To the Forest of Firefly Lights

"It is sad not to love, but it is much sadder not to be able to love." The quote by Miguel de Unamuno becomes soulful and symbolic when we refer to it as in the context of this amazing anime. It's believed that the genre of romance has grown stiff and it seems very difficult to find a movie that does not deplete of originality and true sensuality, a genre that has nothing fresh to offer and most suggested things are a cliché these days. Well then, I'm truly glad I can say that whoever sports that belief is wrong. The evidence: Hotarubi no Mori e.

Short, sweet & sentimental, To the Forest of Firefly Lights (Hotarubi no Mori e) is a simple yet moving coming-of-age story following a young child who is rescued by a spirit after she gets lost in an enchanted forest, and covers her decade-long friendship with the same entity despite the limitations of their interactions.

Directed by Takahiro Omori, the film addresses first love, memories & passage of time in an apt manner, and is as exquisitely animated as it is beautifully told. The story unfolds at a breezy pace, while the interaction between the two characters plus their growing intimacy for each other is sensibly handled & finely portrayed.

Overall, To the Forest of Firefly Lights would've sufficed as a short film instead of aiming for feature-length but it still makes fab use of its 45 mins runtime, taking viewers through plethora of emotions. The simple story, serene quality & magical vibe helps keep the interest alive while evoking feelings of nostalgia in surprising ways. Worth a shot.

I don't understand why many people here seemingly disappointed with the simplicity of plot. 'Hotarubu no mori e' is one of those animes that gonna linger around in your head for while after watching. It's story of a little girl who gets into kinda of crush with a forest spirit. Beautiful soundtrack with breathtaking shots of forest and summer is delightful to watch.

The story is simple with no major twists or heavy drama, most of expressions of simple and short which makes this too romantic.

This is definitely a film that I would cherish and watch over and over. Nothing less to Ghibili studios'.

Really worth 45 mins of your time. The film may be short but by the end of it, you will definitely feel a variety mix of emotions.

Despite being such a short anime, it encapsulates the emotions and the story better than most romance anime do in 2 hours.

The story is beautiful and well written, but there is nothing that stands out.

And although the story was impressive, the same can't apply to characters of the movie... the cast is pretty average and undeveloped, which is expected for such a short anime.

The animation and art style isn't something that is important in this movie... it was just an average, basic art.

And finally the score... I had a feeling that the opening song was bad and out of synch with the story, but other than that it was solid.

Overall this film was nice to watch, it was simple, emotional and just a real piece of art (because of what they achieve in less than 40 minutes). Once more I just want to say that despite being a short anime with nothing really impressive going on, it was emotional as hell.