Yahoo Movies The Tunnel to Summer, Exit of Goodbyes review: Sweet anime tells a familiar tale of first love
The film is released in cinemas on Friday 14 July
🎞️ When is The Tunnel to Summer, Exit of Goodbyes in cinemas: 14 July, 2023
⭐️ Our rating: 3/5
🎭 Who's in it? Marie Iitoyo, Oji Suzuka, Tasuku Hatanaka, Arisa Komiya
👍 What we liked: The animation is stunning, and the narrative around the tunnel and how it works sets up the climax of the film well.
👎 What we didn't: The romantic storyline is something that we have seen before.
📖 What's it about? When Kaoru discovers a tunnel that will grant him one wish he decides to figure out the mysteries of it with the help of fellow student Hanashiro.
In a quiet Japanese village lies a tunnel that can give you anything that you want but in exchange you will lose years of your life in the outside world; that is the risk of using the Urashima Tunnel because time works differently there.
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After stumbling upon the portal Kaoru is keen to go through anyway so that he can bring his little sister back to life, whose death their drunken father is constantly blaming the teen for. He finds an unlikely ally in Hanashiro (Marie Iitoyo), the new girl at his school who has a sharp wit and doesn't suffer fools.
The teen has dreams of her own that she wants to fulfil, and so together the pair embark on a quest to better understand the tunnel and make preparations for getting what they want from it.
The Tunnel to Summer, Exit of Goodbyes is based on a light novel by Mei Hachimoku — the film's lengthy title may have already made that obvious — and it explores the all-consuming nature of grief juxtaposed with the journey of finding first love.
It is a tale of two halves, and the anime film balances both sides of the story well to bring its characters' moving narrative arc to the screen.
Kaoru and Hanashiro's story is quiet and their blossoming romance is subtle in ways only first loves can be, and while it is interesting to see them tip-toe around their growing feelings for each other as they work towards unravelling the mysteries of the tunnel it is a narrative arc that's been done time and again.
The film, which clocks in at a very reasonable 85 minutes, spends a large proportion of its time on Kaoru and Hanashiro's scientific experiments in Urashima tunnel, which gives viewers the chance to truly consider the risk of being in there.
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A few minutes can lead to a week passing by in the outside world, any longer than ten minutes and you start to lose years of your life.
Focusing on the nature of the tunnel in the early stages of the film makes the gravity of events in its second half that much more poignant, and was a smart narrative choice made by director Tomohisa Taguchi.
The animation itself is something to behold, particularly in the scenes that take place within the tunnel which give the location an eerie feel thanks to its bright colours and unique design.
The film's subtle visuals cleverly show the passing of time whenever Kaoru and Hanashiro enter the tunnel, and other visual cues help to elevate and complement the love story at the heart of the film.
When all the pieces are put together, Taguchi creates a meaningful story that will delight viewers even if some of it may feel rather familiar.
The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit of Goodbyes will be released in cinemas on Friday, 14 July.
Watch the trailer for The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit of Goodbyes.
