This is the first time I’m doing a review. So lemme keep this simple. However I'm not a great critic 😅
Well about this anime, I have couple of good and bad opinions.
{Caution!: Minor Spoilers ahead!}
Story:
The story is underrated but it’s fair to say that the anime adaptation was quite bad. I assume there are plenty of people who were introduced to this anime because of the MV ‘Uchihage Hanabi’. The story and its concept is nothing new to the audience, which is already spoilt by the music video itself. The movie comprised of the most irrelevant things like students trying to measure their teachers bust
...
size, and guys debating whether fireworks are round or flat, that really had nothing to do with the story. Finally, a bunch of kids along with our protagonist ‘Norimichi’ then plan to watch the fireworks from a nearby light-house in their town to put an end to their debate/argument by determining true shape of fireworks. But amidst all this, Norimichi who subsequently falls in love with a mysterious girl in their class ‘Nazuna’ discovers that the girl wasn’t happy with her personal and social life because she has to move away with her mother and her fiancé; which is why she plans to run away from this town to get settled into Tokyo to pursue her career as a singer. For that, she decides to have a swimming competition with Norimichi and his best friend Yuusuke; with a condition that whoever wins will ask for anything from the ones who lost. Thus she chooses Yuusuke to go out with her to watch the fireworks during the Shrine festival because he came second, who later avoids going with her to the fireworks and decides to go out with his friends to firework show from the light house. This is when Nazuna gets caught by her mother who discovered about her running away from the town. Despite her rebellious efforts, she fails to escape from her mother. After witnessing all this, angry Norimichi throws a crystal like ball/orb with a regret that he wanted to be the one who could go with Nazuna to watch the fireworks and help in running away. The ball then grants his wish by reverting the time and showing him delusional “what-if” circumstances; this time it was Norimichi who won the swimming race and together with Nazuna he decides to run away from this town, who are then chased by Nazuna’s family and Norimichi’s friends. Later she reveals that she wanted Norimichi to win the race, and then also reveals that she actually liked Norimichi from the starting itself. And the story goes on with Norimichi using the orb multiple times after every failed attempt just to retrieve Nazuna. And the story goes on. To be honest, the story is well written; but the poor narration made the story look mediocre.
Art/Animation:
‘Fireworks’ is an ambitious film, rich with metaphors and artistic choices that almost looked unrealistic. Great piece of art, but its CGI execution was terrible like some part of the movie felt like an old, conventional fairytale movie. Animation was good, but could have been a little better .It’s a shame that inspite of being produced by a big, well known studio ‘Shaft’, yet it failed to give it a proper finish to the animation and CGI part.
Music:
One word “Masterpiece”. If you’re quite disappointed with the story, then here’s the treat (music). Songs were soulful and worth of being listened to repeatedly! There are even some proportions of folks (like me) who were introduced to this anime by the means of music video “Uchiage Hanabi”. The music part is personally my favorite, especially the voice of Daoko feels ear soothing.
Characters:
Loved the chemistry between the main characters, who were the center of attraction. Norimichi was naïve kid who falls in love with a beautiful girl Nazuna. Who helps a lot in running away, always rooted and stood by her. Nazuna was cute, she’s an ambitious girl who wanted to live the life in her way. Yuusuke who was Norimichi’s best was the true asshole of this story, who assured Nazuna to watch firework with her then decides to not to show up, betraying her. The movie had some other characters like Nazuna’s mother and her fiancé, along with Norimichi’s rest of other friends who were desperate to determine fireworks shape (round or flat), some other characters like the class teacher and her boyfriend also a teacher played some minor role. There was barely a character development in the movie other than the main characters, due to the time constraints of 90 minutes run-time.
Romance:
What actually is the most prominent thing to make a proper romance anime? In my opinion, having a proper narration or a proper background story to justify the feelings developed between MCs/lovers is the most primary thing and makes the people adore your characters. You need to convince your audience to justify their relationship and making a significant conviction, so that it leaves a great impact among the viewers, so they could root their characters. The anime kinda lags behind in this aspect, due to the vagueness in establishing a proper love story between MCs. Other than that the two of ‘em Nazuna and Norimichi look adorable, and together they made a great pair. The movie has also made some wonderful attempts in increasing the closeness between the MCs. Therefore, an above average type of anime in terms of romance.
Ending:
This anime really had one of the most beautiful endings. The ending is ambiguous and purely based on audience interpretations. After the third and final time Norimichi uses the orb, he returns to the train and ensures that his friends and Nazuna’s family don’t spot them. The train changes railway tracks and takes them to a strange version of their town, which seems to be enclosed in a shimmering dome. His third wish earns him and Nazuna shelter in the suspended timeline inside the orb. The enclosed town where the young couple ends up in the orb. When the drunken guy mistakes the orb for a firework charge, it shoots upwards and explodes, and the dome shatters. As the pieces of orb start falling, Norimichi and Nazuna see the various odds/possibilities for their future. An interesting sci-fi, anime drama film that takes you to a roller-coaster ride of emotions in this exciting time-bending journey, along with ambiguous endings.
Nice movie, but hardly you’ll find any change of emotions after watchin’ it. As the movie proceeds, some overwhelming plot awaits. Basically, its worth of being watched once or twice…And quite enjoyable one :)
PS: The review is completely based on my sheer opinion and enjoyment. I’m not much of a critic. Hope y’all found it interesting <3
All (282)FriendsAlso Available atRSS Feeds |
Feb 28, 2022
This is the first time I’m doing a review. So lemme keep this simple. However I'm not a great critic 😅
Well about this anime, I have couple of good and bad opinions. {Caution!: Minor Spoilers ahead!} Story: The story is underrated but it’s fair to say that the anime adaptation was quite bad. I assume there are plenty of people who were introduced to this anime because of the MV ‘Uchihage Hanabi’. The story and its concept is nothing new to the audience, which is already spoilt by the music video itself. The movie comprised of the most irrelevant things like students trying to measure their teachers bust ... |
