above the green rice paddies,
is the dwindling sun.
~~
One of the many reasons I watch anime is to experience the culture. It is my belief that the best way to understand a country is through the art the country's people have made. Sure, you can read the history, and talk to the country's people, but it is only through the art they produce you can truly appreciate the country's people, history, and culture.
That's why the art form of Haiku is so beautiful to me.
At least after watching this film.
The first thing the film is great at is the environment.
The colours really pop out along with the backgrounds. It somehow allows the mediocre CGI to fit in very well and sets the very soft summer background. Even very familiar sights like a mall feel much more nature-like, giving a sea of emotions similar to when you're walking through a field of flowers.
The music also pops out to me. Not because of the soundtrack, but because of how it plays around with quiet and loud sounds.
That's because Haiku in Japanese have two important parts that don't really translate to English well.
The first part is Kireji or 切れ字 which leaves a cutting effect on the Haiku allowing it to separate the two, almost independent lines, and form them into one.
The second is Kigo or 季語 which is a word that is associated with a season. Think of how a mall themes itself with Christmas lights or a melody that gives a certain tone through a track of music.
Going back to the music, it feels like a haiku throughout the film. It starts with setting the tone of a scene while emphasizing the summer touch, and then does a kireji, cutting into the scene to reveal the true part of that place in the story and the song itself before going back to the original tone, carrying the kigo along with it.
I honestly didn't notice it until a certain scene played out.
I won't spoil it, but Cherry (one of the dual main characters) has these headphones he wears to block out sound. In this scene, it has a tone of sadness to it and when Cherry couldn't deal with that emotion, he cuts (kireji) through it by placing his headphones on. Still, it doesn't take away that emotion and all you can hear is the soft tears dripping out.
It's beautiful.
Though, I should get on to what this film is about because that too is beautiful.
Essentially, it's a classic summer tale.
Through the unexpectedness of summer break, they go on about their lives as they would usually do until Cherry and Smile (The other dual main character) bump into each other, switching up phones.
After Cherry's friends and Smile's sisters pass through their nervousness by calling the lost phone, they become friends and spend the summer together by interacting and sharing their passions.
However, Cherry is moving out soon and decides to help an old man find his lost record at his part-time job with Smile as a memento to their final days of summer.
The plot feels so charming since it just screams adolescence. The characters too feel cute and enjoyable despite not being the most complex out there. Though the film has this slow pace that doesn't bother me until the characters start exhibiting it. Sometimes they start or say things slowly, and makes for a bit of an irritating watch when they do dumb mistakes. Not anything that ruins the story's flow or seems stupid. Just the kind of mistakes you want to shake your friend when they do something dumb like, "What the heckkkkkkkkkkkkk were you thinkingggggg?!"
Even so, it all lends to a pretty cute ending that almost made me squeal a bit. It's not like I didn't see it coming, but it feels nice to watch an ending that feels so wholesome.
Plus, the song that plays is so damn good, and no, I'm not going to tell you what it's called because if I had to wait an hour and thirty minutes, so do you.
All in all, it's a relaxing film that isn't the greatest, but you can tell the staff loved every minute of it. They simply wanted to tell a summer tale that everyone can relate to or has wished to happen before.
~~
Now instead of my usual ending note, I want to tell you, whoever is reading, a haiku.
Though give me some grace. I've never written one before, so I'm sorry if it sounds stupid.
AHEM...
Go forth, you lost soul
to the field of flowers who
grace the land with glee
-Kishbokai
