"Hotarubi no Mori e" - Love is... bittersweet...
Before we begin, may I see you ticket please? Why, you ask? Well you are about to board the feels train because we are going on a feels trip. You might want to stock some tissues too, for when the onion cutting ninjas sneak up on you or when you accidentally get smoke in your eyes. Well? All set? Then let's get this trip on track!
Note: Spoilers ahead! I highly recommend this movie, if you have 40 minutes to spare then by all means please spend it on this one. That's all!
Hotarubi no Mori e (Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light)
Genres: Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural
What is love? Baby don't hurt me. Okay, memes aside those lines hit close to the show's message. Love could be sweet, love could be painful but at the end of the day we still can't help but fall in love. To live is to love and to love is to live, such is the fate of us, living beings.
I don't want to sound too serious but this show just struck me with a full brunt of bittersweet emotion that I can't help but sing praises for it. It is a 40-minute anime movie but in that short span of time it was able to captivate me with a beautiful love story that I haven't seen in a long time. It didn't dawdle with anything other than the single story it is trying to tell, a love that can not be realized, a love between 2 beings that should not have come into contact because it will only cause both of them suffering in the end.
To clear things up, let's talk about the plot. It is a plain and simple one, a girl named Hotaru got lost in a forest when she was 6 years old but was found and guided by a forest spirit named Gin. They slowly became friends and started to hang out but it is not all rainbows and butterflies in here. Why? This is why.
So close yet so far in the truest sense of the phrase. This, however, made their time together more meaningful, Gin can't leave the forest for he fears getting into contact with humans and Hotaru can only visit the forest during summer vacation since she lives somewhere else. They are obstructed by their own circumstances and can't do anything about it. Their fate has been sealed even before they met, a cruel fate indeed.
However, love doesn't discriminate, any one could be afflicted with it, be they humans or spirits no one is safe from its clutches. Even though they are both aware of the circumstance they are in, little by little, as they spent their precious time and make fond memories together, their feelings and longing for each other gradually gets stronger with each passing moment.
I think most people can already predict what kind of ending the show had based on what I have said till now. Yes it isn't a happy ending, but somehow I feel happy for both of them for they were finally able to feel each others warmth even if that moment only lasted for few seconds. The scene where Gin started to disappear but still uttered these words with a smile...
...broke my heart, he is about to disappear yet all he can think of is the chance for him to finally be able to connect with Hotaru and feel her touch, the same can be said about Hotaru, she didn't even falter and took that chance as well. Their final moment together was both the happiest and saddest part, they were both smiling during that moment that made it more heartbreaking for me.
That was the last time they will be spending summer together, the time that they both look forward to every year is now the time that would remind Hotaru of the fact that Gin is no longer there waiting for her in their usual spot. But love is not that fragile, even if the other one is gone, the memories remain intact and every thing that they have been through together is not going anywhere. It may be a bittersweet ending but the kind of love they demonstrated is love in its purest form and I believe that in the end they felt fulfilled, that just that one moment was all they ever need.
I will be ending this with a line from the movie. A line that perfectly captured the essence of the show and maybe true love itself, a line that is both bitter and sweet.
Honestly, give this one a try. I won't keep this long, see you again on my next article.Well then.
Ciao~
so cute :3
I watched this movie like nth times and still one of my favorite heart breaking ones..huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu please just let me cry this out. I mean taena naman bakiiiiiit bakiiiiiiit bat kailangan pa ganun ang manyare huhuhuhu
Haha ang sakit ng ending pero para sa akin yun ang charm nung movie. Pag naaalala ko yung final moment nila, ang bigat sa pakiramdam pero at least nahawakan nila isa't isa bago mawala si Gin. Feels/10.
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yuuuup, tama! yung feeling ng ending sobrang nakakatatak talaga, kaya di mo makakalimutan tong movie na to hahahah
I think the movie existed for that scene alone XD
Overwhelming feels talaga yun. Despite what comes after, and they both know it, they poured everything in that one moment. Hays...
Yeah all the build up is for that single moment alone, and it feels so good yet so sad. Just remembering it is bringing up the feels. Never knew a 40 minute movie can wreck me almost on the same scale as clannad and shigatsu.
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