Aah, a great movie that portrays a miser coming to terms with himself. Loved it.
The story was predictable, but very good. While people may call the story corny and naive, it's a story that is still very human. And let's face it, humans, the ones who have not yet turned cynical or have recovered from cynicism, are, by nature, very corny. Accepting the naivete and the simplicity of life is a challenge for misers and I think this movie portrayed that very well. Reconciliation with self and the surrounding is always going to appear cheesy, no helping that. The movie did a great job of keeping it real as far as I am concerned.
The primary message of the movie was clearly one of acceptance. Acceptance of flaws in oneself and in people in general. I don't think the movie condones with flaws at all. It just tells us that we should be constructive when dealing with flaws, whether our own or others. People make mistakes, no matter who they are. And to let it compound by being too fixated on the flaw and its consequences will only result in bigger losses and strained relationships. A little kindness goes a long away in helping someone reform themselves. That's true for yourself too. If you get preoccupied with being flawless, you will end up more flawed and eventually unable to even live on. Accepting your flaws is the right way to go about it. That of course doesn't mean thinking along the lines of "This here is my flaw, let's accept it and keep making it worse since I need to accept it."
Then there was the power of friendship and communication. Saemoto's and Makoto's friendship was very down to Earth and yet, very moving. It was equally as moving to see Makoto reproach Hiroka and eventually help her with her own struggles. His relationship with Sano was kinda awkward to watch but that's understandable because Sano is a very awkward person and Makoto isn't a communicative person either.
It sort of expands into relationships in general I guess. Family, friends, teachers; they all come into play and help Makoto reconcile while simply his being alive helps them reconcile. The character portrayal and interactions was clearly the biggest strength of the movie.
Makoto was a character I could kinda identify with. Cynical, miserable, illogical, somewhat imposing and yet, forgiving and rational. Despite closing his heart, he was still a human at heart. I think that's much better than beasts that put a smile on and have the entire crowd's focus but lack a heart. I am happy for him that he was able to move on.
The most striking relationship for me was between Makoto and his mom. It was so beautifully laid out. Despite never getting to see her point of view, I found it hard not to feel for Makoto's mom. And much like Makoto, despite her flaws, she was a good person. Most people in the world are. Heck she was probably better than most. Her care for Makoto was genuine and if her husband's words are anything to go by, she took equally good care of her mother-in-law who wasn't exactly appreciative of her.
Makoto's relationship with Hiroka was almost as striking.
Given her playgirl demeanor and Makoto's shunning by the rest of the school, it almost feels like she is making fun of him by acting close to him at first. That feeling is probably reinforced by the preconception due to the revelation that she was responsible for Makoto's attempted suicide and how bad her character sounds. But she is clearly more than meets the eye.
Her interest in Makoto is genuine. She visits the art club not just for appearance's sake but to truly appreciate something she finds beautiful. And despite Makoto being ostracized, her interactions with him were not to make fun of him or abuse him in any sense. She didn't mind being close to him. But her obsession with material pleasures and her obsessive compulsive personality, combined with her lack of effort and/or ability to understand his miserable self make her a far cry from the perfect romantic interest. I still liked her a lot though, probably more than any other character. She was strikingly forward with her thoughts. She has some issues, yes, but she is definitely not without hope. I totally expected to hate her when I saw her picture in the cellphone and her interpretation of Makoto's painting didn't help. But she managed to still win my heart. That's saying something. I usually don't change my initial perceptions about characters.
To people complaining that her motivations for her going out with the middle aged man weren't clear enough, well, she also has that side of hers which makes her want to destroy the things she likes. She wants to grow independent, feel like an adult, like she is in control and dating an older guy is part of it. The story wasn't from her point of view so things were bound to be left in the dark there but I do think her reasons weren't that far away from what she told Makoto. She is really a strong character, able to speak her mind clearly, mostly that is.
Also, I just absolutely love the sequence where Makoto drags her along for a run. That was just awesome. And the music was awesome tHer responses after that were quite frank and upfront too. I think by the time the sequence was over and she went back out in the rain, I could no longer despise her. She was just too frank to hate. The revelation about her destructive tendencies felt tacked on for a second but it kind of made sense by the time she was done crying. In retrospective though, the movie could definitely have done a better job of portraying that side of hers so it didn't come that way. Still, Hiroka was awesome. I like her much more than Sano. The movie argues that Sano was the one who really understood Makoto but I don't buy that. At least Hiroka didn't have a preconceived notion of how Makoto was and supported him whichever way he leaned. Sano had a set view of how Makoto was and wishes he would stay that way. "Annoying" is putting it nicely.
That said though, and despite her awkwardness, Sano was a likeable character as well. She imposes on Makoto a bit and is really socially awkward. But she does try to approach him and is pretty upfront and frank herself. I think both her and Hiroko are awesome girls because they speak their mind. They could have probably still kept her character's strengths even if she was a little less awkward though. She just felt a bit unreal. And I didn't quite like how the movie more or less made her into a pure character. She was clearly stuck into a one-sided view of Makoto; she only accepted one color of his, so to speak. As such I didn't quite like how Makoto apologized to her and gave her credit for understanding him most thoroughly. That said though, the sequence where Makoto shows her the porn magazine kind of made up for it
. I know I shouldn't have but I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her reaction
Speaking of feeling unreal, Makoto's brother does kinda feel cliche. But given the very little screentime he received, I think they did a good job with him too.
And rounding up the family is Makoto's dad who is like a saint and yet doesn't feel unreal at all o.0 He just sounds mature and wise. I can kind of see why Makoto would despise his dad though. Not only is he just a salaryman, he also lets his wife get away with cheating. To a cynical Makoto, that must have lowered the credibility of the man to more or less nothing. But as he figures out during the course of the movie, his dad is actually just a very nice person. If only my dad was like that -_-
And speaking of nice people, Saemoto has no competition. His friendship with Makoto felt very real and there really was nothing special to it but the movie managed to make two unsuccessful teens sharing chicken wings and meat buns significant. It was a nice touch. Although I did feel that the bromance was getting a bit too strong at times
Lastly, the teacher. He didn't really play much part in the story and I am glad he didn't because he was just annoying. He was pretty cliched too.
The art was wonderful imo. There were some oddities here and there but it didnt detract from my enjoying the movie at all.
The music was awesome in some segments but barely noticeable in others. I am not a music person but I would say they did a good enough job if they made me notice (and love) the music in some segments at least.
I don't think there was any real religious message given that the whole reincarnation and angel deal was more a means to present the story than anything. If anything, the suggestion that a life on Earth is preferable to being removed from the rebirth cycle was amusing. I wouldn't read too much into it though; it just so happens to be the point of the movie to suggest that life is worth it, however rough it gets.
Overall, a very nice movie. It deserves those awards.