The Anthem of the Heart (心が叫びたがってるんだ) is a romantic drama theatrical release by the same group that created anohana. The movie initially ran in Japan in 2015.
Naruse Jun dreamed of living in a castle and being with a shinning prince as a small child. Little did she know the castle she dreamed of was a gaudy love hotel on the outskirts of town. One day while playing through her fantasies she witnesses her father leaving the hotel with a princess that wasn't her mom. She rushes home to tell her mom the exciting news, her mom, struck with the news, chastises Jun about how much she talks. Shortly afterwards when she asks her father why hes leaving he blames her for the situation because of how much she talks. Feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders she runs into a mysterious talking egg who tells her that she should seal away her voice to stop from hurting those around her. He tells her that she will only be unsealed when she meets a shining prince.
Years later in high school she is a reclusive and morose student, who lives with the regrets of her parents divorce. When she is forced into a classroom committee by her homeroom teacher she has to face her curse head on. The committee is designed to come up with what the class will do for an upcoming exhibit for the neighborhood. The homeroom teacher, also the music teacher, stealthily suggests the class put on a musical. One of her classmates on the committee, Sakagami Takumi, has a hidden talent for music, inspiring Jun to push for the musical idea as well. She writes a story reflecting her own personal turmoil and with Takumi's help they convince the rest of the class to do it for the exhibit. Jun secretly hopes that Takumi is the foretold prince who will unseal her voice and allow her to experience the world again.
First off, anohana established its self as an incredibly sad story, but don't go into this movie expecting the same type of tear jerking response. Instead what you get is a story about regret and self punishment. The story focuses on Jun and Takumi opening up to themselves and others, finding a common struggle. Along the way a few other characters play roles in the two main characters awakening as well as their own, most notably the other two reluctant committee members. While realistic in its portrayal of the characters problems it is also a little heavy handed in the mellow drama. The characters themselves are really only two dimensional and quite predictable. You want to like them but in the end they really aren't likeable, thus making the impact of the final act less emotional.
The artwork wasn't bad, the backgrounds were really the best part, but much of the character designs were simple in comparison. Don't get me wrong it looks good, but that one thing disappointed me a little bit. I'm trying not to really shit on this movie, because it wasn't bad. It was just disappointing when I think back on it. There was some potential to make it a really special movie. I applaud it for it's realism when it came to the struggles the characters went through, but that was hindered by their half hearted personalities.
The movie isn't technically available in North America yet though. What does exist is an official region free DVD/BluRay that Rightstuf is importing and selling for a premium price. Honestly, its not worth that expense, I would wait out an official Region 1 release.
Naruse Jun dreamed of living in a castle and being with a shinning prince as a small child. Little did she know the castle she dreamed of was a gaudy love hotel on the outskirts of town. One day while playing through her fantasies she witnesses her father leaving the hotel with a princess that wasn't her mom. She rushes home to tell her mom the exciting news, her mom, struck with the news, chastises Jun about how much she talks. Shortly afterwards when she asks her father why hes leaving he blames her for the situation because of how much she talks. Feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders she runs into a mysterious talking egg who tells her that she should seal away her voice to stop from hurting those around her. He tells her that she will only be unsealed when she meets a shining prince.
Years later in high school she is a reclusive and morose student, who lives with the regrets of her parents divorce. When she is forced into a classroom committee by her homeroom teacher she has to face her curse head on. The committee is designed to come up with what the class will do for an upcoming exhibit for the neighborhood. The homeroom teacher, also the music teacher, stealthily suggests the class put on a musical. One of her classmates on the committee, Sakagami Takumi, has a hidden talent for music, inspiring Jun to push for the musical idea as well. She writes a story reflecting her own personal turmoil and with Takumi's help they convince the rest of the class to do it for the exhibit. Jun secretly hopes that Takumi is the foretold prince who will unseal her voice and allow her to experience the world again.
First off, anohana established its self as an incredibly sad story, but don't go into this movie expecting the same type of tear jerking response. Instead what you get is a story about regret and self punishment. The story focuses on Jun and Takumi opening up to themselves and others, finding a common struggle. Along the way a few other characters play roles in the two main characters awakening as well as their own, most notably the other two reluctant committee members. While realistic in its portrayal of the characters problems it is also a little heavy handed in the mellow drama. The characters themselves are really only two dimensional and quite predictable. You want to like them but in the end they really aren't likeable, thus making the impact of the final act less emotional.
The artwork wasn't bad, the backgrounds were really the best part, but much of the character designs were simple in comparison. Don't get me wrong it looks good, but that one thing disappointed me a little bit. I'm trying not to really shit on this movie, because it wasn't bad. It was just disappointing when I think back on it. There was some potential to make it a really special movie. I applaud it for it's realism when it came to the struggles the characters went through, but that was hindered by their half hearted personalities.
The movie isn't technically available in North America yet though. What does exist is an official region free DVD/BluRay that Rightstuf is importing and selling for a premium price. Honestly, its not worth that expense, I would wait out an official Region 1 release.
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