Review of the anime film The Tunnel to Summer directed by Tomohisa Taguchi

Arriving at the cinema for an event on June 10, 11 and 12, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, an animated feature film that tells the story of adolescence between the supernatural and loss.

Japanese animation is increasingly present in our cinemas. Finally, enthusiasts, after years of trying to recover the titles they were most interested in on home video (avoiding the thought of illegal methods), now have greater possibility to enjoy this type of production that was specifically designed for cinema and that offers an unparalleled experience. In no way can it be reproduced on any home screen, let alone a smartphone. This is exactly why we are so happy to see him Summer Tunnel, Farewell Exit It hits the big screen here in Italy too June 10, 11 and 12 For an event release by Anime Factory.

During Naples Comicon, we had the chance to preview for a few minutes, and it’s clear that the buzz around this title, which from the first images seemed to recall the aesthetics of Makoto Shinkai and Mamoru Hosoda, has only been building since. The director and screenwriter are here too, Tomohisa Taguchi He’s already caught our attention by directing one of the most interesting anime in recent years, Akudama Drivewhich differs significantly from A more sensitive and teenage atmosphere From the now released film based on the monolithic film Light novel. So let’s try to clarify this title, and tell you about it, clearly without spoilers, with all its various strengths and weaknesses.

Tunnel of Love Plot: Encounters in the Rain

Kaoru He is a teenager who lives in a small rural Japanese town. One day, while waiting for a late train Meet EnzoA new student is attending his class. While she was waiting in the rain, the young man lent her an umbrella and the two exchanged communications. However, having both is not easy: Kaoru saw her family fall apart after the death of her little sister Karin, while Anzu was unable to make her parents understand that she wanted a different life path than they wanted. One night, after a violent clash with his father, the boy runs away from home crying, and finishes his run in front of him A strange hole in the rock.

What he finds once inside will leave him speechless: a long tunnel of red maple trees that he can’t see the end of, a path along which strange things begin to happen that lead him to think there is a way to get his sister back. . What the legends say how Urashima Tunnel However, it is a treacherous place where time seems to pass differently than outside. Kaoru and Anzu therefore intend to investigate how it works, Hoping that their deepest desires will come true.

Incomplete writing

“Summer Tunnel, Farewell Exit” is a teenage story that seems primarily aimed at this type of audience, both by choice and awareness, and in doing so maintains a certain simplicity and linearity. In fact, the development of the narrative goes through a certain number of Steps are uniform and repetitive in films of this type: Almost obligatory paragraphs that suggest a series of typical and somewhat predictable clichés that, in their sheer simplicity, the feature film in no way manages to reinvent. They don’t help Some clips are not convincing Which may make the vision less credible to the less involved spectator. In fact, a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is asked of the viewer: you will have to believe what you see without asking too many questions or demanding any explanation, allowing yourself to be swept along with the flow of events.

Anime with evocative images

Therefore, in the face of writing, which is still immature, there is a series of Incredibly moving photos And suggestive. The interior of the tunnel is designed to amaze and fill the view Bright colours, lights and shadows. In taking inspiration from Japanese legend Taro Urashima – A fisherman is brought to the underwater kingdom because he saved a turtle, and for this very reason he finds himself suffering from a time lag – The settings are designed in which water and plants often become the heroes of the shot. Tomohisa Taguchi is definitely that A manager to watchan author who is technically mature but still immature when it comes to writing, especially if it’s attached to a beginner’s work that is already by definition fairly weak.