Even dogs can hit anime when they walk. No.24] "In This Corner of the World" is full of anime pleasures.

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The current theatrical release of "In a Corner of the World" is a hot topic; it started on November 12, 2016 with a small release of 63 screens nationwide. Since then, the film has been well-received by word of mouth and the number of screening theaters keeps increasing, so much so that the screening theater information on the official website has not been updated to keep up.

Set in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, in 1945, as the footsteps of war approach, the film depicts the life of Suzu, who married at the age of 18. It has overwhelmed those who have seen it as a unique "war story" that is different from anything that has come before, a story that could only be depicted because it is an animated film.

This work is full of elements that attract people who do not watch anime films, and it also has plenty of good qualities that will entertain younger viewers who are used to watching anime. The author, who first came into contact with the world of Fumiyo Kouno through this film, will introduce the charms of this work.

A world of war, but with a sense of longing

From the preview screening, "In This Corner of the World," which was highly acclaimed, did not allow me to be distracted even for a minute from the beginning to the end. When I finished watching the film, I could not formulate my thoughts in words, but was filled with a feeling of "I am glad I saw it.

I guess you could call it an emotional experience. However, it was quite different from the satisfaction of "I saw an entertainment! It is completely different from the satisfaction of "I saw an entertainment!

If you see it all the way through, it is still a war story. There was misery and tears. And yet, for some reason, I felt a sense of happiness that many people seem to have lost sight of, and I felt a strong sense of longing for it.

The main character, Suzu Urano, leaves her birthplace of Eba, Hiroshima, and marries into a family in Kure, a little distance away, at the request of a partner she does not know well, and becomes Suzu Hojo. She suddenly joins a family from another place, and from now on, that is her home already. There is no freedom or choice at all.

However, Suzu, who is very laid-back, neither complains nor resents the situation, but accepts the situation as it is. She does not do so out of reluctance, but accepts it as such and does what she can without complaining or complaining. That is beautiful.

It is not that Suzu does not feel anything either. Stress and depression accumulate in the mind. The outlet for her feelings is drawing, which she has loved since she was a child. Drawing is a form of self-expression for the clumsy Suzu, and it is also the wing of her free spirit. With paper and pencil, Suzu can express the beautiful and joyful things she finds in reality.

We, modern people filled with complaints, who should be free to choose our own way of life, are at a loss for words and even feel envious of Suzu's freedom and her peaceful way of enjoying her daily life. What a reversal of events!

This feeling of watching over a heroine living amidst the waves of the times is similar to that of NHK's morning dramas. The production is like a live-action drama, with a finely controlled atmosphere and impressions. I wonder how anime can depict such complex things.

Moe" for Suzu, who is as lovely as a little girl

One of the main attractions of this film is the character of Suzu.

She is calm, innocent, and natural looking, and even though she is married, she is still as adorable as a little girl. She does not show much black emotion such as jealousy, envy, or envy. She has a soft smile that is easy to understand.

The image of simplicity and rusticity conveyed by her dialect is also good. Her character is very honest and unadorned. NON's performance is truly wonderful.

In fact, the film makes the viewer feel "moe" (moe is the Japanese word for moe). During the first half of the movie, I kept thinking, "Suzu-san is so cute, so cute, so cute.

Then again, the film painstakingly and meticulously depicts Suzu's gestures and facial expressions as if it were a "daily life anime. Life in 1945, which I had never actually seen, seemed as nostalgic and fascinating to me as if it were my own experience.

The "daily life anime" that abounds these days carefully depicts the most commonplace aspects of everyday life, such as club activities, school life, and food, and sheds light on the joy, happiness, and smiles that exist in such activities. Even if no major incident occurs, the ripples in the hearts of the viewers are captured in the form of a story, which alone is enough to make the film work.

Suzu's life, as depicted in the first half of the film, is a continuation of the "everyday" anime.

There is joy in the ordinary, everyday life. Every detail of her work has meaning. Familiar faces are all together, and spending time together is happiness. There are gems of time.

In that sense, this work is sure to attract anime fans who are attracted to daily life.

