The Tunnel to Summer is an anime movie adaptation of the light novel The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. The movie falls under the romance and sci-fi genres. It was released globally on May 24, 2023.
I stumbled across the movie recently, and here I am, talking about the film with you all.
It would be better that I begin with-
Table of Contents
Things You Will Like About The Tunnel to Summer
The Narrative
The beginning of the story is very calm and quiet. We watch the leads of the plot meeting one another for the first time at a train station. The boy, instantly understands that the girl is new to the town. Their meeting appeared fated when we come to the end of the story. Their interaction was practical.
The warm-hearted Kaoru Touno wanted to help the girl at the station, and the girl Anzu Hanashiro finds it unnecessary. However, this is the simple beginning of a never-ending gorgeous friendship that blossoms beautifully as the story progresses. The narrative sure takes a slow pace at the initial minutes, but 83 minutes was enough to cover the depth of the friendship that thrives with the advancement of the plot.
At a superficial level, the story is all about Touno coming across a mystical tunnel, remarkably known as the Urashima tunnel, the tunnel which supposedly grants every wish. Touno is suffering an abusive lifestyle which became a regular affair only after his sister fell to her death. His sister was his best friend and the two loved each other the most in the family. Touno wished her sister to be alive once again.
Now, he meets Hanashiro at the station and later in his school. She follows Touno to the tunnel and slowly they became engrossed, investigating the mystery that the tunnel has. Their investigation perpetually becomes intense with time and it was also seen later, that the two often hang out together. Although it was not intentional, the leads develop a sense of dependability which helps them come close to each other.
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Hanashiro was a talented mangaka however she was not appreciated for her choice of career by her parents. She wanted to become someone special who can mark a name in the industry and in the competitive manga production market in Japan. Touno helps her a lot, preparing her mentally for the mangaka journey and we can say he was the sole reason why Hanashiro became a notable artist in the next 8 years.
They spoke less but shared quite a significant portion of their life together which brought them closer to one another ultimately becoming best friends and later soul mates without even knowing. When Touno finally met his sister, the loyalty which he experienced from Hanashiro’s constant incoming texts was enough to make him return to the present. He felt the urge to meet her instantly. The longing to be reunited was there for both of them.
Even we hear, Hanashiro was intensely invested in building her career as mangaka when Touno was lost in the tunnel. We can deduce that, she was simply trying to keep her mind off the loss of Touno, she was experiencing. She was waiting without even knowing about the future of their relationship. She grew old in the present while Touno remained a young teenager. However, she never forgets to carry the umbrella so, that she has a solid excuse to meet the boy who understood her.
The development of profound connection was ideally shown in the movie, which I felt. Hanashiro even confessed that she is ready to leave everything behind to stay with Touno since it is enough for her to keep on living.
I thoroughly liked the story, but what about you?
Sentai Filmworks
The Characters
Touno and Hanashiro are the primary characters in the plot. The personification of the individuals is very relatable. One is suffering an abusive life living with an annoying father. While the other is struggling with the choice of her professional future.
Touno appears very gentle, he never speaks rudely to his abusive father and loves his sister a lot but never talks about his mother. He shares his shoulder with Hanashiro to rely on. But the moment he sees that his best friend has a future, he leaves her to enjoy the much waited life she wants, but alone.
On the other hand, Hanashiro is a very confident girl who left her parent’s home to become the mangaka she wants to be. She is a rebel to everyone but not to Touno. She is polite to him and is ready to follow the dependable guy, to live a life he chooses for himself. She is very much committed to her sentences and is very loyal to Touno. She waits for 8 years and it was something deeper than friendship.
The moment the two are reunited Hanashiro did not lose a minute to kiss the boy who made her wait so long. And Touna also kisses her back closing their spiritual and physical distance once and for all.
Both the characters are deep and layered and you can totally relate to them.
The Directions
The direction was very neat and quite detailed. Well, when you watch the movie, you will notice, a repetitive airplane shot. In the beginning, it flew alone. But when Touno and Hanashiro begin spending their time together in the context of investigating the tunnel, the airplane flew with another airplane. Next, when Touno decides to take the adventure all by himself, the airplane was shown flying a little bit faster than its companion.
And when the two finally meet after 8 years, we watch the two airplanes slowly coming face to face. It was impeccable. It was a pronounced directorial implication which I noticed just by watching the movie one time. I am sure there will be a lot to cover if I watch it twice or thrice.
Also, as the movie advances, the distance between the leads shortens. Try watching them standing side by side, you will understand.
But the direction was very direct while being very soft. Everything is minutely placed fitting the context and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was beautiful according to me.
The Music
Well, there is no significant memorable music from The Tunnel to Summer. But whatever was there, it was very soulful. They were well-fitting to the montages shown from time to time. I loved it.
The Ending
I sincerely appreciate the ending of the movie. The two took 8 years to finally reunite and express their unconditional love for each other. Hanashiro became the mangaka Touno wanted her to become. And he finally had a closer with his sister which he longed for, all of his miserable years. Both of them earn what they desired and finally receive the chance, to spend their life together. It was very nice.
Things You Might Not Like About The Tunnel To Summer
There is nothing to talk about, against The Tunnel to Summer. But the direction, in the beginning, was a bit slow, which might be distractive for some impatient audiences.
TOTT’s Take On The Tunnel to Summer
For me, The Tunnel to Summer is a very nice movie which you should watch if you haven’t watched it yet. The movie shows unconditional love, reliable friendship, and self-love in the most beautiful way possible. It is a great watch, which I am very much pleased to recommend to my TOTTers.
So, I would like to rate the movie-
Of course, I have missed a lot on the movie, so be my guest and let me know in the comment section below how much did you enjoy or not enjoy The Tunnel to Summer.
But this is all for today. Hope to meet you all very soon in our next publication. Please do share your thoughts and opinions on The Tunnel to Summer in the comment section below.
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So BYE BYE, for now, hope you have a wonderful day ahead.
BYE BYE, my TOTTers.
