Why does "Let's Put the Promised Flowers on the Morning of Goodbye" make you cry?　An allegory of loneliness and the power to live [If a dog walks, it will hit an anime. No.39]

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!　Our anime writers will introduce you to anime that are hot at the moment, regardless of whether they are new releases or long-term favorites.

This time, we will focus on "Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou" (Let's Put Promise Flowers on the Morning of Goodbye), which is currently in theaters.

This work is based on the popular work "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. and "My Heart is Screaming. This film has attracted attention as the directorial debut of Mari Okada, who wrote the screenplays for the popular "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai" and "Kokoro Wa Yakutte Gatteiru Da. At the movie theater where I saw the film, the sound of sniffling and sniffling could be heard from many places in the theater from a rather early stage.

Does this movie make you cry?　Can you cry or not?　Here are some of the charms of the film as felt by the author, who would like to support the original animated film.

Loneliness" is the origin of adolescence

Why do people feel lonely? How can we fill this missing feeling? How can we get what we want? Why can't we just stay the way we are?

What would make me happy if I could share?　Would I be satisfied with attention?　Would I be satisfied if I take and stand above others?　On the other hand, would I be satisfied if I kept on giving?

Such frustrating and frustrating confusion is one of the characteristics of the mind during the first half of adolescence, or "adolescence. It is also a time of secondary growth, heightened interest in the opposite sex, and awareness of one's own sexuality. Clumsy energy may burst out in excessive forms.

This is a universal theme in comics and anime, and Mari Okada has reflected these adolescent struggles in the "scripts" of her animated works by comparing them to her own feelings in the past.

In the TV series "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day" (2011), depicts how five people, overshadowed by the death of a childhood friend who had died six years earlier, clash their hearts and unravel their rifts when the ghost of their childhood friend appears.

The film "My Heart is Screaming." (2015) portrayed a coming-of-age ensemble drama in which high school students, who have suppressed their words due to their childhood experiences, struggle to free themselves by singing their thoughts.

Both films are set in Mari Okada's hometown of Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture.

This "Sayonara no Morno ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou" is the first original work produced by Mari Okada as a director. The setting is a medieval European world of dragons and swords.

A beautiful, ageless, long-lived race, dying flying dragons, politics and intrigue, wars and castle sieges, and hand-to-hand combat. Everything you need for an authentic fantasy.

Nevertheless, the theme depicted here is "loneliness and tears," a theme that fans of "Anohana" and "Kokosake" will not be disappointed with.

Four "mothers" depicted

Makia, a member of the "Iorphs," a race with a lifespan of several hundred years, lives a peaceful life with her friends until she is taken far away from them amidst the turmoil. Alone and alone, she meets a human baby who has just lost his parents.

Alone and alone meet, and Macchia decides to live with the baby, whom she names Eriale.

In this story, the pattern of mother and child appears repeatedly.

Macchia, the protagonist, takes good care of Elial, who is not related to her by blood.
In contrast to Macia, there are women who give birth to unwanted children and women who give birth to their beloved husbands' children.

If we add the kind-hearted mother who gives Makia a place to stay, we have four "mothers" in this story.

Many people seem to be saying that the story is about "the free love from parents to their children," but I think it would be a waste to focus only on that part of the story.

The form of "love" that "free love is beautiful" does not fully describe.

Makia's love for Elial is indeed a mother's love.

At the same time, however, Elial was the one who gave Makia the strength to live when she was a shy girl separated from her friends and hometown and did not know what to do.

As Elial grows older, she realizes her feelings toward her mother, who raised her, have changed. Makia also knows this. From this point on, their feelings for each other are no longer what is called mother-child love.

The reason why the change in their relationship is naturally accepted by the viewer is that Makia and the other "Iorphs" are a long-lived species that does not age.

The people of Iorph live for hundreds of years and do not age. The way time passes is different from that of ordinary humans.

With white skin and golden hair, they retain their beauty like fairies. The women have thin, puffed-out breasts, and the men have thin muscles. They live for decades with the appearance of boys and girls.

In a manner of speaking, the people of Iorph live a long, long "adolescence.

Since they are not immortal, they lose their lives if they are hurt, fall in love with men and women, and have children. Yet, no matter what hardships they endure, no matter how the years pass, their purity and beauty remain intact.

That is to say, neither sorrow, suffering, nor love are "too raw.

As a result, the purity of feelings stands out more than the reality that accompanies physical sensations. Whether or not you can or cannot cry depends on whether or not you empathize with that.

Relationships that change with time, hearts that do not change

The object of one's love grows and changes over time, and the relationship changes. Only the heart that is not convinced is left behind. It is a common reality.

Even as adults, many people may feel that their own inner selves have not changed much from before.

Women, in particular, have probably experienced changes in the way people look at them as they grow older, from young girls, through girls, to young women, to married wives, mothers, active members of society, and isolated individuals.

It is natural to change your position and behavior depending on the person in front of you. There are many occasions when we are made aware of our own age and the changes we are undergoing, even though we ourselves do not think we have changed that much.

However, deep down inside, there is an "inner child," a lonely child who will always be unfulfilled. It is sometimes said that this is what makes us who we are.

The people of Iorph, who are allowed to remain pure and not age, even after long years of hardship and childbirth, can be said to be able to layer their inner selves on top of each other.

The final act of the Iorph girl, Leilia, who is depicted in contrast to Makia, is symbolic of this. If you think this is a story of love between a mother and child, you may think, "What? I think the male characters are the same.

The same goes for the male characters. In the stoic and beautiful visual expression, confusion, madness, and selfishness are affirmed as sad and pure.

This work does not blame anyone or condemn anyone. That is probably why we can put our feelings wherever we like.

A work that makes you cry pleasantly, resonating with the weak places in your heart that cannot grow up.

Because it is a fantasy work, the world view and setting seem elaborate, but there is nothing difficult about it. If you take in the images in their entirety and look at the descriptions one by one, you can easily understand them without difficulty.

You can lose yourself in the beautiful images and music without using your head to solve the puzzles.

The characters are simple and lightly designed, and you can feel the restrained portrayal of the characters that is typical of classic animated films. Behind them, overwhelmingly beautiful and dense backgrounds are piled up.

The music is also beautiful. The music flows slowly and does not overload the viewer with tension, but rather, like the time that flows through the people of Iorph, it weaves joy and sadness into the echoes.

The title of the piece, "On the Morning of Goodbye, Let's Put Up the Promised Flowers," refers to nothing more than separation.

In the opening lines of the work, in which the theme of the work is presented, many people realize what kind of story this is. Because they realize it, they hope it will not come to that. The story unfolds with beautiful images and music that slowly envelop the anxiety and anticipation.

Everyone in this story is thinking of someone else. It may be love, ego, love, or something more secretive that cannot be named. And most of them are "unrequited love.

In the case of love, there is a happy ending when the two people become one with each other and are united. However, if the happy ending is not in sight from the beginning, how much further can we go before we can say that we are "happy"?

Time is cruel. Happy moments cannot last forever. Whether we accept or reject the changing relationship, something will eventually slip away.

But even so, the fact that there was a moment of happiness is unwavering. People are lonely, but that is why loneliness is connected to the power of life.

If you can love such a reality, this film will surely cleanse and purify your heart.


(Text by YAMAYU)

(C) PROJECT MAQUIA