are accurate to Google street view photos I was able to find. What’s challenging so far is finding the school where the story takes place. If they live in Tamagawa, then it would seem logical that they attend Tamagawa Junior High. But the google imagery shows a very different building and grounds than in the anime. The reason I think they live in Tamagawa is because Makoto tells his parents that he wants to apply to Tamagawa High School, a public school, where Saotome is going. Now if they live in a different city, how could he attend a public school in another city? The other location I have not been able to find is the hospital where the film’s time on earth begins. I found Tamagawa Hospital on the map, but the building layout is very different. There is only one tell-tale clue that it may be the place though; the light blue stripes that separate floors on both the actual hospital and the one portrayed in the film. Of course, I have not been able to locate the house where Makoto lives, either. Nor the buildings that we see from the rooftop of his school when Purapura is having their final meeting. Am I looking in the wrong city? Could these detailed buildings be fictitious? If so, why would the artists suddenly depart from photographically-accurate location backgrounds, to one of fantasy? I still think that the locations might be real, but have so far eluded attempts to find on a map, due to uncertainty of what city they attend school and live in. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack—the question is, there are dozens of haystacks! Okay, enough about the cinematography and location shots. The story was absolutely addictive. There are two genres in fiction that I find riveting: time travel and transplanted personna. This film is a mystery that unfolds in layers. Imagine, you have no memory of the past, and you are dropped into the body of a Japanese junior high student. The first feeling is trepidation, because without knowledge of his past, how is he supposed to act? For that matter, how to find his own room in the house! That’s where Purapura is there to guide him. But even so, such a situation has got to be nerve-wracking, if not terrifying. At times, I was annoyed by Makoto’s lack of empathy for his parents’ challenges in life. Though there was this contrasting sense that he was somehow more mature than his age, as shown by his disgust for his mother’s infidelity. But still, he was recklessly hostile in ways that maximized the suffering of his mother. I was really worried that something terrible was going to happen. There are “flashback” scenes in various parts of the film, some of which I’ve figured out after four viewings, but one that still eludes me. It happens while Makoto is out fishing with his dad. There’s a cut to a scene of his mother transferring liquid from what appears to be a jerry can. My wife’s impression was that it was gasoline and her comments suggested that she had the same feeling I did: that something tragic was going to happen. But as we see later in the story, it’s like that scene never happened. Or was it the imagination of his father? Early on in the movie, I suspected that there were terrible things hiding around every corner of Makoto’s life. He was a loner, an outcast. His mom was having an affair. Dad was hardly ever home. At first, I thought Mr. Sawada was perhaps one of “those” kinds of school administrators and was going to take advantage of a student, but that turned out to be a false concern. Then I wondered about Saotome, when Makoto was pursuing Hiroka through the train station. Makoto’s own comment of “what’s with him?” made me wonder if Saotome was “too friendly” and perhaps had pecuniary interests. But that turned out to be untrue as well. On the surface, Makoto’s life seems really sweet. His parents really care about him. They rearranged their lifestyle to make home life better and more nurturing. Mom stopped her affair abruptly after Makoto’s suicide attempt. Dad arranged to be home for supper every night. Even Mitsuru, his somewhat indifferent older brother, went to the effort to research high schools for him to consider. They live a comfortable middle class life. It’s a beautiful existence that I think many would gladly accept, were it they who were transplanted into this situation. As such, I found myself getting angry at the way Makoto treated his family. It was pretty clear that in the early days of his “new” life, he had no emotional ties to this family and he relegated to them as a psychological experiment. He was cruel and difficult. Pondering what that situation would be like, I suppose a case can be made for such a reaction. He thought he had nothing invested there. And he didn’t realize that their world revolved around him as much as his world revolved around them. Someone raised the question as to whether Hiroka had committed suicide by the end of the film. From what I can tell, the story spans a six month period, from his awaking in the hospital, to graduation (which is, in itself, a kind of double-entendre, because he graduates from school, but also he passes Purapura’s test of whether his soul could reconnect with his person.) Hiroka