Hotarubi no Mori e

I probably won't be able to look forward to summer for a long time.

My chest will hurt.

My tears will be overflowing.

But this warmth in my hands and these summer memories will live on in my heart.

Hotarubi no Mori e (ENG: To the Forest of Firefly lights) is a 44 minute long anime movie. The story is centered around a little girl called Hotaru. Every summer she goes to her uncle’s home in the countryside.  One hot summer day little Hotaru finds herself lost in a forest where spirits are said to live. A mask wearing boy appears before her and saves her but Hotaru isn’t allowed to touch him because he says if a human touches him he’ll disappear. This anime was adapted from a manga by Yuki Midorikawa.

This anime is pretty mellow. It’s pretty much all flashbacks with Hotaru describing how she met Gin up to the point where she fell in love with him. It’s also has a pretty nice story. A bit clichéd but hey, it works. I actually cried a bit at the end. The ending was a bit expected but nonetheless offered a sad but satisfying ending to the anime. I like Hotaru’s personality. She kind of reminds me of Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle.

When you say it like that... >___>

The art of the anime is pretty. It kinda looks like Natsume Yuujinchou. Especially once you see how Gin looks like. (I'm an idiot. Of course Gin looks like a character from Natsume Yuujinchou, they have the same creator. :| Stupid me. ) The music was arranged very well. The background music makes you feel calm and at peace and it suits the premise of the anime quite well.

I consider this anime to be quite the gem. I never really expected to watch this one since I just downloaded the anime by accident. Haha! Anyway, this anime is highly recommended for viewers who just want a laid-back anime. The anime isn’t too tragic, it’s quite light-hearted actually and it’s nice show.

Here’s the trailer to get you going: