Feb 6, 2023
There is nothing more tragic than something that stops short of realizing its full potential.
That's just a made-up quote. Don't worry about it.
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas/Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai, colliquially known as KimiSui, is a story about the relationship between a male high schooler and his female classmate who has an unspecified terminal illness involving her pancreas as the title suggests, which could only really be either late-stage chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer, and the consensus seems to be that it's the latter. This is important to note straight away because in all honesty, if not for the title and a
...
couple of scenes where she is admitted into a hospital, it would be very hard to believe that this girl is suffering from anything, to the extent that one could be forgiven for bracing themselves for some kind of twist ending where it is revealed that she was never at any risk of succumbing to her illness in the first place, especially since the male MC himself asks her several times whether she is "really dying" (there actually is a twist at the end, but that's not it). It's also the first of many instances where the movie breaks the famous "show, don't tell" rule in storytelling.
We are told that the female MC is dying from a pancreatic disease, but the film never makes any real attempt at showing what this "living with dying" as she calls it is like... even though it would be perfectly in line with the ultimate goal of any tearjerker like this one—that is, eliciting intense emotions from the viewer—if not arguably more effective at accomplishing that than a simple romance story we've all seen a dozen times before between characters who don't have a lot of chemistry to begin with.
There is one scene where the male MC catches a glimpse of a bunch of syringes and tablets (presumably, insulin and pancreatic enzymes, respectively) in her bag, but that's about it. She is never once shown administering this medication even though she drinks and eats whatever she likes with little to no consequences.
We are told that she only puts up a front for the sake of her friends and family, but assuming the disease in question is in fact pancreatic cancer, that's something you cannot just hide by putting up a front no matter how strong you are. It is one of the deadliest and most vile forms of cancer out there, if not the deadliest, yet she is somehow more bubbly and energetic than the average girl when in reality she should be outwardly pale and gaunt with constant paralyzing pain and nausea. It's possible the author didn't do enough research on the topic before he decided to use it as a plot device, but it's more likely he found that it would be too inconvenient for him to portray it realistically (because then it wouldn't be possible for the female MC to hide her predicament from her best friend, and the male MC wouldn't be the only character who knows about it, etc.)
Instead, the film spends the majority of its runtime having the female MC launch what can only be described as a barrage of flirtatious advances towards the perpetually disinterested male MC—most notably, dragging him along for a trip by their lonesome, where they end up sharing a room in a hotel in which she all but forces him to carry her bridal-style and sleep in the same bed with her after playing truth or dare, among other decidedly risqué things.
This culminates in a scene that occurs about 50 minutes into the film, where she invites him over to her home when her parents are away and takes things a step further by initiating physical contact with a hug from behind and then leans in for a kiss, only to pull back at the last possible second when the male MC actually appears to give in to the temptation for once. She then brushes it off as "just a joke" even though she knows full well that he has never had a girlfriend, let alone a friend, and that he makes a conscious effort to avoid people so as not to get hurt, which is another thing the film could have expanded upon by showing us what led him to this point; alas, it's another missed opportunity.
This is the female MC we're meant to sympathize with, mind you, so does she enjoy toying with people who would be naturally most vulnerable to this kind of teasing? The whole situation has the potential to take on a much darker meaning when you consider that she admits she'd always had a passing interest in him before all of this in addition to her assertion that he was "fated to" pick up her diary or something along those lines. Are we meant to suspect that she instigated this entire scenario? There is no way to know for sure; however, it's clear that none of this is intended as we are told she is a fragile and caring person.
The male MC, who is understandably frustrated by this, instead of simply walking away from this toxic dynamic like any reasonable person would, proceeds to pin her down on the bed for what feels like a year, with enough force to make her cry. This entire scene is then waved away by an apology from her alone and it's never brought up again even once.
The male MC, a self-professed "boring classmate," wears the exact same facial expression for almost the entirety of the movie, which admittedly does serve to make a scene later on hit much harder than it otherwise would have, but also runs the risk of making him actually boring like he perceives himself to be (which is the opposite of the intent, surely?). His name is even purposely obscured for no other reason than to clumsily link it together with that of female MC (this obviously works better for Japanese audiences) and to make it even easier for male viewers to self-insert.
The rest of the cast is nothing to write home about. One character can literally be described by the "arrives --> offers the MC some gum --> refuses to elaborate further --> leaves" meme template. The best friend, Kyoko's sole purpose in life appears to be getting angry at the male MC, constantly treating him with such disdain—even before she learns the truth and that only he was privy to it—you'd think he had assaulted her in the past or something.
This isn't to say the film is without its good or emotional moments. Anyone who makes it to the end will no doubt find it tough to hold themselves back when the male MC finally bursts into tears (I know I did), for instance. The female MC's answer to what it means to be alive is also quite satisfying.
The music is neither too distracting nor too memorable. The opening song feels a little forced and out of place, though.
In terms of the animation, there is nothing mind-blowing about it, but it's adequate for this kind of dialogue-heavy and grounded narrative, although at times it resembles what you would see in a TV series as opposed to a feature film. One thing the film does particularly well, however, is background animation. There are multiple scenes with characters talking/walking or cars passing by in the background, which helps to make the world feel real and lived in as opposed to a stage that only lights up when the main characters are on it. That sort of attention detail is striking as it is somewhat rare in anime. The art style is consistent and the character design is simple yet appealing.
Overall, it is an enjoyable movie that I would have no qualms about recommending to anyone with the exception of those who have firsthand experience with terminal illness or know what it feels like to live with someone who suffers from it, since they will undoubtedly be disappointed and put off by the way it is glossed over, if not outright fetishized, here.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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