seems definitely alive during the early stages of the film when he meets her in class, and pursues her through Tamagawa on that rainy afternoon. But one thing I could not square up was why she was friendly to him upon his return from the hospital, if he had been such an unpopular loner, who had no friends. Surely, a girl like Hiroka would not even talk to someone who’s not among the “cool” kids. Shoko Sano, on the other hand, was apparently his one confidante prior to his suicide. Given she was the polar opposite of Hiroka, it doesn’t make sense why Hiroka was friendly to Makoto. Perhaps I need to dig deeper for clues. After six months, that last scene in the art room with Hiroka confessing her conflicting feelings, well frankly, I thought that Makoto was sharing what he learned from his near-death experience and that she was accepting it. (The choir, singing “Tegami-Haikei 15 no kimi e” during that scene really put the emotional impact over the top during this scene.) Still, it seemed like they were both there, having a conversation and she seemed very much alive. But the next scene, where he is alone in front of the painting.. well now I’m not so sure if he was reflecting back on an early conversation with her. But when? He seemed to have gained so much wisdom, by his choice of words to her, so it had to be very recently, when he had had his own inner discovery. Ultimately, the more I watch this film, the more these questions suddenly lead to answers. It took a while for me to realize the context and meaning of another “flashback” scene—which wasn’t so much a flashback as was Makoto’s imagining of things his mother had done. It’s around 42:28 in the film. And for the first three viewings, I was perplexed—it seemed out of context. Then on the forth viewing, it hit me like an express train. That’s why Makoto wanted to throw up when she spoke to him and that’s why he didn’t want to eat food that she’d prepared. Another of my favorite scenes was the discussion at dinner time, of what school Makoto was planning to attend. His reasoning was completely alien to Mitsuru, who was incensed over the shocking choice Makoto had revealed. Things get intense when he reveals that he’d promised Saotome that he’d apply at the same school; after all, they’d ‘found’ eachother and cemented a strong friendship, the first that Makoto had ever had, and it meant the world to him. Saotome is the kind of person who’s non-judgemental. He’s easy-going and easily makes friends, and seems to be a loyal friend to Makoto. And Makoto seemed to be the happiest in his entire life, spending time with Saotome, just hanging around exploring historic railroad lines in the city. The author must have been a rail fan, because one of their trips in town is devoted to walking the remnants of the Kinuta Line and exploring how it must have been. Some fascinating scenes taken from old photographs, were suddently colorized and brought to life, as seen from the imaginations of these two boys, as they recreated how it must have looked. In the end, a tradeoff in favor of Makoto’s happiness, had to be accepted by his family. It can bring shame on a family when one of their children doesn’t get into a top school, so this had to be emotionally difficult for the older family members, but they couldn’t take this new-found happiness from Makoto, either. They’d lost their son once—they could not bear to lose him again. Very emotionally charged moments there, and one of my favorite scenes in the film. Some complained about the voice acting. Frankly, I thought it was fine. Makoto sounds a bit young, but then I realized that he’s one of those kids that developed a bit later than average. There’s always a couple kids in high school who are smaller and look like middle schoolers. So the voice makes sense in that context. And the actor, Kazato Tomizawa, was 14 years old at the time this movie was made, so it’s realistic. As for Shoko Sano, although a misfit and terribly introverted to the point of dysfunctionality in a social environment, she is a genuine person. She’s not hiding anything or pretending to be something that she’s not. She is one of the more empathetic characters in this cast. And she becomes suspicious about Makoto’s behavior upon his return to school. One gets the impression that she is asking questions not out of her own selfish curiousity, but out of genuine concern. Sadly, he mistreats her in the most viscious ways he can imagine, so as to scare her off, to be rid of her “meddling” in school. Sadly, it takes six months for Makoto to apologize for his actions, but she understands and accepts him for whom he is after that. Now, this Purapura fellow.. he’s a bit of a mystery and an enigma. Kind of like an old man in an adolescent’s body. Not an angel, necessarily, but someone who, himself, failed a ‘test’ somewhere in the Hearafter, but lucked out and was offered this ‘job’ by the Boss, as a guide for souls returning to the living. His aloofness is probably to be expected, since his existence is in some higher plane, but his willingness to poke fun at Makoto’s mistakes to make a point is his shining skill. He provides the pokes, at the right times, to