Running Time: 100 Minutes
Certification: U
Starring: Sayu Suzukawa, Akari Takaishi, Taisei Kido, Yui Aragaki, Yasuko, Aoi Yūki, Minako Kotobuki
Amongst the directors working in anime today, Naoko Yamada is one of the most celebrated. From her work on K-On!, to Liz and the Blue Bird, and especially with A Silent Voice, it is clear that she has a talent for characterisation and emotion which feels genuinely real. That continues to be clear with her latest film, The Colors Within.
The story opens in the chaplain of a Catholic school, where student Totsuko (Sayu Suzukawa) prays to God that she can accept what she cannot change. What is soon revealed to audiences is that Totsuko has a form of synaesthesia, which lets her see the colours of people. The gentle student becomes particularly fascinated with the colour she sees in her classmate, Kimi (Akari Takaishi), an honour student who suddenly drops out of school. As the two reconnect in a used bookstore, the pair find themselves forming a band with music enthusiast Rui (Taisei Kido).
As the trio practice at an abandoned church, these lost souls soon find a kinship with each other. Their different musical styles match their personalities, whether it is Kimi's downbeat sound on her guitar, Totsuko's peculiar piano tunes which are filled with joy, or the way Rui brings it all together with his theremin. The band is a shared passion which allows each member the courage to be honest and follow their desires, something which is captured with a welcome tenderness.
When viewers first meet the characters, Kimi is too ashamed to tell her grandmother that she dropped out of school, while Rui hides his musical passions due to the pressures of taking over his family clinic. Totsuko, meanwhile, struggles to step outside her comfort zone while clearly harbouring feelings for Kimi. This protagonist may understand the beautiful colours lurking in others, seeing the best that resides in everyone else, yet struggles to see that same thing in herself as represented by an uncertainty of her own colour. The trio each bring their own baggage, yet the shared company leads them to grow closer and feel at ease with one another.
The band's passion carries through to their music, which offers a fun mixture of ideas that harmoniously come together, particularly with a planet song that is an infectiously joyous bop. Bringing it all together is lovely animation from the ever-reliable Science Saru, who've been knocking it out of the park with the likes of Inu-Oh and Dandadan. Admittedly, I was waiting for the colourful beauty which enraptures Totsuko to be reflected for viewers, yet that moment never came. Despite this, The Colors Within is a touching and heartfelt tale about the connective power of music, and is another tremendous work from a marvelous anime creative.
The Colors Within is available in cinemas now
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