"Her Blue Sky" Movie Review: Dream, Regrets, and Second Chance

"The frog at the bottom of a well doesn't know the vastness of the sea, but it does know the blueness of the sky."

I just finished watching "Her Blue Sky" and decided to write a review about it because it deserved a shout-out. Before jumping further, here is a quick brief: "Her Blue Sky" (2019) is a Japanese animated movie produced by CloverWorks and for all I know, it was also the same team that worked on "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day". It might not be as popular as "Your Name" or "Weathering With You" but it hits different for those who relate to the main theme of the story, about having a dream as an adult from different points of view. The story is wrapped around these three main characters:

1. Aoi Aioi:

Akane's little sister, a 16-year-old girl who was very certain of her dream to be a bassist and leave her small town for Tokyo after high-school. She grew up to be a teenager full of resentment and guilt after their parents died and she always thought she was a burden to her sister who stayed with her to look after her, canceling her own dream and happiness.

2. Akane Aioi:

Aoi's older sister, a 31-year-old woman who was still single and a surrogate parent for her little sister. She broke up with Shinno when both of them were 18 and gave up her dream to follow Shinno to Tokyo after high-school.

3. Shinnosuke Kanamuro:

Now a 31-year-old jerk who was back to his hometown to fill a music festival. 13 years back, he sealed his old guitar along with his dream with Akane in the old place they used to practice their band after Akane broke up with him. Here comes what I like about Japanese animated film: *its spiritual touch*. The dream he sealed in the guitar became a spirit that took form as his 18-year-old self and it stayed at the old place they used to play band together and later met the 16-year-old Aoi. So spoiler alert: There is no time travel involved.

Now into adulthood. Often the dream we had when we were younger didn't turn out as expected once we grew up. For Shinnosuke, his dream was having Akane alongside him while he pursues his dream to be a famous guitarist, but he had to move on alone to Tokyo and even after 13 years, he was only a back-up guitarist of a traveling band. Made him regretted why he left at all and questioned if it was all worth it.

When I was younger, I had always thought that it'd be great if my future self can write me letters and guide me step by step to be her, but as I grew older I realized it was often the opposite. A question like, "Will the 18-year-old me be disappointed looking at the 28-year-old me?" appeared, and next, I found myself re-reading the letters I wrote to myself from years ago just to remind myself what's important back then. It was similar to how the 18-year-old Shinno confronted his 31-year-old self and reminded him of what mattered and created a second chance for him and Akane.

I dare say that Akane's story lingered with me for a while even after the movie ended. Probably because she decided to stay behind and rejected her love and dream at such a young age. As an adult, we learned to compromise a lot, often forced by the situation, but we would always remember and secretly wanting to try again. In Akane's case, we found out later that she was actually happy to stay and look after Aoi. Her strength alone breaks my struggling heart that tries to get tougher in hard times, like, ugh.

In addition to that, there was this weight to Akane's words, "The frog at the bottom of a well doesn't know the vastness of the sea, but it does know the blueness of the sky." The first half is based on a Japanese proverb, “井の中の蛙大海を知らず” (I no naka no kawazu, taikai wo shirazu). It means "A frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean", like someone who lives all his/her life in a small dark place and unwilling to see what's beyond his/her world, or mentally trapped in a narrow understanding of things. However, it's the second half that hits me,"..but it does know the blueness of the sky."The way I see it, it is a way for Akane to say that she might not know what life would be like for her in Tokyo but she knew she was already content and grateful for what she had in that small town: her little sister, Aoi. Dang onion! *blowing snot out of my nose*

Give the movie a chance (it has a happy ending, don't worry), and let me know which character gets you the most? Do you feel like you could look back to your 18-year-old self smiling, knowing he/she would grow up just fine to be you? 

*****