- Episodes : Movie
- Genre : Drama
- Airing Date : September 19, 2015
- Producers : A-1 Pictures, Aniplex, Dentsu, Fuji TV, Aniplex of America
Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda. Preview / Plot (No Spoilers)
A new movie has arrived at Japan’s theaters and the reactions couldn’t be better. Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda takes its viewers on a fairytale-like adventure of friendship, love and the wish to express one’s true emotions.
High school student Jun grew up as a happy and outgoing girl. She was not afraid to speak what’s on her mind and never thought of the consequences of her actions. This changes when a thoughtless comment tears her family apart. Soon after, an egg fairy appears in front of her and takes away her ability to speak so that she will never hurt another person with her words again.
Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda shows how Jun’s life is about to change once again. After isolating herself for many years, she and three other students get elected as members for the “community connectedness council”. On top of that, she has to star in a school musical and express all the emotions that she has suppressed for so many years. How will her story end?
Kokosake, as the movie is also called, has been advertised as the reunion movie of the creative producers behind drama classic Ano Hana. Expectations are high for this animated drama and fans cannot wait to see whether the producers have surpassed their past success. Continue reading to find out what we thought of this heartwarming story and whether the hype is justified.
What is Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda like? Why people will enjoy this movie?
In order to truly appreciate Kokosake for what it is you should be a fan of Slice of Life stories as well as be able to enjoy slower movies. This is not an epic tale filled with action and also not a fun comedy with silly jokes. It revolves around high school students and the hardships of growing up. If you like down-to-earth stories with lots of love for details then you cannot go wrong with Kokosake.
Another important aspect of this movie is music. It helps the members of the council to get closer together as well as get the courage to face their problems. However, you should not expect upbeat songs or crazy music videos with dancing characters. Kokosake rather tries to focus on the significance of music and how it is able to touch and connect people. Especially fans of musicals should give this movie a try.
What’s so appealing about this piece of work?
Kokosake is a coming of age story that everyone can relate to. At first it might seem like a fantastic tale that takes place far away from reality, but it is in fact a story about growing up and speaking what’s truly on your mind. It shows the struggles and obstacles of adolescents and how they have to deal with the mistakes of their past as well as their dreams for the future.
On top of the thoughtful storyline you will find great animation and an outstanding soundtrack. All the different elements behind this movie don’t interfere with each other, but rather work together in order to create one final masterpiece. Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda is touching in its simplicity.
Kokoro Ga Sakebitagatterunda.
Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda. Main Characters List
Naruse, Jun
Voice Actor :Minase, Inori
Naruse Jun is the protagonist of this story. She grew up as an active and talkative child, always with a smile on her face. Everything changes for her when her parents divorce because of a thoughtless comment she made. Troubled by her own actions Jun encounters an egg fairy who seals away all of her words so that she won’t be able to hurt other people with her words again. Now she is a silent and shy high school student who keeps all her emotions to herself in fear of hurting anyone.
Sakagami, Takumi
Voice Actor :Uchiyama, Kouki
Takumi is a quiet boy who does his best to never stand out from the crowd and live a life without any hardships. He hardly speaks what’s on his mind and also doesn’t interact too much with his classmates besides his few friends. His real passion is music and from a young age he has been learning to play the piano and appreciate the great masters. He was first influenced by his parents, music lovers themselves, and even though he wants to leave his past behind his love for music is still present.
Nitou, Natsuki
Voice Actor :Amamiya, Sora
Natsuki is an honor student and member of the cheerleader club. At first glance, her life seems to be perfect: she has good grades, good looks and friends around her. But similar to her classmates there are things on her mind that she does not talk about. She is troubled by love and is not brave enough to express what she truly feels. The mistakes she made in the past are still haunting her and might even affect her future.
Tasaki, Daiki
Voice Actor :Seiyuu: Hosoya, Yoshimasa
Tall and strong Daiki has to reevaluate his dreams and ambitions. The grim-faced student was an active member of the baseball club and trained hard to become their ace player. This changes when an elbow injury puts him on the side bench and takes away what was most important to him. Now he not only has to find out what to do with his free time, but also question his own value without his success in baseball. Even though he has a cold facade and is not afraid to start a fight, he actually cares about the people around him and does not want to hurt them deliberately.
Contains Spoilers
Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda. Review
If I had to describe Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda with one word I’d say it is thoughtful. From the beginning until the very end you can feel that someone put a lot of attention and love into this project and tried his hardest to get a message across to the viewers. It is a story with a unique atmosphere that will make you want to know how everything is going to end.
