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REVIEW: Anthem of the Heart




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KitKat1721



Joined: 03 Feb 2015
Posts: 952
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:17 am Reply with quote
I'm seeing this on Saturday with a friend. Thankfully, the Fairfax/DC area was offering it on a weekend in addition to a weekday. I'm not a huge melodrama fan, but I always did like AnoHana (probably due to it's short length, and I felt it knew when to pick it's moments to go full throttle with it's more overly-dramatic scenes)

Plus, it's always nice to see anime in theaters when given the chance.
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dannyothello





PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:32 am Reply with quote
Watched this two days ago and agreed with everything you've said Nick. Just judging from the trailers, the synopsis at first didn't seem that interesting or groundbreaking in any way, but I was surprised to how quickly I grew attached to the cast of the characters. Compared to my previous experiences with Okada, this seemed relatively reserved and genuine, although there were a few moments that seemed out of character. And the music was fantastic, so I immediately bought the soundtrack after my viewing of the movie.
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navycherub



Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 233
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:45 pm Reply with quote
Seeing it this weekend in DC, and every time someone comes back from it they seem to have great things to say. I am very excited.
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jojothepunisher



Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 799
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:08 pm Reply with quote
If Nick Creamer says Yes, then I will give this film a try.

And does anybody know if this film is playing in Vancouver Canada?
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FierceAlchemist



Joined: 12 Dec 2013
Posts: 75
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:19 pm Reply with quote
I saw the movie in LA and loved it. Music was amazing, characters were strong, and the story took a few turns I didn't expect.

spoiler[I can see Nick's point that Jun overhearing Takumi and Natsuki is a cliche, but I think it works because I genuinely thought when I saw the trailers and through the first half of the film that Takumi and Jun were gonna end up together. But I like that the film portrays a relationship between a boy and a girl that's not romantic. Rather, Takumi admired her and her courage made him want to help her as well as using her lessons to help himself. It was a nice change and its good that Jun confessed and felt the pain of being rejected rather than keeping it bottled up in silence.]
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omoikane



Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 494
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 3:02 pm Reply with quote
One man's cliche is another man's genre convention.

I feel a critical analysis of the movie hinges on how the critic react to these trappings.

I think it would be difficult to fault the film on execution. Having seen the movie also on Monday, I concur the film is definitely well-planned and well-animated. If there's one thing I want to praise the movie for, it is a good balance of humor even during key moments. If there are two things, then I'd add that it carries over the best creative notions from another masterful youth drama film, Whisper of the Heart, while still keeping the same spin found in works like Toradora.
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H. Guderian



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 1255
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 4:28 pm Reply with quote
Loved the movie. Saw it in Boston last night.

As someone not-young I found the movie to be very strong. Over the years I've seen so many relationships and problems arise when people just can't seem to communicate through words. Spoken words have a lot to them, and how many of us saw trouble caused by words online? Ever tell a joke on Twitter and someone snapped at you for it...or just stopped talking to someone over it?

I love that the movie was about Communication, and in the end Takumi was willing to listen to a whole ton of Bad Words in order to help people move on.

The movie also made me wonder what I could do in the future to better communicate my thoughts, and if I could also try to better reach out to those in need when they need it most. The movie made me think, and thats not quite as common as I'd like, but I appreciate it.
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kotomikun



Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 1205
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 5:24 pm Reply with quote
As one of the five people who only kinda-sorta liked AnoHana... I adored this movie. New favorite anime film. Actually, I don't think I had a clear favorite until now.

The official synopses (synopsi?) make it sound super glurgy ("my honest feelings like a beautiful anthem is waiting to break free," eurgh), but it's really about as genuine and effective as a fictional story can be. It's a relatively by-the-book story, but with plenty of interesting complications. spoiler[The pairings are almost certainly not the ones you'd expect. On the angsty side of things, it surprised me how much it deconstructed Japanese "don't be the nail that sticks out" culture, and that it made no attempt to redeem Cheater Dad, the gigantic narcissist.]

AnoHana felt too drawn-out, by comparison. This movie was much more focused, and "learning to communicate and assert yourself, and how to not hurt each other with words" made for a more compelling story than "maybe we should finally get over this girl who died years ago and is actually still here as a ghost." Definitely some personal bias there, though...
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H. Guderian



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 1255
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 5:29 pm Reply with quote
kotomikun wrote:
This movie was much more focused, and "learning to communicate and assert yourself, and how to not hurt each other with words"


I think it also embraced a bit of the 'hurtful words' in order to get across that not saying anything can also be cruel. I think it goes against the old grain of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Thats kinda what Jun did.
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Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 9:25 pm Reply with quote
Most important thing for me, with a stories that run along similar lines, is that the characters feel like they have depth. Happy to hear that this is the case for this movie.

Now, to wait if it will get some sort of release here in Australia. I've not heard anything. If it does, I assume I'll be importing Aniplex USA's eventual disc release.
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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2632
PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 8:47 am Reply with quote
I really want to see this but if course it didn't play anywhere near me.

Aniplex really needs to work on their theater distribution which is awful in my opinion.

Philadelphia is a big city so I don't understand why we are always skipped. Then I thought maybe because they thought New York was close enough to Phila (which it's not) but then the movie is playing in both DC & Baltimore.

The only time they played a movie in Phila it wasn't even in Phila Proper or a place near a train station.


I am sure Landmark Philadelphia would play Aniplex films since they show other anime films. The Attack on Titan movies played there as well.

Sorry to rant but I just really want to see this and I am just once again disappointed in Aniplex.
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