The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

I have never watched another romance anime like this before. It really stand out from the crowd of pop-coloured kawaii anime movies out there.

Two high school students discover a tunnel where time bends and twists bizarrely and where your deepest wish can come true, although at a cost.

The animation is beautiful and the muted colours add to the atmosphere,realism and sincerity of the plot. The firework scene at the summer festival is beautiful. The movie is very heartfelt and sincere because of the simple plot and straightforward dialogue, not despite of them.

If you are looking for a romantic anime movie that doesn't have the traditional blockbuster style and plot to appeal to the masses but stays true to its own vision and style, this one is for you!

A schoolboy meets a schoolgirl on the railway station and gives her umbrella. You're right if you immidiately thought about love story, because that's how romances begin in recent anime. The "The Tunnel to Summer" is full of such cliches and you shold be ready for them while watching this anime like you are ready to the fact that there are little to no differences between fast foods' menus. The boy is your stereotypical male lead from modern anime: average in all aspects possible, anxious, whiny, hyper-reflective, impulsive, obsessive, self-absorbed, lacking common sense, intellectually and emotionally dull. In other words he is typical psychasthenic. The girl also matches current tropes - she is determined, rational and brave. Overall that's your another modern cliche with gender roles inversion. How refreshing indeed. The boy and the girl are in some way alike because both of them have problems with their parents and struggling to find a way out of their current situation. To cope the boy clinged to the past and the girl clinges to her dream of becoming mangaka.

That's where fantastic element comes into action. The boy finds a mysterious tunnel where you can find something that you lost in the past. The tunnel has a different time flow with hours there being years in the real world. So the boy and the girl begin to explore the tunnel in order to gain their wishes from it. The boy wants to ressurect his deceased sister while the girl wants to find in the tunnel a talent for manga that she thinks she is lacking (no logic here, since you can't find there something you didn't have - yet another clumsy sacrifice for the plot progression). In the process they fell in love with each other but since it's an anime they are unwilling to admit and reveal their feelings untill it's almost too late. The moral here is that you should not cling to the past but look into future. End of story. There are many plotholes and dumb acts in the process but overall that's it because this boring and tedious anime indeed ends abruptly.

The name "The Tunnel to Summer" is most probably a refference to Heinlein's "The Door into Summer" where the protagonist is trying to find a way out of the disastrous situation he stucked in. Heinlein's novel is also dealing with time shifts and a love which survives through years. But where in "The Door into Summer" the main character is actively searching for his "door into summer", putting all his efforts and ingenuity into this, the protagonist of "The Tunnel to Summer" is passively wasting his life and endagering his love by obsessively clinging to his past. Giving the tendency of anime protagonists to became more and more dumb and mentally disordered it's a good thing he realizes his problem after all. But really, he is not the best example to follow for the young adults. Heinlein's protagonist is much better suited for this role. Not to mention that "The Door into Summer" is a much more enthralling and imaginative read.

But "The Tunnel to Summer" has its pros. First of all it has great visual both in terms of drawing style and the animation. The main characters are aesthetically appealing and likable despite their density. Also this anime has positive moral message and happy ending, which is a great feat in the times of hypersentimental and decadent storytelling.

Natsu e no Tunnel, Sayonara no Deguchi is a beautifully crafted film that mixes romance, mystery, and a touch of fantasy. The story centers around a mysterious tunnel that grants your deepest desires, but at a cost, and two characters-Kaoru and Anzu-who find themselves drawn to its possibilities. What I loved most about this movie is how it balances the magical elements with the emotional weight of the characters' struggles. The animation is stunning, especially the way it captures the atmosphere of summer and the dreamy, otherworldly vibe of the tunnel. It's both heartwarming and bittersweet, with themes about loss, choices, and moving forward in life. It's a movie that makes you think about what you're willing to sacrifice for what you want most. A quiet yet powerful film.

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.

Do you have it? That precious thing lost in the fabric of time. That relationship, that person, that experience that you wish you could return to?

So what would it take, what are you willing to pay, to go back and re live that moment?

I think this is the main idea the anime attempt to crack. I like this line of thinking since it is something that everyone, EVERYONE, can relate to (we all have those memories we wish we could be part of again). But, it was not the case, at least not for him. The protagonist does not try to relive an experience, He wants to flee from the present into the past, to that same experience he yearns.

Well, the hatred of the present actually blinded him of what he's going to loose, what he's giving up, and only when he payed the price he understand he should not have done at.

I find that a really good message, no matter how bad you think your life is, there is always a point of light out there you should try to hold on to.

The movie, I think, suggests a nice point of view on our life and the way we perceive it, It reminds me "About Time" but from a different angle.

Although some stuff in the movie felt forced and not genuine (Sometimes it felt that things happened because the story dictated that, and not through natural line of cause and effect) I still enjoyed watching it, and I'm sure that you will too.