Shuhei, a handsome man with a handsome personality, is an ideal husband.

Shuhei, Suzu's husband, is also very handsome. Although he is not a handsome, idol-like, handsome man, there is no doubt that he has a good-looking personality.

First of all, although Suzu does not know it, Shuhei has met Suzu a long time ago, and he has taken her to be his wife. This is a pattern of "the person you thought you met for the first time is actually the person you were destined to meet for a long time.

Shuhei also understands Suzu's inner richness, even though she appears to be a bit absent-minded, and he is kind enough to provide her with art supplies such as paper and pencils. He also expresses his happiness at being able to marry Suzu. Shuhei is Suzu's best friend in the family.

Although Shuhei is not portrayed as particularly good-looking, I think that with a personality like this, he would be very popular with the ladies. Although not clearly depicted in the movie, there is actually a setting in the original story called ....... I was surprised when I read the pamphlet.

Shuhei also has his troubles. It is charming that he gets jealous of Suzu's childhood friend because he loves his wife. The people in question can't help but loosen their cheeks at their serious marital quarrels.

War creeps into everyday life, undermining and destroying it.

While life is peaceful and happy, the shadow of war grows darker by the day. Rationed supplies become scarce, air raid warnings become more and more frequent, and the Hojo family grows weary of nightly evacuations.

Yet the touch of the story remains the same. The emergencies are told as part of everyday life.

If you are older than junior high school students, you know what an air raid is, what would happen in the worst case scenario, and what would eventually happen in Hiroshima. The anxiety and fear grows as Suzu and her family try to live as they have always done, protecting their family as they have always done.

I hope that this everyday life will not be broken. I hope that this family can continue to smile. Such feelings come naturally to us when we empathize with the protagonist.

However, it is war that cruelly shatters such feelings.

Tragedy befalls Suzu and the Hojo family. What is lost cannot be recovered. We witness a form of despair that cannot be confronted only with positive feelings and a way of life.

Daily life and war. The horrors that seem distant but are right next to each other.

The gap between the peaceful everyday life and the lack of it due to war is very much like that of today's anime.

In today's anime, comics, and video games, there are so many cruel works in which lovely girls are cruelly killed and people are eaten by deformed beings. Shocking images are sought after as entertainment. On the other hand, there are more and more "daily life stories" that are a form of happiness that will never be destroyed.

I think "In a Corner of the World" is a work that connects these two extremes. It is not set in a fantastical otherworld, but in a very realistic town called Kure in the 20th year of the Showa Era. There, we see the protagonist, who was happy as if he were an inhabitant of an "everyday life," hurt, suffering, and changing.

In that sense, this work is a fascinating war story that will attract anime fans who are used to seeing a variety of works.

The world is harsh and sad, beautiful and worthy. Tears come to my eyes. After watching it, I feel my heart is cleansed.

It is hard to think of watching a heavy work of art when you are busy and tired in reality, but this is a work that you will be glad you saw on a weekday evening or on a Saturday or Sunday when you have a day off.

A new discovery that you realize later. It makes you want to watch it again and again.

In the restrained, rich, and peaceful depiction of daily life, which is probably the original work's strong point, there is a straightforward, down-to-earth, and unshakeable anger toward war, without any sense of ideology.

To describe the charm of this work would require many words, but the attractive heroine who makes you happy just by looking at her, the beautiful world that makes you want to be there, the pleasant music, and the drama that swings from peaceful everyday life to tragedy are nothing short of the pleasures of anime.

I recommend this work as a must-see for those who do not usually watch anime, as well as for anime fans who usually indulge in bishojo (pretty girls) and handsome men anime.

Many people have said that they notice things that they could not read in the film just by watching it once, but after seeing it a second or third time, they realize. The number of screening theaters is expanding rapidly, so if you haven't seen it yet, do so now, and if you have seen it once, go see it again to experience the world that Suzu, who lived in Kure in the 20th year of the Showa era, saw.

(Text by YAMAYU)
(c) Fumiyo Kouno, Futabasha / "In This Corner of the World" Production Committee