Preview: Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterun Da

Will this be the spiritual successor of AnoHana where fans have been waiting for?

The staff of the anime film of AnoHana and the ToraDora series are working together for a new movie project called Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterun Da, which will screen on the 19th of September in Japan. This can only mean one thing, epicness is guaranteed.

AnoHana has been one of my favorite franchises. The topic at hand was very tragic, but very engaging. It may not resonate with all viewers, but AnoHana has gotten quite the positive acclaim in the anime community and I dare to say even outside. The pacing of the anime adaptation was just right and in the right amount of episodes. Any longer and the series would’ve become dull.

Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterun Da goes along those lines with a traumatic event as its plot driver. After causing a major stir in her family by saying something that causes the family to fall apart, an egg fairy takes away Jun’s voice to prevent such an event from happening in the future. The trailer shows that she communicates with her cell phone, which can be interpreted as metaphor for today’s youth that struggle to interact on a personal level. Or at least what is currently under debate.

Another very strong element in the trailer is the inner struggle of Jun to cope with her loss for words. She tries to break free, but that isn’t going as smoothly as she wants it to be. This will probably be very interesting dynamic that will shape her as a character and create a separation in her environment of those who oppose her or go together with her to face her struggles.

It’s a rather cliché topic for a series, a young child who has experienced a traumatic experience and deals with the consequences during later stages in life. This tactic is often used in anime series to insert a human side to a character. A main character with a dead relative almost feels like a prerequisite during the series’ briefing. Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong with cliché, when done right, I believe it can pull the heartstrings just as hard as AnoHana did.

I really like the visual design of main character Jun. The short hair gives her an innocent and honest, yet insecure touch that embodies her inner self. Jun’s appearance really creates chemistry with her counterpart Nitou with her long hair and very feminine, confident appearance.

Jun is voiced by Inori Minase(Love Lab, Sora no Method, Gakkougurashi) and the movie is directed by Nagai Tatsuyuki(AnoHana, Chobits, Toradora Mushishi) and production is done by A-1 Pictures. My expectations are high, especially after seeing the beautiful visuals along with the strong production staff.