The flowers are blooming, the wind is breezy, and the days are longer. Surely enough, spring has crept upon us. What better way to take in the season than to watch beautifully crafted films that can immerse you in.
The Garden of Words (Amazon Prime)
As depicted in the title, the film is centered around a garden, where Takao and Yukari often meet to stay dry during the rain. Underneath the rooftop, they bond and Takao, a shoemaker, offers to give Yukari new shoes. However, once the rainy season ends, it’s harder for them to see each other, with only the promise of new shoes to hold onto. Watching their relationship unravel, along with the beautiful graphics, makes the movie eye-catching and riveting. It’s as if you’re living in a spring romance novel (or manga).
Weathering With You (HBO Max)
After running away to Tokyo, Hokoda hopes for a better life compared to living in a small town. Except, it turns out Tokyo isn’t the perfect place after all. It’s constantly raining and flooding, with gray skies all around until he meets Hina, the ‘Sunshine girl,’ who makes the gray skies go away with her extraordinary power. Just like the falling rain, Hokoda and Hina can’t help but fall for each other, both things the forecast can easily pick up. The film is refreshing, as, during spring, we all wish for clearer skies and brighter days.
The Secret World of Arrietty (HBO Max)
Basically, it’s Studio Ghibli’s version of Tinker Bell, except the characters aren’t fairies. However, they are indeed tiny and love handcrafting things. These so-called “borrowers” live beneath a home, taking items from the homeowners when they’re asleep, and creatively making them their own. Trying to live in secret backfires when young boy Sho notices and befriends tiny Arrietty. The two work together to protect the borrower’s way of living, hoping that both kinds can coexist. Additionally, the flowers and greenery throughout the film are very pretty, perfectly resembling spring.
A Whisker Away (Netflix)
Miyo has a huge crush on her high school classmate Kento. Failing to get his attention, she resorts to turning herself into a cat, because who doesn’t love a cute furry animal. Also as a way to escape from her troublesome household, she goes out and wanders around in her cat form, which Kento grows fond of. However, the more she turns into a cat, the more permanent her cat form will be. Stuck between Kento’s admiration and her humanity, Miyo goes through a coming-of-age adventure. From kimonos, festivals, and vibrant trees, “A Whisker Away” is also a nice film to get lost in the season.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Amazon Prime or YouTube)
Makoto is almost done with high school but doesn’t want to face the future. Instead, she’s facing the past, as she’s given the ability to leap back in time. Little does she know that when she uses this power, there is a price to pay. Time travel is a complicated thing, but thankfully her friends are there when things go wrong. The clear skies and pretty sunsets are a nice reminder of spring, along with the fact that Makoto is sick of school, which is exactly how we all feel this semester.
If you’d like some time to unwind, watching these spring anime films are great pick-me-ups. By the end of it, you’ll wish you were underneath the cherry blossom trees too. Unfortunately, we can’t all be the main character in a spring romance anime, but one can dream.
Featured Image by Francessca Conde