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DVD Hotarubi no mori e
 Run time: 45 min Rating: 7.8 Genres: Animation | Drama | Fantasy Director: Takahiro Ômori Writers: Yuki Midorikawa Stars: Hiroki Goto, Asami Imai, Taya Jun |
| Storyline Hotaru is rescued by a spirit when she gets lost in a forest as a child. The two become friends, despite the spirit revealing that he will disappear if he is ever touched by a human. |
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| Plot Keywords: spirits, folklore | |
| Details: Country: Japan Release Date: 17 September 2011 (Japan) |
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"Hotarubi No Mori E" is yet another fine example of Japanese creativity and talent to make a heart warming story. Some might think that 40 minutes isn't all that long, but in this case, it was more than enough to tell a tale.
A young girl named Hotaru gets lost in the woods during a summer vacation in her uncle's mountain lodge. Just when she starts to fear no one would find her, a young man with a mask covering his face appears and shows the way home. But there's something mysterious about Gin, and as it seems, he may even be a forest god in a human form. Hotaru is intrigued, and still, she cannot touch him. Years go by, with each new summer the girl returns to the same enchanted forest looking for this secretive boy. Hotaru feels closer to Gin as time passes, while she continues to grow up. Finally, she will unravel the secret behind mysterious Gin who doesn't seem to grow old, but things will never be same again for any of them.
"Hotarubi No Mori E" is a perfect exemplar why I like Japanese animation so much. Forest and it's spiritual surrounding represent an important part of Japanese culture, whereas this symbol can be found in many anime originated from Japan, but also in other Asian productions and traditions. An interesting and touching story is told without fireworks and big splashes. Maybe not the best but still solid animation, fairytale characters and a nice story make this anime more than worth watching.
This 40 minute anime is about a girl who befriends a sort of youkai (Japanese spirit) and then they meet and spend their summers from then on. You get the usual magical summer, the green forest, the cicadas, the friendly youkai, the countryside grandparent and the almost absent parents and you get yourself the typical setting for so many Japanese animated stories. And while the animation was OK and the story nice and the mood a mixture of calm magic and romance, that's basically what the entire thing is. It doesn't go anywhere.
Even when the girl grows up and develops womanly feelings, they are not really explored in any way. Her character doesn't change much from since she was 6 years old and there aren't really any other characters except her and the guy. When you have unchanging characters, the only thing remaining to entertain is the mood.
So, while I enjoyed watching it, I also felt that it didn't teach anything.
Before watching this I didn't know what to expect especially since it is such a short anime film. What I really liked about it was the story in general, the sound effects, the sketches and the voice actors. The whole idea was nothing I would imagine and the ending was nothing I had expected. I liked how all the spirits in the forest looked out for him and how he grew up alone in the forest. It was as though he was raised by wolves without the wolf part of course (haha) unless you include that one spirit. The whole time I expected a cliché happy ending. I assumed they would find the mountain god who gave him the powers and then they would give her some as well. That didn't seem all that unlikely seeing as they didn't introduce the family too well. I assume it was because they didn't want us to get attached to something that would be left behind.
The main point in the whole movie was companionship, how no one wants to be lonely. In the end he appreciated her so much that he didn't mind being obliterated if only he could hug her. The ending was absolutely touching and even though I rarely cry when watching films this made me tear up.
A young girl is lost in the forest, and rescued at the last minute by a strange boy, who may be a spirit in human form. She returns to meet him every summer, as she grows up and he remains the same; over time they develop a special friendship, but the boy warns her that because of a curse which was placed on him, they may never touch.
Hotarubi no mori e is a sweet little fairy tale, that draws heavily on Japanese tradition and mythology. It's a pleasant enough watch, more lyrical and sensitive than most anime I've seen so far, and the very short runtime (under 50 minutes) ensures that it doesn't overstay its welcome. That runtime also makes it very unsatisfying, though; it's frustrating when you realize that, even if it were only over an hour long, it would get boring quickly, mainly because it has very little to offer. Hotarubi no mori e has some pleasant atmosphere, but no character development, no original design, and no real point or moral at the end.
Hotarubi no mori e seems to be heavily influenced by the master Hayao Miyazaki – mostly because both draw from the same myths and share the same elements. That natural and instant comparison does it more harm than good, though; it's just not as good as Miyazaki's work, it doesn't achieve the same level of audience involvement, it doesn't feel as real, and the animation is far from being on the same level. The animation in Hotarubi no mori e is pretty and pleasant, as is the story, and it's practically impossible to use stronger words to describe it. Pleasant but forgettable, probably worthwhile for anime fans but not much to write home about when we still have the genius of Miyazaki around.