The story involves a mythical tunnel that can grant you any wish if you travel far enough in it, the catch being that every 10 seconds or so inside the tunnel is equal to more than an hour of time passing outside. Kaoru Touno is the protagonist who inadvertently caused his sister’s death (similar to Jintan & Menma in “Anohana”) and is seeking to make amends, while he meets a quite & aloof girl named Anzu Hanashiro who is also interested in venturing in the tunnel.
Some things I thought were well done in the film included the animation, which for the most part was fantastic. The tunnel itself was vibrant and well designed, but even the characters and their facial expressions (especially the eyes) were nicely drawn in my opinion. The music, while a little generic, fit the tone perfectly, and I especially enjoyed the songs that played at the climax and the end. Finally I thought the voice acting was expertly done, while the characters did speak a bit monotone there were certain scenes where they were running, yelling, or crying that I think the actors did a great job.
Something I really appreciated about the film was how many small details at the beginning of “Natsu e no Tunnel” that are called back by the midpoint or end of the story. This makes the viewing experience a lot more rewarding for the attentive, and there were certain things like the pair’s interaction at the train stop, or the manga Anzu likes to read, or the umbrella, that proved to be important later. None of that is really a spoiler as they don’t affect the overall plot that much, just that it’s good to pay extra attention to the details of the film.
A few minor flaws I thought existed in the film included the pacing. “Natsu e no Tunnel” seems to be unaware of its short runtime of an hour twenty minutes, and it takes its time fleshing out the environment, but then in the last twenty minutes or so they press the accelerator and speed through the climax. Another common complaint I read online was that apparently the filmmakers cut out a fair amount of content from the source material, sort of similar to what happened in “Koe no Katachi”, leading to some confusing interactions and scenes, especially in the second half. Several of Kaoru’s actions & decisions in the climax seemed completely out-of-character to his personality beforehand, and maybe the film could have benefited from fitting more content from the source material. The characters and plot could also be a bit cliché at times, you’ve got the socially reclusive male protagonist, the aloof but compassionate tsundere which is the female protagonist, the backdrop of a rural Japanese town by the sea, the high school setting etc.
Despite the fact that the story structure could have used some polishing and it’s not the most original, “Natsu e no Tunnel” is still a very good anime in my opinion that boast great animation, music, and voice acting. Even with its inconsistencies the ending did hit me in the feel, I did get a bit emotional at the finale. These relatively lesser-known films by less traditional studios can be hit or miss, but this one was a home run. I know that its release outside of Japan has been a bit slow, but if you can get your hands on it in my opinion “Natsu e no Tunnel” is a worthwhile watch.
