#Hotarubi no mori e episodes movie
#Hotarubi no mori e episodes series

That’s the kind of simple but subtle storytelling I would like to see more often in animes. It’s also well represented from a directorial standpoint as each time Hotaru touches someone the camera focuses on that while in Gin’s case it’s shown how they avoid touching each other in the same kind of situation. Hotaru starts as this naïve child not really understanding the consequences of when she’s unthinkingly tries to touch him but that changes then to her fearing to touch him since she begins to care for him and in the end it closes off with her wanting to touch him since she fell in love with him. Their relationship is basically founded on the development on how they both treat this limitation. You know from the very beginning that they can’t touch each other and it’s really well done how this story-element is used to show the two character’s relationship without being blunt and cheesy like most romance-animes do. All the story cares about is the relationship of the two so that’s all that matters. And this way of telling the story works because there aren’t any unnecessary distractions. Character-wise you basically only get to see Gin and Hotaru talking to each other and sometimes you hear Hotaru’s thoughts.

#Hotarubi no mori e episodes series

The building-up is done in a very quiet manner and the world of Youkai has this peacefulness that you get to see in Natsume in its friendlier episodes (there are darker ones too in that series but overall it features the same atmosphere as this series). In that regard it’s definitely more a narrative resembling a short story since its focus is so small and limited.

#Hotarubi no mori e episodes movie

Instead the moment of them loving each other but being unable to touch one another is only a moment but everything in this movie is building up towards this one moment. Now this isn’t Romeo and Juliet where the romantic relationship is the centre of a conflict that needs to be resolved during the movie. Since it’s slightly romantic she of course falls in love with him but there’s a problem: She can’t touch him because if any human would touch him he would disappear. They meet each summer as Hotaru gets older. It’s about Hotaru who meets as a girl this dude who’s a spirit. Hotarubi is a short movie with only 45 minutes but compared to Princess and Pilot this movie is a far more cohesive experience. So basically if you liked Natsume or if you like Slice-of-Life with a bit of romance then you should watch this movie. With most of the staff of the Natsume-anime-series behind it and Yuki Midorikawa being the original creator of the story Hotarubi no Mori offers a glimpse of what makes Natsume such a great slice-of-life-series. Spirits truly seem to lack the imagination to have a culture of its own seemingly… In the world of Hotarubi spirits not only copy humans’ appearance and their cultural festivals but also their technology. She began to visit him every summer, even as she grows while he waits for the summer to come, for their time together to flow again. There, she had a fateful encounter with a spirit, who helped her even though he would disappear if a human being touches him. Synopsis: When she was young, Hotaru was once lost when she played in the forest near her uncle’s place that she visits every summer. Hotarubi is a rather quiet slice-of-life-movie with a romantic plot. It definitely has the feel of a short-story instead of a big story with an epic message. It’s only 45 minutes long and I would rather call it longer-than-average OVA than a full-blown movie. I wouldn’t wanna call it a Natsume-spinoff but everyone who likes Natsume probably should watch this little movie. Hotarubi no Mori e Review – Accidents Can Happen Apparently the creators of animes believe everyone would automatically assume it’s winter as long as there are no cicadas seen on screen… Seriously, why have it to be always the cicadas?! I guess it’s the same with spring and Sakuras, these season-stereotypes are really used far too often.