Time is an interesting concept. Time passes differently for everyone and how we use that time is a complex decision. I’ve played 1,200 hours of apex legends and to some, that might be a waste of time. For me, the time I spent playing that game was time I was having fun with friends and grinding to get better. The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit of Goodbyes ponders the question, would you sacrifice time for your heart’s desire? Surrounding this there is a teen romance that is blooming. You would think that these ideas wouldn’t mesh well but the film’s strongest aspect is the romance.
The two main characters Kaoru Tono and Anzu Hanashiro are great to watch and seeing their love blossom feels organic and is nice to see. Anzu Hanashiro in particular is a true breath of fresh air when it comes to female anime characters, the way she acts feels refreshing and subverts genre clichés. While this cannot be applied to Kaoru as he’s still the sad teenage anime character. It would not be fair to say that because he is a slight trope that his character is bad because that wouldn’t be the case. You understand and feel for his character and his motivations feel real and relatable. The voice cast of Ouji Suzuka and Marie Iitoyo are truly excellent and legit blew me away with how incredible they are.
Studio Clap is skyrocketing as a studio to keep your eye on when it comes to animation. This film is simply gorgeous and the way it blends 2D animation with 3D is some of the best I have seen in anime ever. The characters, the environment, and the way everything has this vibrant and captivating look to it, leads to a film that is simply one of the best-looking films of the year. The soundtrack is also pretty great as well and accompanies the film well in every scene. The biggest issue with the film is sadly its ending. While I won’t talk about it here, I think the ending holds the film back greatly. It is not a bad ending but instead of being a home run that flew across the sky and outside the stadium, it’s just an ending that is fine and debatably creepy.
But don’t let my criticisms of the ending sour this journey as at the end of the day the film is a journey worth experiencing. The film tells a simple yet stunning romance with one of the best characters in anime and has some of the best animation of the year. The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit of Goodbyes is simply great.
The Tunnel of Summer, The Exit of Goodbyes is in UK cinemas from the 14th of July 2023.