The Colors Within

One of the most beautiful anime film I've ever seen. There are no major stakes in the story which I found refreshing--just pure vibes. The more I rewatch this film, the more details I discover. I also appreciate how subtle the dialogue yet it carries a lot of meaning. I recommend this film! If you liked Liz and the Blue Bird then you will enjoy this!

Beautifully animated, wonderful story and music. A must see!!

The animation alone makes this movie worth a watch. The story and characters are interesting enough, and the music show at the end is stunning. I saw the dub and I’m in love with Kylie McNeill’s voice (she killed it in Belle and flourishes here). Story and concept is interesting but the schtick about Kimi is that she can see the colors that people emit, but it barely has any merit on the overarching story.   Overall, a fun experience, visually pleasing and great songs, it’s just that the pacing is slow at times and the story is just ok.  

Loved it! Great music.

Great wholesome movie. Slow paced but the likeable characters and their journey was worth it. The art direction and surprisingly great music really sell this as a unique experience. Good dub too. The main character sounded like my little cousin.

Uplifting storyline, beautiful colors and characters!

naoko yamada is a treasure and must be protected. she is easily one of my favorite directors right now. 3 back to back 5/5s what a legend. we are taken through the journey of a young girl who struggles internally and strives to figure out her true self who sees people a beauty colors. and is a captivating journey. part of this colorful journey is finding a group of friends that acts as support for each other in finding hidden strengths and being able to be vulnerable with each other. truly such beautiful piece of animation.  such a vibrant and alive film. friendship, vulnerability, and embracing your true self. some scenes with beautiful burst of colors that symbolizes acceptance and peace. great storytelling portraying the beauty of empathy, the importance of connection, and the journey of self discovery.  and the scene when the band finally performs i was mesmerized the whole time. not only was the music good but it was a powerful moment of the group finally embracing themselves and sharing music with the world which all created a euphoric feeling from start to finish. i’ll be listening to the soundtrack all year:)

A beautiful story. I enjoyed the main character moving the plot along themselves and a lack of stereotypical bully role. And the music is already on Spotify, btw. Enjoy!

a little slow at time but the heart is there and left the movie was a warm feeling of connection and a different way of viewing people

Directed by Naoko Yamada, who directed The Silent Voice, which is one of my all-time favorites out there, despite a couple of things that I'd agree with from others. When I've said that, I might make a review of that one in the future if I get the time. She directs this movie, which is more or less a coming-of-age movie while tackling some themes like more than what you were told, more than what you wanted to be and the value of friendship in a form of making a band. Of course, a little fun fact about the director is that she's responsible for K-On, an anime involving a group of high school friends forming a band, which does make this movie kinda familiar. The difference is that the three main leads are Totsuko, a girl who can see color who is interested in Kimi while keeping it a secret from one of the superintendent nuns who make a connection with Totsuko, Kimi, who is trying her hardest to hide from her grandmother when she'd decided to drop out of school, and Rui, a boy who wants to form a band while hiding his fascination from his mother who owns a clinic while expecting him to take over. Simple? Sure, but these three characters are relatable when you'd want to tackle more than what you were given if you were a teenager. We d go through their arcs relatively easy when later in the film, they had to confront what they'd feared before the finale. Their voice acting, whether you watch it in original Japanese, which I'd seen it today in theaters, or in English Dubbing, which there was a showing yesterday. They all played their best with each character without making them one-dimensional since this is a coming-of-age like we've seen a fair amount of them ranging from decent to generic. If I were to scale this film, I'd scale it to good. However, this movie is limited in theaters at the moment. The animation, as I always thought of Science SARU, who was involved with this film, does good with how the characters look and using the theme of color and sound to fit how the film is portrayed. You can even think of it as a philosophy of the colors being used in Totsuko's eyes, even by the feel of the colors through sound. You could say that this was an average good anime film that tackles more than how these three teens are going through. In addition, there are the aspects of religion involved, which I'm okay with. I'm a former Christian, and I could say this is worth watching since another character, being the superintendent nun that I'd spoken of earlier, shares her screen time with Totsuko by assisting her. Might be my favorite character of this film. I will admit it does take a little too long as it is close to two hours of runtime, but that's pretty minor since you are seeing these three teens going through with their lives. Some parts did feel a little bit on the filler side, and the first act does slow a bit. However, there is one thing that I will say to counterpoint my nitpicks, it would have to be that this movie is pure comfort. You can accept that even by the runtime of this film, this is just pure comfort with the characters, the animation, and even the music, which is pretty good for being original. There is also a feel that Totsuko and Kimi are closer than friends, but if anything, I'd ship these two whenever they spend their time together. Harmless, comfort fun, this film is to me. It's worth a watch if you're a fan of Naoko Yamada's work or just looking for a new anime movie in general. It might not be up there in the leagues as how I love The Silent Voice more, but if I'm in the mood for comfort food, I'd put this on. I would give this movie eight and a half Totsuko ballet while singing one of their original lyrics out of ten. 8.5/10.