keep Makoto on track in his journey to learn what he did wrong in the prior life. Indeed, the ending was a surprise. Frankly, I did not expect the “who”, as it turned out. But it all makes sense. Had he known who he was, it would have been ‘the forest for the trees’ and he’d lack that outside perspective. Being able to see Makoto’s life as a ‘stranger’, gave him the ability to remain outside the emotional fog that Makoto’s pre-suicide self was mired in and look at events with a more rational mind. Just a few thoughts about Makoto’s mother and some bad choices she made. To understand this situation, it is essential to understand love and sex and how it is treated in Japanese culture. Japanese businessmen often have mistresses that they see, even when married and the wives accept this as part of life. In the case of Makoto’s mom, she must have spent a lot of time alone, due to the father’s frequent overtime commitments at work. Couple that with a dance instructor, whom she probably found attractive. What does one do with a dance instructor? If it’s a one on one class, dancing can be kind of intimate. One can imagine the lonely lady, still fairly young and full of sexual desire, being overwhelmed by desire and, in a moment of less than rational decision making, a series of actions occur—a calculated risk—which she miscalculated; no, she didn’t expect her son to witness her leaving a love motel with a strange man. But it happened. A good perspective on this can be found in Nickolas Bornoff’s book entitled “Pink Samurai: Love, Mariage & Sex in Contemporary Japan”. Having read it in the late 1980s, when I was considering a move to Japan as a still single man, writing to a girl from Osaka, that foundation gave me some insight into what may have motivated Makoto’s mom to seek an extramarital affair. Things happen when we don’t think our actions through. And she has to live with that. One can hope that Makoto some day forgives her and learns to accept her on her merrits. I know that if I had the opportunity to be in his shoes, knowing what I know now, I would be simply overjoyed and appreciative of these loving parents, who have rearranged their whole lives to be there for Makoto, and would strive to achieve academically, with Mitsuru as an example/mentor. In the context of my own experience, the problems in Makoto’s family are relatively minor. They are together, in good health, and reasonably well off, financially. In other words, it’s a comfortable life, one where Makoto can focus on self-growth and learning. Needless to say, I found this film ‘scratched’ in all those places where it “itches”—it really hit home in a lot of places. Something Shoko Sano said about being the victim of bullying and then later being ‘invisible’ and liking it that way, resonated with me. This film let me wind back the clock forty years and vicariously re-live a part of my life, but in a much more pleasant setting. The visuals are the most amazing eye candy. Every detail, even the sounds of a dinner coming to a boil at the table during a moment of silence in the conversation, gave a palpable sense of reality. The story is one that quite a few of us can identify with on a deeply personal level. If this film saves even one life, then it will have been a success on more than just a theatrical level. And what a wonderful life it depicts! I give it all tens across the board. It’s now my favorite of all-time. |
| I just put together a Youtube video, comparing locations around Tamagawa, Tokyo, Japan, to the same scenes in the film. It can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0YFtX7oz5U&feature=youtu.be |
| The movie started off very interesting and included very mature themes. The movie also looks very nice and has a nice soundtrack. But the at the end everything became so childish, like when the protagonist says he dont want to go to the artschool because he promised his best friend otherwise.. thats typical childish highschool anime attidudes. The very end was also so predictable, it is absolutly unorgingal that he was that kid from the begin with. So overall it was a pretty nice movie, only the end was a dissapointment. I would give it a 7/10 |
| Objectively, I agree, that choosing a school just because it's where your friend is going, isn't a really responsible decision. However, in the context of Makoto's life, he found a value in Saotome's friendship which makes life bearable for him. This is a kid who'd given up on life. Now that he's finally found a reason to want to go on, I give him that concession because I would not want him to sink into hopelessness again. His parents understand that, and that's why the father said there will be no argument about it henceforth. My daughter had a rough time in school, and when moving from one school to the next higher school, we conferred with her teachers and the administrators to make arrangements to that two of her friends would be in the same class as she in the new school, giving her a sort of 'support team' of familiar friends to make the transition less stressful. As one who went all the way through school up through 10th grade without ANY friends, I can empathize with