This animation film produced in Japan in the year 2015 is filled with melodrama, romance and fantasy describing trauma, personal development and feelings. In it directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and produced by A-1 Pictures, this film should certainly be appreciated by those who seek stories of young people and their recovery from within. Let’s see in detail what this fascinating movie is about.
By the time she reaches high school, however, Jun is perpetuating the same behavior. She is practically mute and is often seen by Kushiro as a loner. Her non-verbal state has contributed to built-up anger and frustration. Fortunately, she develops friendship with some of the students, his emotions start shifting when her teacher hands her an assignment to work on with 3 others. Visitors’ emotion was filled with a bunch of strong young teenagers that were Takumi Sakagami, an affable boy with a mild musical touch. Daiki Tasaki, a hyperactive boy still under rehabilitation from an injury. Adding onto her composure, Jun is bothered by her depersonalization, where she feels disassociated from her body. As they all are directed to a similar goal, a community event has to be arranged, her classmates somehow convince her to participate despite Jun not participating quite as much as Takumi, Natsuki or any of the others would like.
When it comes to it, Jun’s temper joins and evolves in a more controlled manner. Rather than expressing herself verbally, singing seems more of a callable action that embroils no pain: There is no offense to feelings, it is just a voice, a rhythm, broken up into notes, without edge. If She Keeps singing, he realizes there is a song that resonates inside her head, looking up to someone who sings in the song and wishes to echo their passion. Repeatedly engaging with her is beneficial to Jun’s progress and together chaos and order along with work lessons are learnt that slowly transforms and evolves these teens into what they need to be.
All through this journey, Jun and Takumi’s relationship develops, where Takumi comes to know Jun deeply. Natsuki and Daiki also have their own battles and emerge victorious with their friendship. With the musical performance around the corner, jun now faces her biggest hurdle so far; her fears and whether she can really move away from the traumatic experiences she had to go through in her past. With the movie coming to a head, the last part is filled with emotional turmoil that jun has to go through deciding whether to use her voice and unleash herself or stay hidden in her past and all the suffering she has had to bear.
Cast & Crew:
- Director: Tatsuyuki Nagai
- Screenplay: Mari Okada
- Character Design: Masayoshi Tanaka
- Production Studio: A-1 Pictures
The voices of the main characters came from the following cast:
Inori Minase as Jun Naruse: NInase is a talented actress who lends her voice to Naruse. Jun’s character’s growth from silence to articulation is evidenced by tears of pain and innocence in her eyes.
Koki Uchiyama as Takumi Sakagami: Uchiyama is another voice actor who has played awe inspiring roles in the past. More specifically, he has worked as Takumi in the show and performed his character’s strength with patience and sympathy.
Sora Amamiya as Natsuki Nito: Amamiya’s Natsuki has a wonderful sense of vibrancy and liveliness which truly enhances the group’s dynamics.
Yoshimasa Hosoya as Daiki Tasaki: Hosoya’s performance of Daiki is a young, passionate one that shows control over his actions, complimenting the other members of the voice cast.
Director Tatsuyuki Nagai and the screenwriter Mari Okada are known names in the anime world having teamed up before on touching and intricate stories like ‘Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day’. Working on The Anthem of the Heart, the two exhibited once again how they can blend emotion into the narrative with great care and precision. In particular, the screenplay by Okada describes how trauma is a complex thing and so is the process of moving on from it. Another interesting aspect is the character design by Masayoshi Tanaka, who renders the characters’ inner feelings in a way where talking seems pointless, thus making Jun’s mute status stand out more.
Themes and Symbolism
The Anthem of the Heart addresses a varied wide set of themes including trauma, self-telling, and emotional reconciliation. The film employs the idea of a “curse” as a metaphor for trauma which can prevent a person from being able to interact and communicate effectively with other people. Trauma’s effect on Jun’s silence is representative of how trauma often prevents people from being able to show their emotions.
This movie even extends to the role of art as a communicator and means of healing. For Jun, singing is a means of getting round her decision to remain mute, thereby allowing her to reach out to people without the risk of hurting them. This is especially the case in support of a musical, Jun’s character who uses song to express feelings that speak of her quest to recover her lost voice.
There is also quite a significant bond between Jun and Takumi as it is through his care and kindness that she is able to express herself. In addition, Takumi also has his own issues that coincide with those so many of us grapple with in our moderation. The way these characters support one another speaks volumes about the importance of friendship and understanding in tackling our inner demons.
Visual and Musical Style
With regard to The Anthem of the Heart, the animation is pleasant and evokes the atmosphere, since A-1 Pictures has a flair for deepening the emotional aspect of the plot-line by creating detailed expressiveness of its scenes. Color, light and even the design of the characters depict the youthful energetic spirit and perhaps the sorrows embedded in Jun’s character. Visual devices, such as Jun’s imaginary self-imposed empty head castle, each fulfill their intended functions of displaying her mental condition.
Masaru Yokoyama has also composed all the music featured in this work, which is no less striking than the previous aspects. Music enhances the emotional highlights of the story, especially during the role of Jun, whom it is possible to express how the lyrics alone cannot. A song like Jun’s “Over the Rainbow” and “Harmonia” are beautifully fitting and encapsulate a good part of the emotions. Yokoyama s worked on the part of the characters without taking over the narration – thereby increasing the realism of watching the movie.
Reception and Critical Response
‘The Anthem of the heart’ received quite some appreciation around the world owing to its beautiful narrative and tackling delicately the issues of trauma and the recovery from it. The movie has an IMDb score of 7.4/10 which indicates a lot of positives for both critics and the viewers. A number of them complimented the emotional aspects of the story, including its characters as well as its artistic drawings. Some reviewers believed that the film’s tempo was a bit slack; however, the general opinion is that The Anthem of the Heart is an emotional and powerful treatment of a difficult subject.
The film has received accolades from critics for exhibiting the challenges of teenage years as well as dealing with the childhood trauma. The depiction of Jun’s trauma and the process of her recovery was praised by many audiences as it was realistic and moving. Best of all, the viewers appreciated the chemistry between the lead characters, Jun and Takumi and the Takumi’s character was lauded as a total plus.
Though some of the critics felt the fantasy aspect of the story, the ‘curse’ was undue or even overwrought. Others saw it in a different light, as a stylized portrayal of its psychological components, the guilt which burdened and metaphorically imprisoned the individual, a trauma. Presenting such an artistic choice has polarized some audiences but for others, it was an appropriate representation of the theme within the movie.
Conclusion
Anthem of the Heart is an emotional type of story which showcases the sad reality of young people torn by trauma and struggles with self-expression. It is also a well animated and executed film that efficiently combines realism and fantasy for the broader themes of reconciliation, acceptance, and self-improvement. It has managed to claim its spot as one of the deepest anime films in the 2010s with an amazing cast, captivating animation, and impressive music.
Fans of touching stories and a little add of fairy tales should definitely check out The Anthem of the Heart. The experience is made more remarkable by the themes it deals with and emotions it evokes, as well as the lesson about self-expression and healing that stays with one long after the movie is over.
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