When I told a dear friend of mine the synopsis for the film, her only reply was "Oh that is so cliché" and she isn't wrong. That does not mean the film had no heart, far from it. Anthem of the Heart simply resonates with passion, the burning of youth with characters who don't just say what they feel but show it. If Hibike! Euphoniun and A Silent Voice express emotions through sound, then Anthem of the Heart fills those emotions with words. It's as much as an enduring tale of adolescents as any, filled with tear jerking moments of thunderous catharsis and grounded in it's harsh reality. The Trauma, conflict and pain for longing. A story that depicts the bonds between people, and beloved music will feel your heart with emotion. Much like A Silent Voice, we witness the beautiful story of a girl trying to find her voice.
The film opens with a young and naïve Jun Naruse with flights of medieval fantasy, witnessing and then telling her mother about her unfaithful father, soon stops talking all together after realising the pain she has caused to the people she loves. Come present day, she is called upon to help produce a musical with Takumi Sakagami, a generally well-liked boy who never seems to show much interest in anything. Natsuki Nitou, the straight-laced girl who has some kind of past with Takumi. And Daiki Tasaki, the former baseball ace whose blown elbow has left him a bitter relic on the team's sidelines. None of these four are interested in designing a performance, much less with each other - but when Jun witnesses Takumi singing a silly little song about eggs and words, she begins think that music may be a way to let free the feelings trapped in her heart. Takumi is caring and understanding when she tells him via text message about her curse, and how much pain she feels when she talks. In Jun's fantastical mind, he's a prince and a savior. Takumi friendship leads her to interact more with everyone around her. She’s beautifully animated and even without talking her expressions through body language are just endearing. Her reactions are just adorable and bring a much-needed light heartedness to scenes that made me cry...and so we have Anthem of the Heart.
Anime lovers are no strangers to ridiculous plots, and as absurd as the plot sounds, you might be forgiven thinking this is nothing more than a sweet high school fantasy movie. Yet the real life implications, the tare between what is fantasy and what is real, makes this a beautiful and heart wrenching tale that much like it's protagonist is screaming to have that story told. We see a quiet withdrawn girl who is unable to communicate using normal methods and the judgement and assumptions made about her by the people around her, the same people that she comes to call her friends. Through the painful scenes of her trying to express her thoughts, eventually and as soppy as it sounds, Jun realises she can express her feelings through singing. This brings out the more light hearted and most emotional moments throughout the film.
To me it never mattered when the story became melodramatic at times as the film blends Fantasy-Reality all too well. At times Jun's personal fantasy as childish as it also begins tarring her apart like her views on romance. Throughout the movie, she was always genuine about her feelings but was also in love with the idea of love. The reality which she was so afraid of however becomes more beautiful as the world opens up to her. It certainly makes the "be careful watch you wish for" story all the more fresh with it's juxtaposed magic and reality dynamic. Some of the ways the film uses to convey emotions through expression can be heavy handed, as beautiful as it is not everything has to be expressed. Sometimes the best option can be to just have it left unsaid, which is a weird complaint about an coming of age Anime of self expression. Yet on the other hand there's a quiet loneliness to many of the sequences here that show how real it is, the film isn't afraid to go where many adolescent dramas do not. It makes the more beautiful moments stand out.
As fantasy as her cure is, Jun's problems are very much real and I feel her despair in every scene. Over the small and heartfelt moments, we see how each character struggles with the expression of their feelings, and as they naturally grow to care for each other we see the realistic development of their characters growth. It never spares in showing the best and yet the worst in people. The most surprising character is actually the hot headed baseball ace Daiki, who speaks out against Jun's inability to speak and his disinterest in helping. As his insecurities are revealed, he asks Jun for forgiveness and gradually grows to love her for who she is...something she has never experienced before. I especially love the final scene of this film as it shows just how much the characters develop. Through a heart warming sequence, we see the cast's accomplishment the morning after. As they begin to reminisce the past few weeks, we see Daiki confess his feelings for Jun and her expression is just one of awe. The film is much as about learning to express our thoughts and feelings as it is coming to terms with emotional burdens, and it's enduring to watch. Its surprising in it's revelation of how often the words we speak can be so violent and painful, and it's characters don't refrain from showing unhappiness, pettiness or depression. Anohana also portrayed this perfectly with it's characters, and i enjoyed those throwbacks here.
The music is not only wonderful to hear but players important roles in character dynamics. It's Jun first listening to Takumi that gets her to open up, in one scene in particular she tells him she wished the ending of the story was more happy. Here was get a beautiful rendition of "Over the Rainbow", a song that I hadn't heard since my childhood. It's perfectly used to convey it's emotional truth. I’ve always been fond of music being used to convey feelings especially in film (not in a Katy Perry pop song) and it’s nice to see a series that makes such good use of it to solve real problems, like those that Jun faces. While there is no 7 minute Euphonium solo, it doesn't need to have one. During it's emotional climax's, the film often lets characters actions and performances do the expression while the soundtrack carries the emotion throughout.
No like i mentioned before the film is not flawless, but even it's flaws just work for the portrayal of its characters. It's sincere with it's feelings and in its execution. The characters, thoughts and feelings all feel real. A small story with grace, It's a simple and enduring little film, that deserves to be heard.