Makoto's feelings. Had I had one good friend at that point, it would have meant the world to me, and I suppose I would have let that friendship influence my choices about schools and attendance too, although my parents would likely not have agreed and would more likely have been at odds with my desires. Shouko Sano is probably the closest analogy, in terms of personality type, to how I was in junior high, some fifty years ago. I saw so many people and situations that I identified with strongly. The film took me back to my junior high days, despite the cultural differences. And what I would give to have been growing up in Japan instead of the US! I really envy Makoto's life situation in terms of the general circumstances (normal parents, decent, middle class life, good neighborhood, etc.) This film has changed my approach to parenting. I won't try to force my wishes on my daughter. I will guide her, but allow her the control to make her own choices, so that she is happy. That's not to say that I won't try to steer her away from bad choices, or that I won't educate her on making better choices, but I won't force her to fit the mold of what I expect from 'the perfect child.' It simply doesn't exist. I think Makoto's father epitomizes the quiet strength of the Japanese character, calm, understanding, non-confrontational. There is much to learn from him. Best film I've seen in a LONG time. Watched it five times already, and still making new discoveries along the way. |
| Doesn't seem curious that Hiroka Kuwabara has a strong resemblance to the singer Miwa, who performs the end theme to the movie? I was just looking at Miwa's information and thought "she looks so much like Kuwabara!" Anyone else notice the similarity? |
| Thank you for that kind feedback on my remarks above, Magebane. I think that Kuwabara is an interesting character, if a bit enigmatic--we know very little about her past. My impression is that she came from a family with marital problems, perhaps her parents might be divorced. She did confess that her reason for 'dating' was for the money to buy the things that she wanted "while they still look good on her". Why she wouldn't think that they'd look good when she was 18 or maybe 22, I don't know. Her impatience indicates something deeper going on that is troubling her. In the art room scene, the one where we hear the choir down the hall singing Angela Aki's song, Tegami-haikei Juugo No Kimi He, she is deeply upset, confused and lost. I think she feels terrible guilt and regret after her 'dates', but recovers to a happier state after a while, until she needs money again and the cycle repeats. Deep down, perhaps she knows this is 'bad' and the other thing I suspect is that she has trouble relating to her peers. I find it odd that she's friends with an 'outcast' like Makoto. Yet, she can relate to him like a close friend, whenever she stops by to see him in art club. I still haven't figured out the meaning of that scene where in one moment, she seems to be there and full of life, and in the next, Makoto is standing there, alone. Another scene I haven't yet understood the context of is during the fishing trip. We briefly see Makoto's mom transferring liquid from what looks like a gasoline container to a smaller container until it overflows. Was this a flashback, or happening while the boys were on the fishing trip? I don't understand the significance of that scene yet. Anyone that can figure out where Makoto lives and goes to school, kudos to you. I've found many of the places where they roamed around Tamagawa and vicinity, but efforts to find other locations have been thwarted by simply too much ground to cover. Tokyo is a big place, when you're browsing block by block with Google satellite view and street view! Have recently seen Eve no Jikan and thought it interesting, though the scenario is pure fiction. Others in that context would be HAL The Movie. |
basspig said: Objectively, I agree, that choosing a school just because it's where your friend is going, isn't a really responsible decision. However, in the context of Makoto's life, he found a value in Saotome's friendship which makes life bearable for him. This is a kid who'd given up on life. Now that he's finally found a reason to want to go on, I give him that concession because I would not want him to sink into hopelessness again. His parents understand that, and that's why the father said there will be no argument about it henceforth. My daughter had a rough time in school, and when moving from one school to the next higher school, we conferred with her teachers and the administrators to make arrangements to that two of her friends would be in the same class as she in the new school, giving her a sort of 'support team' of familiar friends to make the transition less stressful. As one who went all the way through school up through 10th grade without ANY friends, I can empathize with Makoto's feelings. Had I had one good friend at that point, it would have meant the world to me, and I suppose I would have let that friendship influence my choices about schools and attendance too, although my parents would likely not have agreed and would more likely