Lets talk about Hotarubi no Mori e

"It is sad not to love, but it is much sadder not to be able to love." The words uttered by Miguel de Unamuno become unusually symbolic when we think of them in the context of Hotarubi no Mori e. The romance genre has grown stiff over the centuries - and some may even imply that any originality in that particular type of works has depleted, that nothing fresh and original can be created when basically everything is a cliché these days. Well then, I'm truly glad I can say that whoever sports that belief is in the wrong. The evidence: Hotarubi no Mori e.

How much emotion and feelings can be put into a small vessel? As Shakespeare and his cycle of sonnets taught us - you don't need much space (or time) to deliver a powerful blast of vivid emotions. And this film needed circa forty minutes to revive within me certain emotions, which I believed I had managed to cast aside a long time ago. In our era, the concept of love seems to be incomplete, and - I dare to say - a bit off the mark. Love is now an emotion which is the theme for a vast majority of pop songs - those pseudo-deep lyrics of them, even when combined in a single entity, still won't tell you nearly as much as Hotarubi no Mori e in several lines of dialogue

and 40 minutes of animation. It's not overly deep or anything, it doesn't require your utmost attention to get a general gist, no - that's not the case here. It's a simple, effective, well-thought story with a warm sensation lurking behind it; a slow-paced story of love in its truest, platonic form. Now let us take a more detailed view on the whole.

There are 2 main characters in the story namely Hotaru Takegawa

and Gin, the forest spirit

and Hotaru being entranced by the myth of the mountain god enters the forest. This is where she finds Gin, who is a spirit & cannot touch humans due to its low energy. He can only be touched by spirits.

Images are a powerful means of conveying information--and feelings as well. And no major issues can be found in this regard - on the contrary, the visual aspect of this film is praiseworthy, and a few things need to be pointed out. First of all - a genuinely perfect playing with the scenery. It refers a tad to the script - but still, presenting the two (Gin and Hotaru) all alone in a forest was a glimpse of genius. The motive is neatly exposed - they are alone with each other, there's no one around them... and yet they're not together. Because touching someone is like confirming their existence - and even that much is not allowed to them. But not to sway off the topic too much - the exceptional words of admiration should be directed at the background scenery. Rich in detail, properly animated, not breaking the decorum of the entirety. But only a little less can be said about the character design - rich in expressions, not overly static, presenting the character quite well... to sum it all up, I'll just say that I wasn't left speechless - but what speech was left to me--it was the praising alone.

Sounds are as important as images - if not more - so we should pay close attention to this aspect of the film as well. Voicing was done fairly well, though there's nothing to cry tears of delight over, so let's just say that it was perfectly fine. But what really caught my attention was music. And goodness me, my ears still are in awe of what they heard an hour ago. Due to the limited time of the film, it's perfectly obvious and natural that the number of songs wouldn't be very impressive. But what matters is their quality - which in this case wouldn't be paid a proper recognition if I didn't call it top-notch. Those few instrumental pieces were enough to build up the desired setting and reflected what was happening on the screen in a truly illustrative way. Especially the theme of the festival deserves my utmost recognition - it sure did manage to deliver a number of various emotions. All in all, both music and voices in this film aced the test.

Characters are inseparably connected with the plot in this very case, so I think that they shouldn't... no, mustn't be regarded as two different aspects. To give a brief summary of events - a young girl meets a boy, who is in fact a spirit dwelling in the forest. The boy, however, mustn't be touched by a human, for it would result in him disappearing for all eternity. They spend the summer days with each other, and when the girl must return to home from her vacation, she promises to visit him again next summer.

The story itself isn't something extremely unique, or exceptional but it connects to one on an emotional level - as I have already mentioned, everything comes down to emotions. I was also surprised at the existence of a modified hamartia - just by the existence of the flaw, we can reason that there's no happy ending, and the inevitable must happen (unless we would get to see some Deus Ex Machina coming and saving the day).

I'm about to say something seemingly irrelevant, but in fact, it will be the most important thing of all that I've said thus far. Whenever the question "why do you watch anime" arises, people and their answers can be divided into 2 groups. Those who claim to watch anime for cute girls doing cute things in a cute way, and those who claim to watch anime for the plot. To truly notice the value of Hotarubi no Mori e, you must - like me - belong to neither of them. I watch anime to notice, to perceive, to experience - to get to feel that what I watch is worthwhile. To feel those emotions oozing from a series. And no - it's not the same as watching for the plot - there exists a division called "4 levels of meaning". Plot per se is the first - literal - level, so you could say that albeit important, it doesn't play the main role. And in fact - what matters is emotions, and feelings hidden behind the curtain. And with Hotarubi no Mori e, you are able to tear down the curtain completely and observe how those emotions start to have an influence on you. It's a beautiful thing, and it alone is of great value. Because - to quote a recurring sentence from Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru, "without love, it cannot be seen."

Hotarubi no Mori e is a beautiful movie that takes the idea of forbidden love, a topic that has been overdone and worn out by bad soap-opera themed dramas and remakes the idea in an elegant, refreshing manner. Much of the brilliance in this anime can be accredited to the captivating character and background designs as well as the honesty that shines through in the writing. The anime pulls us, viewers, in with dramatic music and writing while keeping everything light and down-to-earth. And it does all of this in a mere 45 minutes.

Nobody really knows what love is but everyone has their own interpretation of the word. Plato once said, "at a touch of love, everyone is a poet". And it's true. The concept of love is incredibly popular and you can probably find more pieces of literature or entertainment that center around love than any other genre. This anime specifically has taken the idea of physical love and completely thrown it out of the window, all the while proving with a gusto that love doesn't have to be physical to be just as emotionally impacting.

You see, the anime focuses on the more important ideas about love that maybe we've all kind of forgotten.

Like happiness, you feel when you're near them.

Like the first time, you saw them laugh.

Like when it's suffocating to be with them because you don't know what to do or say.

Hotarubi no Mori e gracefully weaves these elements into a heartbreaking tale of first love. Sure, it's lighthearted and even a little fun, but a love founded on emotions is the heaviest burden you can imagine.

To end this review, I will rebound back to the very beginning and touch upon the subject of love again with our two main characters Hotaru and Gin. What makes this anime so special, what makes it stand out from all of the others that claim to give you the true meaning of love is that it's believable and honest, despite having the supernatural theme of spirits. Despite their wishes, the two are bound by circumstances that are out of their control.

They cannot touch.

They cannot see each other outside of the forest.

They are reunited in the summer and are separated in the fall, over and over again.

And against all odds, they try their best to maintain the connection they've built through years of playing in the grassy fields, spending time by the lake on a warm summer night talking in hushed voices or confiding in one another under the light of the fireflies -- a connection stronger than any kind of physical love can ever provide.

The ending may come as a shock to you. Having read the premise, and a few other stories with similar plots, it didn't come as a shock to me. And although I knew it was coming, I couldn't stop myself from crying when it did. This anime was touching and nostalgic. I know it was good because I was left with an empty feeling after watching it -- like the feeling of longing after something that time has already taken away.

Like the ever-changing seasons, this anime will pull you in, get you attached to the characters, make you love it, and then...poof. It'll end.

Now if you like this review, here is the link to the movie  https://www.gogoanime1.com/watch/hotarubi-no-mori-e/episode/movie

Do not forget to comment down below on which anime should I do a review on next, but till then PEACE.