Mar 10

Mar 10 Akiyuki Shinbo’s "FIREWORKS"

Animated, Anime, Cosmic, Drama, Emotional, Fantasy, Japanese, Quirky, Romantic, Time Travel, Magic

Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald.

FIREWORKS is simultaneously annoying and fascinating.

It’s annoying because of the excessive time devoted to junior high school kids’ meandering social concerns and their obsession with whether fireworks when they explode in the sky are “flat” or “round.”

It’s fascinating because of the clever time manipulation -- playing the same day over repeatedly -- and the absolutely gorgeous animation.

On paper the storyline is pretty standard: adolescent boys chase the same girl, one discovers the ability to change events and replay “what if” scenarios, and as time is folded we learn that the girl being chased has a troubled backstory with serious consequences.

All this is played out in a picturesque Japanese seaside community where bicycles seem to be the main mode of transportation and adults are rarely seen.

If you are familiar with Akiyuki Shinbo's PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA or BAKEMONOGATARI you’ll see that alternate realities are being treated very differently from the stable diet of post apocalyptic angst we’ve grown accustomed to in the West. In this director’s hands alternate realities differ in subtle but occasionally disturbing ways from normalcy with the differences showing up in unexpected ways — as in what fireworks do you look and sound like when they explode in different realities.

If you do decide to watch this film don’t expect just one more Japanese high school rom-com where the nerd is pursued by a harem of gorgeous and buxom schoolgirls. Do expect that you will find yourself rolling your eyes from time to time even as you find yourself enchanted by the young girl and her personal dilemmas.