Anime Assessment: The Tunnel to Summer season, the Exit of Goodbyes

The Tunnel to Summer season, the Exit of Goodbyes, is an intriguing drama fantasy anime movie that aired earlier this yr. It scratched an itch I didn’t know I had as a viewer and critic, regardless of the movie having a extremely restricted scope with an equally restricted solid.

The Tunnel of Love

The anime movie takes place in a universe the place a mysterious, fantastical tunnel known as the Urashima Tunnel exists. This inexplicable tunnel relies on an city legend within the anime’s world the place whoever ventures into it’ll get a want fulfilled however on the worth of time passing considerably. Each minute is a number of hours and hours are a number of years. Nevertheless, it’s made clear early within the movie that not many individuals have ventured into the tunnel.

The anime follows two highschool protagonists, Kaoru Touno and Anzu Hanashiro. We study early on that these two characters have had a tough life resulting from their complicated household conditions. Stricken with the lack of his sister, being deserted by his mom, and the fixed verbal and emotional abuse from his mentally ailing father, Kaoru is understandably a really gloomy one who fails to make connections. In the future, he meets Anzu, an equally gloomy and antagonistic teenage lady who shortly turns into an outcast in school. He offers her an umbrella within the rain the day they meet and the 2 turn into reluctant acquaintances.

In the future, Kaoru unknowingly ventures into Urashima Tunnel and discovers it has the flexibility to carry again lifeless family members, however on the worth of the time spent within the current. Regardless of this, he decides he has little to lose, and plans to threat all of it to enter the tunnel and convey again his sister. 

Unknowingly, Anzu notices him going into the tunnel and decides to hitch him in his quest, however along with her personal motivation of getting “actual expertise” so as to be a profitable manga artist. Whereas their motivations could also be a bit shallow, we ultimately study why they’re so decided to attain their targets. The movie closely emphasizes a number of frequent themes, such because the significance of household and acceptance, the influence of neglect and grief however shifting on, forming connections from mutual ache and studying to reside previous it.

An Wonderful Manufacturing

These themes and messages are fantastically advised by way of stunning narrative moments within the movie which might be surprisingly solely portrayed by the 2 principal characters and its melancholic environment and course by way of isolating linear pictures, moody climate to match the dreary characters, and its impeccable soundtrack whose songs are solely ever performed when they’re wanted to emphasise the extra dramatic moments within the narrative. Many of the movie and dialogue between the characters are very noticeably carried out in silence, with the music solely sometimes invading these moments when it efficiently strengthens it. 

A first-rate instance of those scenes might be seen midway into the movie when the 2 leads reenact how they first met in a really healthful but humorous manner. With out spoiling an excessive amount of, this unbelievable, heartwarming scene is just portrayed by the impeccable voice appearing from each the English and Japanese solid, carried out in a easy, solemn, but impactful manner. This scene was the second the anime distinguished itself from the a number of fantasy romance anime dramas and is the place I began actually liking it.

The Good and Unhealthy

There isn’t a lot that makes The Tunnel to Summer season distinctive in comparison with its counterparts. Nonetheless, It’d be disingenuous to not notice the way it combines all its glorious parts in a extremely participating and memorable manner. The movie is comparatively brief, however it leaves an influence regardless. Nevertheless, this isn’t to say the expertise it supplies is one with out flaws, as a lot of them are seen in its executions.

Whereas it’s simple to know that most of the movie’s scenes are symbolic and have extra that means to them, a lot of them turn into extremely flawed the extra you look into them. Because of its brief run time, a number of elements of the movie are left obscure and unexplained. An instance of that is the Urashima Tunnel itself. Its origin and the way its mysterious powers work are left unexplained, nobody apart the characters acknowledges its existence, and the way the characters simply settle for its existence and determine to make use of it’s fairly unusual. Moreover, with out spoiling an excessive amount of, the movie will get a bit messy in the direction of the top when Kaoru ultimately will get nearer to his purpose. How he goes again in time however nonetheless retains his reminiscence and is aware of issues concerning the future just isn’t defined in any respect.

Nevertheless, regardless of all these flaws, the movie nonetheless supplies an incredible viewing expertise that’s not like many anime movies. Studio CLAP additionally does an incredible job with crisp, constant animation, which I might have appreciated extra if HI DIVE’s watermark had not hindered the expertise as a lot because it did.

Remaining Ideas

General, The Tunnel to Summer season, the Exit of Goodbyes, although not with out its flaws, is a good anime movie with endearing characters, a fantastically melancholic aesthetic, and glorious animation. Should you’re a fan of fantasy romance anime, then you definitely would possibly wish to test it out.

A screener of this movie was offered by HI Dive for this evaluation.

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