[If a dog walks, it will hit an animated cartoon. No.10] I thought it was a movie that made me cry, but it turned out to be a coming-of-age musical film! My heart is crying out for you.

We want to meet more and more anime that excite our hearts, anime that will cheer us up tomorrow, and anime that we will always love!　We will introduce anime that are popular at the time, regardless of whether they are new releases or long-term favorites.

Musical anime with melodies of standard numbers that are easy on the heart

The staff of "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai." （Although it is well-known as an original theatrical version by the staff of "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai" (We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day), it is not the same as "Let's Cry! (Anohana), but it's not the kind of film you go to with a lot of enthusiasm.

It was, to put it simply, a modest film. In a very good way.

There was none of the movie-like flamboyance of a film with a climax that is full of screen action. There is no threat of world destruction, no miracle like the breaking of the sea. There are no brightly colored hair or inhuman characters. The only thing that gives off a fantasy-like atmosphere is the "egg" that speaks to the heroine.

However, I had a solid sense of satisfaction from having seen a work of art.

What impressed me was the songs sung by the characters. The story is about a class that puts together an original musical for a local event called "Fureai Koryukai" ("Community Friendship Exchange Party").

The songs sung in the musical are "songs" with lyrics written by the characters themselves based on the melodies of familiar standard numbers and well-known classical songs.

The songs include "Around The World," the theme from the movie "Around The World in 80 Days," "Over The Rainbow," the theme from the movie "The Wizard of Oz," Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 "Pathétique," and many more. Even if you do not know the titles of these pieces, you are sure to have heard them somewhere before, and all of them will be softly and familiarly absorbed into your heart.

The climax of the program is the musical stage. The realistic depiction and direction make you feel as if you are actually watching a performance by high school students. The students in the class, each with different specialties and different ideas, gather their strength to make the stage a success with their own will. The fact that they are not monolithic makes the film seem more realistic.

The climactic stage performance, in which the characters sing and dance, is a major highlight of the film's calm atmosphere. However, the heart of the drama is centered on the emotional movements of the main characters.

Everyone's heart wants to scream.

The heroine is Jun Naruse, a girl who is "cursed" by a trauma from her childhood that prevents her from speaking and gives her a stomach ache when she is forced to speak. The role of the prince is played by Takumi Sakagami, a boy who loves music but has a hard time speaking his true feelings. Natsuki Nito, an honor student on the cheerleading squad, and Daiki Tasaki, an injured former baseball ace, make up the four main members. With the addition of the entire class, the story progresses as an ensemble piece.

The title of the film, "My Heart is Screaming," is embodied in the story. is embodied by the heroine Jun, who is unable to speak. Jun, who is unable to speak, conducts all of her conversations with Takumi and the others in the first half of the film via e-mail. The scene in which she is talking with Takumi in front of her through e-mail for a long time reveals the strangeness of Jun, but at the same time, it also evokes the image of the current communication situation itself, where people are connected through SNS and other means.

It gradually becomes clear that the other three members of the group also have "hearts that want to scream". Takumi has regretted not speaking out and acting on his thoughts in the past. Natsuki sometimes remains silent and gruff toward Takumi, whom she broke up with in junior high school, without saying a word. Daiki, who always yells and shouts and seems to have nothing to do with being quiet, is confronted with an unexpected reality, and feelings that have nowhere to go begin to bubble up in his heart.

Everyone is unable to say what they want to say or to hide their true feelings. Therefore, when we see these four people, we can feel our own feelings resonating somewhere inside of them.

There are several times in the play when their true feelings erupt as a cry, making the viewer feel a sense of excitement. For example, when a junior student expresses his dissatisfaction with Daiki. For example, the conversation between Natsuki and Takumi. And the most climactic scene where Jun throws words at Takumi: .......

But it is not a "cry from the heart". It is not the end of the story if you can say it out loud. Rather, there are some things that begin to fall apart because they have been put into words. Like the events of the past that led Jun to close his heart.

The cry that the heart truly desires is a more earnest wish, and it is complete only when it reaches and communicates. This wish is sublimated by the success of the musical stage, and moves the four to the next stage in the future. Each small and big step is comfortable.

The characters created by Masaga Tanaka (character designer and chief animation director) are really good. While Tanaka's characters are drawn with subtle expressions that are not showy, the manga-like comical expressions used in "Anohana" and their squishy changes of facial expressions are a nice accent.

The festival-like goofiness is nostalgic for everyone.

According to an interview with the director in the pamphlet, this film was initially planned as a "cultural festival" film. However, in order to depict the students other than the main characters as well, he decided to keep the stage set-up small.

Indeed, each of the students in the class on the day of the "furekoso" had their own good lines and were memorable. Even the classmates who were not very supportive of the musical at first, as they participated with their own specialties, came together with the desire to make this stage a success.

In the first place, from the initial consultation to decide to put on a musical, things are already a bit of a mess. Everyone is busy with club activities and studying, and no one wants to spend extra time on a class performance. While trying to make up for it with something appropriate, someone else offered an opinion, and the conversation drifted in that direction without really understanding what it was about.

The film is not very beautiful and the class is not united, but it gives a sense of reality that "this is what a cultural festival is like, come to think of it.

Now, who would I recommend this film to?

Those who liked "Anohana" have probably already paid attention to it. If you were not into "Anohana" or have not seen it, but you like anime that depicts adolescence and sensitive emotions, you may want to see this movie. The overall atmosphere is more like a live-action drama than "Anohana.

If you have ever heard the saying, "It's hard to say out loud what you really want to say," and thought to yourself, "That's exactly right," then you probably feel the same way. If you are one of those people who say, "I can't say what I really want to say, but it's hard to say what I really want to say," you will probably feel something.

Also, if you are a fan of musicals, you may want to pay attention to this film. The film is also interesting in the sense that it depicts "high school students who perform musicals.

Once you've had your fill of the world, you may want to go on a pilgrimage to a holy place.

The setting is Chichibu City in Saitama Prefecture, the same place as in "Anohana. It is a land of beautiful scenery with many ups and downs, and the mountains are always reflected in the landscape.

In the film, actual places appear, such as Daijiji Temple, the 10th temple in Chichibu, and Yokoze Station on the Seibu-Chichibu Line. The high school that Jun and his friends attend is modeled after Ashikaga Minami High School in Tochigi Prefecture. The love hotel that appears at the beginning of the story also seems to have a model!

It is not the case that realism is better in both the setting and the depiction of anime. Fiction is only as good as the reality that it breaks through. If you keep talking about realism, you will end up saying, "Well, why don't you do it in live action?

However, anime is not a live-action film, no matter how far it goes. It is a collection of clear-cut direction and beautiful pictures. If you want to add a sense of realism and empathy, you need to add some tricks in addition to the realism of the background and emotional portrayal.

When you think about it, the fact that this "moving youth ensemble drama" begins and climaxes in a love hotel is in poor taste and vulgarity. The imbalance between the two is a little poisonous and naïve, and it works like a spice.

It is not exactly the same as shedding tears and feeling refreshed, but even after a while, scenes, lines, and the desperate expressions on the faces of the actors will come back to you as you go about your daily life. And you will want to hum a warm and nostalgic tune. This is a work that will slowly seep into the crevices of your heart.

（Text by YAMAYU)