Karafuru

This movie does have it's issues. For example the story is rather predictable and the protagonist at times it a bit too unlikable, however this doesn't stop this movie from being entertaining.

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.

This movie is about a soul that gets a second chance to reform from its deadly sin and earn a rebirth by inhabiting the body of a teenager, Makoto, who committed suicide. The movie covers the pursuit of the soul to find out why Makoto attempted suicide and his own deadly sin to reform.

The story has a good plotline to make an intriguing, inspiring movie with high emotions. The story arc is written well as the soul tries to learn about Makoto, his family, his usual routine, and how his relationship with everyone. There were some good add-ons like, the interaction of the soul and the guiding angel, Purapura with their difference, others reacting to the change of Makoto's character, his realisation of life's importance and to cherish it even how bad things turn out, the soul makes the first friend for Makoto, the soul finding his deadly sin and the reason of Makoto's suicide.

The climax was satisfactory and inspiring, with a major reveal of the guiding angel's final words to the soul. The drawbacks of the film are the slow pacing and narration dull the fulfilling experience. The scenes of the soul neglecting the few characters instead of dealing with them were monotonous.

The Voice acting was good as they emote their emotions and make them connect with me. The animation and frames were good. The music was minimal, the emotions would have heightened if it had been used well.

In conclusion, I like this movie as it describes the importance of life and inspires me to cherish life without making any wrong decisions. I recommend everyone to watch this movie once.

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.