Colorful

Colorful is an animated film based on the novel by MORI Eto. By the power of Pura-pura, an angel-like being that made a sudden appearance, “my” soul that was drifting between the worlds of heaven and earth enters the body of KOBAYASHI Makoto, a junior high school student who had killed himself, to have another chance at life. As “I” learn the reason for Makoto’s death and experience the same life as Makoto’s, “I” begin to think of the meaning of this second chance, and start to realize something.

Animation as a device to sublimate the main theme
This film demonstrates integrity. HARA Keiichi has gained great acclaim with his distinct style of weaving a realistic, tactile sensation into his fantasy world. His current goal may be to reconstruct a film that consists only of elements that exist in reality with the exception of the single aspect that is needed to create the story.
When we see the realistic form of a film made in this way, we may lose sight of why the subject matter is shown as an animated film.
But we must not forget. Even this form that may appear realistic is still fiction fabricated by the artist.
If he had not removed all the impurities of the real world using animation as a medium of expression to shed light on the central theme, he probably would not have been able to truly express the genuine pain suffered in the story.
The artist’s way of quietly yet persistently carrying through his own ideals as if to blunt this pain, more than anything, is an indication of his steadfast integrity toward the real world.