have been at odds with my desires. Shouko Sano is probably the closest analogy, in terms of personality type, to how I was in junior high, some fifty years ago. I saw so many people and situations that I identified with strongly. The film took me back to my junior high days, despite the cultural differences. And what I would give to have been growing up in Japan instead of the US! I really envy Makoto's life situation in terms of the general circumstances (normal parents, decent, middle class life, good neighborhood, etc.) This film has changed my approach to parenting. I won't try to force my wishes on my daughter. I will guide her, but allow her the control to make her own choices, so that she is happy. That's not to say that I won't try to steer her away from bad choices, or that I won't educate her on making better choices, but I won't force her to fit the mold of what I expect from 'the perfect child.' It simply doesn't exist. I think Makoto's father epitomizes the quiet strength of the Japanese character, calm, understanding, non-confrontational. There is much to learn from him. Best film I've seen in a LONG time. Watched it five times already, and still making new discoveries along the way. Nice thoughts you had about this movie but let me say something: I am aware that especially in Japan a friend means a lot. There the people are not very open to other people and getting to know someone is quite difficult. I got a few friends who told me this after staying abroad in Japan for several months. So if you have a real friend in Japan you won’t let go of him that easy. I maybe haven’t considered that since I thought in "colorful" he could find new friends in his new school as well and when you consider how the 2 became friends it makes you think that way, at least in my opinion. The point that I have is that he immediately was against the idea of going to another school and therefore away from his new friend. It’s not like he would lose his new friend completely, they could still hang out after school or whatever, when I can remember correctly they never mentioned that it was a boarding school. And he should at least consider this after his brother already delayed his graduation for his opportunity to go to the artschool (although I don’t know if he can withdraw it). You also can take the fact that he might consider what he later want to become into account, and the possibility of being an artist (which he should like, since he likes painting) should influence him at least a bit (especially when it’s true what his brothers said, that he is ONLY good at painting). I mean yeah, it seems like painting doesn’t give him a reason to life, else he wouldn’t kill himself but maybe that was just because of the many disappointments in his life where just too much for him at once and he could maybe get over it when he got a second chance, but I can’t really tell since I am no psychologist. But overall your pretty much right that the idea of him wanting to stay by his friend seems more realistic, because he is a child and therefore it is only natural to think in a childish way. The problem is that the anime opened him having a more mature personality. Since he gets the main screen time and is the lead character of this show he is definitely the person the storywriters want the audience to connect with. When you have a childish main characters, younger audience will more likely get appealed to a story, and if the character thinks more mature the same is for older people. This works not in every story, but since that “colorful” shows itself as a rather inner monolog and the main character has not to deal with consequences or loses at the end, I would say that the end of colorful was rather made for younger audience. A very logical explanation for this would be that the whole movie was made for a younger target group but they did wrong at the opening, since the opening, with its depressing and rather sad themes is in my opinion something a child or a teenager wouldnt feel into. Maybe that’s the reason it hasn’t become that popular. Of course are there many who this anime will appeal to. Not only people like you who have a personal connection in real life to it, but rather people you like a depressing set up, but a happy ending. I for myself am rather annoyed by happy endings in anime, and therefore I didn’t enjoy it, what I wrote in my comment as you can see. Besides the rather impressive artstyle and probably my enjoyment of the movie overall I wouldn’t think that movie was that special for me. If you have a lot of imagination you can reflect the story to the children worldwide that died because of suicides, but besides the fact that the anime presents so less connection to state that point I personally don’t have the high amount of imagination for a topic like this, which I’m not really interested in. So therefore it’s a nice drama, became a bit boring through the middle (with the train-following part, but I liked the dad-fishing part again) and the ending was like I said too childish, unoriginal and predictable for me. But I have to agree that the dad was a character rather interesting, besides his rather mature behavior he got a lot to him that I think is likeable. I don’t really get what you meant with the last part though. When you look at this all from the “religion” perspective you can see that when saying to your child she can believe whatever she pleases, she will most likely be influenced by her surroundings. So not teaching her what you think is right is like watching others raise your child and with teaching your child something , a certain behavior will result out of it.