|
Post by OdanUrr on May 11, 2018 23:12:22 GMT -6
Okay, where to begin with this one? This is a teen romance story with a dash of time travel, in the vein of the kdrama One More Time and, well, plenty of other time travel stories. The plot is a bit confusing but I suppose it could be summarized thusly. A beautiful girl at school by the name of Nazuna is leaving town because her mother is getting remarried so one summer day, in a fit of impulsiveness, she challenges two boys, Norimichi -our protagonist- and Yusuke (both of whom happen to have a crush on her), to a swimming race. Should she win, one of the boys will do whatever she says. Since she wins and Yusuke came in second, a somewhat dejected Nazuna* asks him out on a date. However, as fate would have it, she again crosses paths with Norimichi. From here onwards, a series of events transpire that force our protagonist to go back in time and repeat the same day so he can spend more time with the girl he loves. Oh, and there's some non-sensical debate about fireworks being round or flat. This is a movie so I understand we can't expect character development on par with something like Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai!. Having said that, some development would've been appreciated. After watching the movie, I don't feel like I know these characters any more than I did before, a problem worsened by the fact that there are lots of background characters. The school they attend feels empty, their friendships come across as a rather hollow reflection of better slice of life anime (Nazuna apparently has no friends at all). Nazuna's future step-father initially comes across as an affable guy who's trying -perchance too much- to become part of the family... and then we see him punch Norimichi senseless. After that, I was completely onboard Nazuna's train, even if it's not an entirely stable one. Nazuna's an odd character for me to place. She appears to be shy at times, extremely bold at others, with a pinch of craziness to throw me -and Norimichi- off balance. There's one thing that stuck with me, that Norimichi says once or twice, and it's that the world feels wrong, and I can't but agree with this. Something feels off about the world where Uchiage Hanabi (it's a way longer title) takes place. Consider, for instance, how Nazuna's parents always seem to find her no matter where she goes. There's also the matter of the foreboding and eerie music playing at the most unusual of times and places. At one point I thought the movie was taking the much grimmer route of parental abuse, and you can probably make that fit 'cause this movie explains nothing, leaving the viewers to fill in the gaps -of which there are plenty- themselves. The time travel gimmick doesn't help. In fact, I'm still trying to grasp what that ending meant, if anything. Did Nazuna die? Did Norimichi die? Is that why he doesn't show up in class at the end? Does anyone remember anything about what happened? What even did happen? I assumed that, from the moment he used the time marble he created some sort of pocketed dimension or alternate reality (in which case, how could his classmates remember anything?), but it looks like they get transported inside the marble at the very end? Why did Nazuna's dad have the marble? I don't know what is happening! I wasn't particularly impressed by the art (it's a bit washed-out for my tastes), and there's some pretty bad CGI at the beginning. I did like how they animated the scene where Norimichi throws the marble for the first time; the music there was on point. Beyond that, I don't recall much of the soundtrack. There are some beautiful visuals when you get to the very end of the movie though, but they lacked the emotional resonance they might've had if we'd been given enough time to bond with the characters. It's a pity because with a tighter script (some might argue any script) and in a short, episodic, format, Uchiage Hanabi could've been pretty damn good. As it stands, it's probably an average or below-average movie for me. Please, if you feel I'm missing something, anything, that elevates this movie, feel free to let me know. *I liked how they showed the differences in Nazuna's attitude when it is Norimichi the one who "wins," clearly suggesting he's the one she likes.
|
|