For sure the story is confusing yes, but it really isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be; just have to give a some thoughts.
I'll start by answering your question about the ball.
As other said, it is a plot device. a symbol of choice. But there is a reason behind choosing a crystal ball instead of say a key or book. Recall on top of the lighthouse where upon throwing the ball and the light scatter? You can't really do that with most other objects. Crystal refract light and when compact into a ball shape will scatter the light everywhere. Pretty much representing the infinite worlds/decisions that could have been made or had been made. Look at crystalline artworks and note how colorful it is. As a side note, you can kind of see where the movie was going with the dragonfly scene at the very beginning and its many "eyes."
Norimichi's friend Yuusuke plays an important role in all of this. Short story long, Norimichi wasn't the first that when through the "if-only" journey. Yuusuke did it too. Recall that in the first "iteration" Yuusuke didn't want to meet up with Nazuna and was strongly against meeting her, even forcing Norimichi to see her instead. Yet in the second "iteration" he was extremely furious that Norimichi was meeting up with Nazuna. The reason behind this isn't explain until the end where Yuusuke saw himself with Nazuna in a crystal shard. What this means is multiple iterations have happened before with Nazuna and Yuusuke and they ended in an imperfect ending. The so call "first iteration" is the first of where Norimichi was aware of the ball and in effect is the last iteration for Yuusuke; you can say he passed the ball onto Norimichi.
Before I continue, I do want to talk a little more about how the ball works. It appears that whenever the thrower of the ball makes a "if-only" wish and throws it into a light source, he/she is able to travel back in time to the point where he/she can make that change. However, it appears that on the first "rewind" the user is unaware of the time travel and for subsequent travels, he/she can remember; however, it appears that other people (and potentially previous users) forget/revert back to as if they don't know about the ball's power.
With that being said, recall the pool scene at the beginning where Yuusuke claims he needs to use the restroom. Was that a force so that Norimichi talks with Nazuna or did he really need to use the restroom? That's up to personal interpretation. I believe it is a force since you can think of it as Yuusuke making a "if only Norimichi picked up the ball when we were racing" or "if only Norimichi knew/saw about the ball." Review over the scene where Norimichi punches Yuusuke; note how he was acting. To me it was as if he knew what was going on and was putting on a fake reaction. As for the other characters, they are probably supporting.
The ending of the movie is probably the most important part and one I believe a lot of people give very little credit too. In essence, it is a realization that there have been multiple worlds with different outcome for Nazuna (and also where you see the what-if with Yuusuke and Nazuna). But to explain the ending more, you need to travel back a bit to the train (more specifically when right before Nazuna first start singing).
A bit of history on trains: they are the go to symbol for traveling; be it somewhere physical, abstract or factitious. Usually, the background of the train ride to a non-physical area is black, some rainbow color or abstract. The train ride in the black tunnel can be said to be them two go through and doing multiple if-only. This is where the interpretation gets a bit shakey since Norimichi holds the ball so how did the other world spawned at the end? My only answer to that is the parallel world theory.
Back to the ending. First of, the weird crystalline patterns is probably a saying that the world they are in is in the outer-most pocket in the ball and the pattern is the outer surface of the ball (it could also just be Shaft doing Shaft things at the end). The shattering of the ball and the firework of crystals are the multiple worlds that had happened.
As for the ending, with the school and why Norimichi wasn't at school, that is really up to your interpretation. Maybe he is off somewhere in a "perfect" world with Nazuna. One thing we do know is Yuusuke's looking angry/annoy(?) at the end. Most likely because he saw himself with Nazuna in multiple worlds, but yet it turns out he is not the best one for Nazuna; doesn't mean he remembers all the different iterations/worlds. Also note the insert song "Forever Friends" at the end. Listen/read the lyrics, it is pretty much the story of Yuusuke and Nazuna in my opinion.
The ending song "Fireworks" also plays a big role in explain the story.
There's so much to analyze about this movie that a casual watch expecting the story to tell you everything is not the right way to handle the movie. This movie is one where YOU get to write the story. The movie only shows you the premise of the world. For answer on what happen with Nazuna and Yuusuke, how did Nazuna and Norimichi life worked out in other worlds, did Nazuna ever worked in a night club or became and idol and how, that is for you the imaginer/writer to write. It's is for sure not a movie I recommend for casual watcher, but for those that are willing to take the time and think about the movie, it is truly amazing.
As a side note, the English translation of the title "Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?" is pretty indicative of the movie. Don't read it literally, but read it as "Fireworks, Should We See It from all Around" referring to should we witness every aspect of life or better said in the song "Fireworks": "Seeking the pause between waves, I'll try once again..." |