(so its kinda like forcing her) A child doesn’t know what real is or not, it has to adapt from its authority. It isn’t always the most important thing that your child is happy at this moment. If you won’t allow a young child an ice-cream it will most likely cry, but besides the fact that it is healthier not to eat it the child would also learn something out of everything, like in this case that you can’t have everything in life. Taking the example of the changing school from the movie, I would think that talking to your child would be the best answer. Just saying “we won’t talk about it, because else you are probably going to kill yourself again” is a thing that only works in anime. (or maybe in Japan) What I would say is that I would reconsider my decisions that infect my child more, so I could find out what is the one most satisfying for me (and probably my partner, because I hope I won’t have to make those decisions alone). |
LockensockeFeb 7, 2014 12:37 PM
| As many others have said in this thread, absolutely beautiful movie. It touches on a subject that really strikes home with me in the importance and fleetingness of human life. One thing that I thought would have been interesting, is if they took the ending in a completely different direction. If at the end of the 6 month period Makato is going to die again; reenter the cycle of reincarnation. I don't think that would have taken away from the movie's message at all, it might have actually strengthened the message. Not to mention that would be one of the top 5 bittersweet endings of all time and have the masses crying like bitches. |
aLooserFeb 10, 2014 8:30 PM
| In response to your question, Lockensocke, I was referring to allowing the kid to choose his school for his own reasons. In Makoto's situation, his resolve is fragile and I think it was better to let him make the choice based on his values, because to force the issue might result in another miserable period and maybe, suicide. As for what I teach my kids, I don't force any particular ideas upon them. I try to teach them to think and question the world around them, to identify reality correctly and make their own choices accordingly. I was raised a Christian Scientist. Then, in 1962, I read a novel by a certain Russian author and it changed my entire outlook and I became an Atheist. But fortunately, my parents were open to new ideas and were also searching for answers, but finding double-speak from the Church. We all eventually changed our belief systems to one that, for us, was more logical and clear. I would never push a particular idea on my children. I can only give them the tools to make that discovery on their own. I think Makoto's dad would agree. A few clarifications about his brother. When Makoto revived in the hospital, that event had a strong impact on him, and he changed his major to medicine, which meant delaying finals and going back to school for more years. Really loved the art in this film. It was so real. I'm still Googling around Tamagawa Japan, looking for some of the locations in the film! Just took delivery of the soundtrack CD last month. Angela Aki's song "Tegami-haikei Juugo No Kimi He" is full of deep meaning because of this film. I found some Youtube videos of her performing for middle school students and you should see them all crying by the middle of the performance, because it speaks to them on a deep level. The power of a song. It was, in a way, like the Macross SDF movie of 1984, with Minmei's song that could stop the Zentraedi warriors in their tracks. The power of a song... |
| What a beautiful movie showing the reality of life. I don't think I can express what I want to say well enough so I'll just say that I will be rewatching this soon. Something like this doesn't come along often. |
| -Nothing can stay unchanged. Even so, can you still keep on loving this place? -Be still my soul; when change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last. |
| I watched it five times. I'll watch it some more in the future. With such a luscious palette of detail, I find that I discover more things that I overlooked in previous viewings. There is no other anime like this. Nothing is exaggerated in any way. It's just like reality (excepting the supernatural and the concept of a hereafter). A longtime friend of mine asked about the film (he has an adopted daughter from China, who is starting high school) and I printed out the Amazon page so he can order it. He thanked me. I know she will love this film's message and the sheer beauty of the art. I own a lot of anime titles, but none, except maybe Garden of Words, approach this level of fidelity to real life. Frankly, the huge eyed anime girls are getting a little passe for me. I like art that replicates reality, and this film does it like no other I've seen. |
