Bakuten!! Movie

I started watching this movie assuming it would be an hour and a half of scenes devoted largely to inter-high performances (the equivalent of a national championship between high schools), with perhaps a few more segments focusing on the final weeks leading up to the event so as not to get so much into the competition, but fundamentally I was expecting something Haikyuu-style: one movie, one match.

What I found instead, to my surprise, was a mere 20 minutes, possibly less, devoted to this moment. A performance and a half, not getting too much into specifics, something that caused me to quickly glance at my watch ... in disbelief after watching it, wondering just how fast the movie had gone by for me. Against all odds, this was nothing more than the introduction to what is the main plot of the film, and a plot, in my opinion, much more poignant and human than it would have been had the decision been made to focus on one competition alone.

There is something inherently human in the expressions and reactions of all the different characters. You can sympathize with all of them; you can see friends, teachers, yourself, and people you know reflected in them; and you can understand why they feel the way they do. The game is over, and suddenly it's time to face reality, prepare for exams, make decisions as to how to face the new stages of life, and pass the baton to the next generations. The loneliness is palpable: where before there were six, now only half of them remain; the previous excitement and anticipation turns to frustration or longing in some cases, and anger in others. I won't go into details to avoid spoilers, but I will simply say that I was able to relate to a good number of scenes that conveyed, in a perfectly subtle and natural way, feelings that, in my opinion, were not at all easy to communicate.

There are, however, instances of melodrama where I found myself rolling my eyes. Watari is a fantastic character, but I can't help thinking that more than one of his scenes fell victim to an over-dramatization that was not at all necessary, though I understand where the impulse to portray him that way comes from.

And the ending... is to be expected, totally foreseeable, and no one should anticipate any crazy plot twists or strange surprises. It's an ending that elegantly delivers the message it intends to and is meant to deliver. At the end of the day, we do the things we love because they bring us joy, because they bring us together, because they make us feel alive, or, as is often reiterated in the film, because they make us “fly,” free and in control of our lives. Forgetting this is dangerous, and something that ends up bringing along some very negative consequences. When we tell ourselves that the goal is to “get the win," “make money," “reach the goal," and that is the only thing we focus on, we lose sight of what is right under our noses, the people around us, and, most importantly, the happiness of being in the moment.

It is a very “mindfulness” type of message, one that we have heard a thousand times but which never hurts to hear again from time to time, and much less so when it is represented in such a human and gentle way. Highly recommended!

(Spanish review below).

I have a bittersweet feeling about this movie.

I enjoyed the second half, but the first half was... weird. The plot was all over the place.

When I first started watching it, I thought the plot would be about the Inter-High and I liked that it wasn't the case because the anime took a different path than most Spokons. The problem is, like I said, that the plot takes a long time to start. I had a hard time understanding where it was going.

This made the movie boring until halfway through. I remember being already at minute forty and feeling like the movie hadn't even ... started yet. I even did other things in the meantime because it wasn't entertaining at all.

HOWEVER, I really liked the rest of the movie. Watari has a bigger role than in the anime and I liked that it wasn't all flowers and rainbows all the time. Like I said, I like that the plot takes a different path than the usual competitions we see in most Spokons. It feels a bit more personal and shows other sides of the boys.

What I didn't like about this part were the scenes with the Hakumei team. I didn't find them necessary. I would have preferred the boys to perfect the choreography themselves.

Some of the characters' resolutions were rushed, for example Misato's decision about college. It lacked development, considering he changed his mind from one moment to the next, after an entire anime and movie.

The animation, just like in the anime, is good. Considering it's a movie, maybe the animation studio could have made an effort to animate the gymnastics performances in 2D instead of 3D, but the rest is fine.

At this point, I was a little tired of seeing the same choreography that the team did in the anime. I understand that making and learning a choreography like that must be very complicated, but considering that it's an anime about rhythmic gymnastics and to show how great the choreographies and discipline are, they could have done at least ONE different choreography for the movie. Plus, they always showed the choreography from the same angle (recycling animations). Spoiler: Even the final choreography between both teams was a fusion of each other's choreographies.

Do I recommend it? If you're a fan of the anime, yes. It's nice to see the boys again and there are some really touching scenes that will make you smile (or even cry), BUT I don't think it's a good movie. It's okay. Just okay.

...

Esta película me dejó una sensación agridulce.

Disfruté la segunda mitad, pero la primera fue... extraña. La trama era un caos.

Cuando comencé a verla, pensé que la trama sería sobre el Inter-High y me gustó que no haya sido el caso, porque el anime tomó un camino diferente al de la mayoría de los Spokons. El problema es que, como dije, la trama tarda en comenzar mucho. Me costaba entender hacia dónde se dirigía.

Esto hizo que la película fuera aburrida hasta la mitad. Recuerdo que ya estaba en el minuto cuarenta y sentir que la película aún no había comenzado. Incluso hice otras cosas mientras tanto porque no era entretenida en absoluto.

SIN EMBARGO, me gustó mucho el resto de la película. Watari tiene un papel más importante que en el anime y me gustó que no todo fuera flores y arcoíris todo el tiempo. Como dije, me gusta que la trama tome un camino diferente al de las competencias habituales que vemos en la mayoría de los spokons. Se siente un poco más personal y muestra otros aspectos de los chicos.

Lo que no me gustó de esta parte fueron las escenas del equipo de Hakumei. No las vi necesarias. Fueron bastante forzadas y hubiese preferido que los chicos perfeccionaran la coreografía ellos mismos.

Algunas resoluciones de los personajes fueron apresuradas, por ejemplo la decisión de Misato sobre la universidad. Le faltó desarrollo, teniendo en cuenta que cambió de parecer de un momento al otro, después de todo un anime y de la película.

La animación, al igual que en el anime, es buena. Teniendo en cuenta que es una película, tal vez el estudio de animación podría haber hecho un esfuerzo para animar las actuaciones gimnásticas en 2D en lugar de 3D, pero el resto está bien.

Llegados a este punto, estaba un poco cansada de ver la misma coreografía que el equipo hizo en el anime. entiendo que hacer y aprenderse una coreografía así debe ser muy complicado, pero teniendo en cuenta que es un anime acerca de gimnasia rítmica y mostrar lo grandiosas que son las coreografías y la disciplina, podrían haber hecho al menos UNA coreografía diferente para la película. Además, siempre mostraban la coreografía desde el mismo ángulo (reciclando animaciones). Spoiler: Incluso la coreografía final entre ambos equipos era una fusión de las respectivas coreografías de cada uno.

¿Lo recomiendo? Si eres fan del anime, sí. Es agradable volver a ver a los chicos y hay algunas escenas realmente conmovedoras que te harán sonreír (o incluso llorar), PERO no creo que sea una buena película. Está bien. Simplemente bien.

This story was a disappointment. The style matches the series style. Some of the characters were irritating to me in the film. They felt slightly out of character from the series. I was looking forward to the competition and hoping they would win since they previously lost. To have them lose twice and for almost the same reason but with a different character was a gut punch. I lost interest in the rest of the movie after that. I finished it just for the sake of finishing it but there was nothing for me to look forward to. In conclusion, I loved the series but ... hated the film. I’d you also loved the series and wanted to see them win, then you should skip the film.