Fireworks is a 2018 Japanese animated coming-of-age movie about a schoolgirl scheming to run away with whomever wins the swimming race at the pool.
Fireworks is based on the 1993 live action TV series of the same name and produced by the producer of 2017’s Your Name. It’s an adolescent romance about two school buddies, Norimichi (voiced by Masaki Suda) and Yûsuke (voiced by Mamoru Miyano) who both have a crush on a quiet girl in class named Nazuna (voiced by Suzu Hirose). Little do they know that Nazuna’s mother is planning to be remarried and so Nazuna will be moving. However, Nazuna has her own scheme to run away.
She places her courage to run away on whomever wins the swimming challenge, suggesting using the traditional fireworks event as a place to take her on a date. While Norimichi and Yusuke’s group of friends debate and bet on whether fireworks are round or flat from the side and set up to go to the light tower to settle it, the boys are caught up in whether to go on a date. Then comes a twist when Norimichi learns about her true abilities to turn back time using a glass ball that she had found by the ocean that morning. Here lies the central theme of this story as we take a look at what-if scenarios, pondering what you could if you had a do-over of your own.
Right from the opening credits, Satoru Kôsaki‘s beautiful score and the team’s excellent animation make this an absolutely spectacular experience. This is a colorful world come alive with a charming story about young love and possibilities, a Groundhog Day spin adding a bit of science fiction to the romance. It’s the little details, like the transitions in the magical glass ball that lights up these coils to spell out the word “if” that are subtle yet expressive. The ball uses special filters to change the look of scenes, like when a sketch filter really adds a beautiful bit of detail to the moment. It makes each rewind feel like they are set it in their own fictional world, breaking away from reality. This extends to even the smallest things, such as how we see the different ways fireworks are shown in different possibilities.
Co-directed by Akiyuki Shimbô and Nobuyuki Takeuchi, the story works because these teenage characters are so believable. They act like teenagers. The boys debate about silly things like whether the fireworks are round or flat and place bets on who is right as each of them believe that it can’t be the other way. Teenage boys are scared to share their feelings and when given the opportunity, they let their fear take over and run away. At the same time, it’s about finding the courage to do something daring and break out of a comfort zone. It’s fun to see the different paths the different choices would result in.
Fireworks has its charms but it’s also loaded with lots of adventure while holding on to a heartwarming young romance at its core. It never gets sappy because the storyline is smart enough to involve family conflict as well as navigating teenage friendships and jealousy. In short, Fireworks is another wonderfully-crafted Japanese animation well worth seeking out.