| Beautiful movie.. i really loved it.. very deep, enjoy every second of it.. 9/10 |
| Only thing that I didn't like is that there wasn't a strong resolution between Makoto's mom and him, which pisses me off because she's the one who suffered the most from Makoto's assholyness (not even the dad gets the kind of flak he gave her, and Makoto doesn't antagonize him to almost any level) or at least it's shown the most throughout the movie but she gets lumped with the family resolution shabu shabu scene. At many points Makoto was incredibly cruel to her (many times I wanted to reach inside the screen and smack him) so not having a special scene between him and the mom was incredibly disappointing considering how much the movie tried to show us how much of a dick he is towards her. Hell even the other girls got a resolution scene between Makoto and themselves each. Otherwise is a nice movie, not the very best or anything but it certainly pulls you in. I think they played Makoto being an asshole a little bit too much for my taste, but he IS a high school kid and everyone remembers we could be huge assholes at that point in life. |
| One of the most predictable endings ever, but still enjoyable. The beginning is very well done. |
| Really nice movie overall, the dinner scene got to me. I suspected that Makoto had been bullied before being given any background, but after the flashbacks I was surprised that his classmates just left him alone after treating him so cruelly. It sounded like a couple of the boys were planning to start bullying him again at the start of class, but I suppose the class was just that surprised about his sudden personality change and didn't think of pushing him around anymore? I do wonder how Makoto's returned spirit would have reacted had he been subjected to more bullying right when he came back to school. I think the movie did a good job of getting the message across about still being human despite of (actually, because of) our mistakes and eccentricities, as well as the importance of second chances. Most notably with Makoto's mother. Also despite Hiroka making what I (and society in general) would consider to be poor life choices, I ended up liking her. It seems like she had probably been nice to Makoto beforehand, as she treated him normally on his first day back. |
SleepyBearMay 29, 2014 1:30 PM
jiyung said: Seriously Hiroka????!! "Only" three times?? She seemed to have expensive boots and leather jacket. I'd probably puke if I knew the actual number of times she did it... If I were in his position, I would have treated her a lot worse than he treated his mum. |
| Amazing movie and very emotional, love the message it was sending to us about the ways of the human life. Just amazing. - Though that girl is a HUGE SLUT, seriously three times would suffice? Judging from the amount of jewellery she owned, she must have done it more than 69 times. - Makoto's mom is a slut too, i really hate cheaters and i can't bring myself to like her no matter how heart-warming she is. |
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| Wonderful movie. And I liked the fact that it was actually Makoto who got back to life. I also have to say that I felt really sad how Makoto treated his mother...that wasn't fair. But I'm glad that he gets on with her at the end of the movie. |
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| It was a really beautiful movie ~ really liked it I felt really bad for the mother especially when she was crying at dinner... but it's good he forgave her in the end :) |
| Still have some unanswered questions about a couple of things in this film... during the fishing trip, what is Makoto's mom pouring from one container to another? The first time I watched this movie, I jumped to the worst conclusion and was actually feeling terrified for that family. And the scene later in the film, where Makoto is seen comforting a rather upset Hiroka. Not sure what the symbolism going here is.. a gentle way of conveying that she's no longer among us? These two things are still an open question and unresolved. Maybe someone else has 'gotten' a meaning from these two scenes. Would be interested to hear a perspective or two on this. |
| Debating between a 7 and 8/10 because I thought some things could have been done better. One thing that bothered me was Music/OST. Way too much generic sad piano music in the beginning. And every time they threw in a song, I felt like cringing because it was so abrupt and noticable. lol It did improve greatly later on, I have to say. I really liked how they transitioned everything and let Makoto make a friend in school. It was nice. The part that hit me hard was when Makoto was discussing high schools with his parents and he said something along the lines of "He's my first friend". |
| Watched this the same night as watching Wolf Children Ame and Yuki. Definitely wasnt expecting my night to be a double-Debbie-downer :'( sad stuff. I had already predicted the ending, but still really good movie. :') |
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