Anime TL;DR
Review
Only Yesterday Movie (1991)
おもひでぽろぽろ (Omoide Poro Poro)
Character design
Character development
Dialogs
Music
Plot
Visual
World building
Slow-pace
Visual
Only Yesterday (Japanese: おもひでぽろぽろ Hepburn: Omoide Poro Poro, “Memories Come Tumbling Down) is a 1991 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the 1982 manga of the same title by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone.
The art style is very clean and almost minimalist. The lines are sharp while the colors and shadings are very matted. Some scenes are so bleached, it feels like watching a watercolor painting. Though I do like the art style, one thing that constantly creeps me out is the animation for people smiling. Something about it in this anime is a little off-putting.
The ending theme song “Ai wa Hana, Kimi wa sono Tane” (愛は花、君はその種子, “Love is a flower, you are the seed”) is a Japanese translation of Amanda McBroom’s composition “The Rose”. Once the ending theme starts playing, I start to tear up. You’re not crying, I am.
The story time jump between the past and present. It was confusing at first. The anime does a wonderful job of conveying all the nostalgic feelings.
This movie may be slow, but it is packed full of charms. You slowly bond with Taeko as you see and relate more to her life as the film progress. Our past shapes us, which includes both the goods and the bads.
Despite the movie aim at the older crowds, I would still recommend it to everyone that has a nostalgic feeling about their younger years. Only Yesterday is appropriate for everyone.
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A collection of notable videos, ranging from a fan-created trailer, music video, opening, and ending clip.
All images are copyright to their respective owners.
Photo by Nicolas LB, Jon Flobrant, and Yvette de Wit on Unsplash.
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