Karafuru

This movie really blew me away. It isn't the typical fantasy or violent anime most of us watch but, it is really powerful. To start i'm going to say that not everybody will rate it a 10/10. The meaning of it will be interpreted in different ways, and depending on how much you can relate to it will impact your rating.

The animation is beautiful, with many colors and cool locations to look at. The story can be very dark and unusual but also fun and playful at times. I recommend everyone watch this movie at least once, to get the full meaning out of it. To me I really felt it was trying to teach me to be thankful for what I have, and to value my life even at the worst times.

Considering their target audience, youth issues tend to be a major theme in manga and anime. The animated format moreover tends to give creators rather more freedom to experiment with fantasy elements that can explore deeper underlying issues. Directed by veteran animator, Keiichi Hara, COLORFUL for example manages to touch on an important subject with a message that is perhaps rather more difficult to reach a younger audience through conventional live-action drama. That subject is teenage suicide.

Passing through the transit between life and rebirth, a dead soul in danger of obliteration is given another chance to reform and regain the right to rebirth. Brought back into the realm of the living, the soul is reborn into the person of Makoto Kobayashi, an artistically-inclined 14 year-old boy who has just attempted suicide. With the assistance of Purapura, a guide in the afterlife, the 'new' Makoto considers why someone from a seemingly happy family attempted to kill himself and tries to pull the young boy's life back together. COLORFUL is literally a 'finding yourself' film that considers the challenges facing young people who are finding it difficult to cope socially, to fit into the world and deal with the problems of friends, family and relationships.

The fantasy element of the film isn't the most convincing, but it does have a powerful pay-off at the end and it undeniably finds a unique way to tap into the mind of a young alienated individual and how he might respond to the world, particularly one who has been driven to attempt suicide. Keiichi Hara uses an animation style that is reminiscent of GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES in how it touches obliquely but incisively on the challenges facing youth. One seemingly irrelevant sequence based around the disused 'Tamada' trolley car, for example, is just beautiful and transformative. Using such techniques COLORFUL manages to cover a wide range of difficult issues and personality types in a realistic fashion and offer some measure of sympathy and understanding for its characters. It manages to do so moreover without ever becoming sentimental or talking down to its audience.

The overall concept is a a really great idea, but is not executed very well story and dialogue wise, as alot of characters feel archetypal and unlikeable and the story is very predictable. I will say some of the animation and scenes in this movie are great, i especially like the beginning scene and it's the most memorable thing about this movie. I just wish it was less surface level and explored it's themes and characters more.

Not every anime movie has to be good. This one has very good backgrounds but they look like photographs. Not even that is good.

• the plot does not advance at all.
• feelings are all ankward. It doesn't make sense why he behaves the way he does. How he talks to people and why he hurts others.
• animation in sometimes very very bad.
• the motivation of the main character is never explained. His coldness is also never explained.
• the reason why he gets friendly put of the blue with his only friend, when others treat him the same way, and why he laughs at him anyway, is never explained.
• the reason why he is cruel with the rest does not make sense.
• fake feelings, cheesy. Anime is in general that way but this one goes too far.

We have to be critical sometimes. Not all full length anime movies have to be good, even when they try/fake to be deep, they are terribly shallow and weird. Maybe people can think it's because Japanese people lacks sensibility, but as you can see on Ghibli's films, it is nothing like that. This one is a terribly boring, ilogical film, that fakes to be a great movie. I give it a three start because the artists at least did a good job.

Based on the novel, by Eto Mori, Colorful is made by the veteran animation director Keiichi Hara. The movie was a project suggested by Sunrise's president Kenji Uchida to director Hara, and took five years in the making, beginning from their first meeting.

The movie is absolutely stunning in its production. I give lot of credit to director Hara for all the attention to details he's put in. His experience shows, and his clout in collecting the best talent is also evident in the people he's gathered to make this movie.

You really need to see this movie to appreciate the story, and the artistry. Never since the days of original Disney's animation, have an old school animation movie made with such high level of artistry.

This is a modern day classic, and worth every minute of your time to see it.