is a 2010 Japanese animated

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

directed by

Keiichi Hara is a Japanese director of animated films. Biography What started Hara on his career as an animation creator was visiting an animation film company as part of his job hunting activities after graduating from Tokyo Designer Gakuin College (TDG). H ...

. It is based on the novel of the same name written by

Eto Mori Eto Mori ( ja, 森絵都, translit=Mori Eto, born 1968) is a Japanese novelist focusing on children's and young adult literature. She has been described as "one of the most celebrated female writers of fiction in Japan today". Mori was born in To ...

, produced by

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

and animated by the

animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals o ...

Ascension. It also deals with some of the pressures on school children as they come up to graduation before entering college or university.

Plot

Upon reaching the train station to death, a dejected

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

is informed that he is "lucky" and will have another chance at life though he does not want it. He is placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Makoto Kobayashi, who has just committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

by an overdose of pills. Watched over by a neutral spirit named Purapura in the form of a little boy, the soul must figure out what his greatest sin and mistake was in his former life before his six-month time limit in Makoto's body runs out. He also has a number of other lesser duties he must complete, such as understanding what led Makoto to commit suicide in the first place. He finds Makoto did not like his family and he greatly dislikes them for the same reasons. He is contemptuous of his father who is an underdog at work, forced to work much overtime. Despite her efforts, he hates his mother who had an affair with a dance instructor, something his father seems to be oblivious to. His older brother, Mitsuru, has given up on him because he is too moody and has no friends at school. He discovers that a girl he fancies, Hiroka, sells sex to older men so she can have the clothes and things she wants. Shoko is a weird girl from Makoto's class who becomes suspicious of his unusual behavior, so he tries to stay away from her. After he gets mugged and beaten up by some delinquents, Shoko comes to visit Makoto at his house, but he scares her off. In one of their subsequent encounters, Purapura explains that Makoto will really die this time after his six months expire. However, when he befriends Saotome, a boy in his class who accepts outcasts such as him and treats them as equals, Makoto sees the joy in life for the first time. They spend some time together and they even begin studying for their high school entrance exam, something for which neither of them had any ambition before. Knowing that his brother will never get accepted to a public high school due to his bad grades and lack of interest, Mitsuru announces that he will postpone his college entrance exams in order to allow his parents to save some money so they can send Makoto to a private school. Makoto refuses and tells his parents and brother that he has already chosen Tamegawa High (a public school he and Saotome agreed on earlier). An aggravated Mitsuru is unable to comprehend his unwillingness to accept his family's help and asks him if he enjoys tormenting his own family. Makoto breaks into tears and says that he just wanted to go to the same school his only friend is going to apply to, which leads to his parents accepting his wish. With his deadline reaching its end, Makoto meets with Purapura for one last time. He announces that he has found out what his former life's mistake was. He reveals that he's none other but the soul of Makoto Kobayashi and his mistake was that he killed himself. Purapura tells him that he will keep on living, but that he will also erase his memories of Purapura in order to make Makoto not think that he has any more chances. Before wiping his memories, Purapura advises him to live a colorful life.

Voice cast

Reception

The film won the award for Excellent Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Academy Prize and is nominated for Animation of the Year. It won the Animation Film Award at the 65th

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

s. It also won the Excellence Award for animation in the 14th

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by a ...

. Internationally, it received the Audience Award and Special Distinction prize at the 2011

Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

References

External links

*
Colorful
on

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

's website * * {{Sunrise films 2010 anime films 2010s high school films Films about the afterlife Films about depression Films about suicide Films directed by Keiichi Hara Films set in Tokyo Japanese high school films Sentai Filmworks Sunrise (company) Toho animated films Films scored by Kow Otani

Plot

Voice cast

Reception

See also

References

External links