The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (2022)

Japan

Animation, Drama, Romance, Fantasy

CLAP, Pony Canyon, Shogakukan, Sotsu, STUDIO MAUSU, Kansai Television

Ouji Suzuka, Marie Iitoyo, Tasuku Hatanaka, Arisa Komiya, Haruka Terui, Rikiya Koyama

Tomohisa Taguchi

Tomohisa Taguchi

Taglines: A mysterious tunnel can grant your fondest wish... but at a price.

adolescence, based on novel or book, legend, time travel, tragedy, school, seinen, anime, time manipulation

Urashima Tunnel – Once you enter that tunnel, you can get whatever you want, but at a price. Kaoru Tohno, who seems to have an elusive personality and traumatic past, and Anzu Hanashiro, who is struggling to reconcile her ideal image and true-to-heart attitude, team up to investigate the Urashima Tunnel and get what they want. This is an unforgettable summer story of nostalgia and sprinting in a remote countryside.

Reviews:

Author: Geronimo1967
This reminded me quite a lot of "Suzume" from earlier this year, only here we have a tunnel rather than a door! It's the same boy meets girl type scenario - with both Kaoro and Anzu coming from families with tragedy in their recent history. Legend has it that the Urashima tunnel can grant you anything you wish - but it works out that for 108 seconds in there it takes 3 days off your life in the real world. Kaoro is determined to get his younger (and frankly rather annoyingly enthusiastic) sister back; Anzu to discover the secrets of her grandfather's manga writing so she can excel. The two meet at a railway station, attend the same school and gradually bond - discovering and exploring this mysterious tunnel and ultimately questioning just what they really want from life. The narrative does mingle a careful what you wish for aspect with a grass is always greener one - and the story is quite effective when it dwells on that scenario. Sadly, though, there is just a little bit too much baggage around the characterisations, a touch too much teenage angst and though the animation is quite watchable, the story is over-stretched. It's a nice to watch film, with a pleasing score, but it's not especially original or memorable, I'm afraid.