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DVD Colourful
 Run time: 126 min Rating: 7.5 Genres: Animation | Drama | Fantasy Director: Keiichi Hara Writers: Eto Mori, Miho Maruo Stars: Kumiko Asô, Keiji Fujiwara, Jingi Irie |
| Storyline A sinful spirit is granted the opportunity to prove worthy for rebirth, inhabiting the body of a student who killed himself. |
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| Plot Keywords: one word title | |
| Details: Country: Japan Release Date: 21 August 2010 (Japan) |
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Based on the novel, by Eto Mori, Colorful is made by the veteran animation director Keiichi Hara. The movie was a project suggested by Sunrise's president Kenji Uchida to director Hara, and took five years in the making, beginning from their first meeting.
The movie is absolutely stunning in its production. I give lot of credit to director Hara for all the attention to details he's put in. His experience shows, and his clout in collecting the best talent is also evident in the people he's gathered to make this movie.
You really need to see this movie to appreciate the story, and the artistry. Never since the days of original Disney's animation, have an old school animation movie made with such high level of artistry.
This is a modern day classic, and worth every minute of your time to see it.
By now, I guess we've all accepted Japan as a No.1 driving force in animation. And just when You start thinking that someone with so much recognition would get lazy and spoiled, that's where the Japanese prove you wrong. "Colorful" is yet another fine example of that greatness.
I've always wondered how could an animated film, which by western standards is designed for babies, could get so much dept and touch as many crucial life's questions. Well, the reason lies in the fact that Japanese do not make just baby cartoons like Pokemon, but also have a very fine and distinguished selection of animated films which could easily fit a 50 year old person, just like a teenager at the same time.
"Colorful" is an anime drama which deals with a very painful and yet very present phenomenon in modern society – suicide. Many people feel they reached the end of the road, and more and more of them are getting younger over the years. A young man decided to take his life away, but against all odds, he gets a second chance – to relive a life of another young man who took his own life. During this period of reincarnation, the main character tries to discover his new persona, surrounding, people around him and the reasons why Makoto, the boy in whose body the spirit has reincarnated, has taken his life. Like this, he also started do discover and understand himself. Until the end, he will succeed. Beside the theme of life and death, "Colorful" illustrates several other important issues in the Japanese society – social relations, traumas, family issues and the value of friendship.
The story is tough, often dark and grim, yet it has such a profound depth which will keep you watching "Colorful" until the end. And boy is the end unexpected. Watching this brilliant anime made me feel like reading a novel, and that's pretty much the best thing a motion picture can do.
"Colorful" is a substance dedicated to the Japanese 14-16 youth, but it can easily be understood and liked by an adult. And when you compare this brilliance to the teenage shows in the US, like Hannah Montana or Jackass, you realize the major difference between cultures. In Japan, cartoons can also be educational, while in the US and the west, it's a form of cheap shallow entertainment for kids, who seem to mature later and later.