What really struck me as different about this movie is the incorporation of different effects and styles. The storyline and animation are simple, but the producers added a few extra touches here and there. For example, in written conversations between Jun and Takumi the text messages would pop up on the screen for viewers to read. This allows for a great flow of the different scenes without being interrupted by constant changes between phone screens and the actual setting. Also, the fantasy world existing in Jun’s mind is beautifully depicted with drawings that in style reminded me of the witch worlds of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, just less dark and evil.
Speaking of Jun’s fantasy world, it was nice to see an uncommon connection between reality and imagination. The whole movie feels like a fairytale, starting with the words “Once upon a time” and concluding in a Happy Ending. The plot shows a constant conflict between the stories of castles and charming princes that Jun loves and the sad reality she has to face every day.
It is beautiful to see how her own story is interpreted in the form of an actual fairytale for the final musical performance of the movie. The producers tried to combine a lot of different elements. However, this might not be obvious at first glance since these elements go hand in hand without disrupting each other. The flow of Kokosake feels natural and at no point did I think that the producers tried to force or push a certain aspect in order to make this movie stand out.
This, however, brings me to a part of the movie that I personally didn’t enjoy at first. For me, the incorporation of an egg fairy seemed a little bit inconsistent with the rest of the story since there are no other forms of magic or similar occurrences. Also, I would ask myself why it had to be something as weird as a magical egg and why a common fairy wouldn’t do the job. But it soon became obvious that it is just another element that contributes to the fairytale-like atmosphere of the movie. Whether a magical egg fairy really exists isn’t the main focus here, but rather how something forces Jun to keep her emotions bottled up so that she won’t hurt anyone again.
The same goes for the other characters. Even though Jun is the only one who physically is not able to speak what’s on her mind, her classmates are also not being completely honest with themselves. Even though there are things that they want to say, they are too afraid of the consequences. In the end, what the movie wants to teach its viewers is that sometimes you have to take a chance and find the guts to say what’s on your mind. You never know what the outcome might be.
Last but not least, let me say a few words about Kokosake’s soundtrack; after all, music is one of the main focuses of this story. I must say that I am positively surprised by the song choices, especially for the musical finale of the movie. Instead of creating completely new songs, the producers decided to take well-known music and add their own lyrics. As a fan of cover songs I loved hearing the melody of Over the Rainbow mixed with Japanese lyrics in the setting of this movie. Other famous songs used for the soundtrack include Greensleeves, a Beethoven Piano Sonata or Around the World, from the musical of the same name.
All in all, I was positively surprised by Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda even though I already had certain expectations coming into the movie theater. Yes, it is a story about high school students struggling to grow up like you’ve seen it so many times before. Still, this movie is able to contribute something new and unique that makes it special in its own way. You won’t regret watching it.
1. Egg Fairy
The mysterious egg fairy appears in front of young Jun after she causes her parents’ divorce. Looking like a common white egg, he is dressed in purple clothes with an old-fashioned hat on top. He has the ability to talk and offers the girl a deal: he will free her of her pain and make sure that she will never hurt anyone again, but if Jun tries to speak what’s on her mind she will suffer under great stomach pains. After that, he does not visit the girl again and leaves her alone with her struggles.
2. Community Connectedness Council
The community connectedness council was established by music teacher Joushima. Since no students volunteered to become council members he elected four students he thought would be most suited for the job. The members only follow his wish reluctantly and are not keen on spending their free time together; however, soon they get to know each other better and start working together as a team. Their meeting place is the music room which Joushima transformed into his personal living space.
3. The School Musical
The musical managed by the council members forms the finale of the movie. According to Joushima it would be a great way to bring the whole class closer together and to give them a chance to create something. At first, Jun is shocked by the idea of her standing on stage, but after she realizes that she is able to express her emotions through singing without being haunted by stomach pains, she sees her chance. For this musical she writes down her own story in order to finally tell the world what she really feels.
As I left the movie theater I was a little bit torn. I had to admit that Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda might just be another coming of age story revolving around a group of high school students. Yet, something was still different about this movie and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy every minute of it. The producers perfectly executed all of their ideas and created a polished final product. If you are around the same age as the protagonists or face similar problems you will definitely enjoy it.
Let us know your thoughts on Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda in the comment section down below. Can you not wait to finally watch it or are your expectations low for this high school drama? Your input and ideas are, as always, more than welcome.
Author: Cornelia Wagner