Well hey I never thought I'd enjoy the movie. I almost skipped it actually. Why? Because I had no clue on the story but it was showing and I had to pick movies to watch while in line at the ticketing area. 😆

So I just picked based on title, actor and genre. I chose a Jackie Chan movie (which turned out to be subliminally and disappointingly partly anti-Catholicism) and this anime film which is surprisingly way better. ❤️

As usual I never watched any trailers to know what it's all about. I did get to read movie summaries but of course that doesn't tell the whole story. And so here's my review of this "nostalgic" animated film.

💥 WARNING: Spoiler alert!
I read that this movie is set to be shown in North America in January 2025 with an English dub so if you'd rather not know about it yet feel free to skip for now. hehe.

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✨ The Trailer and Synopsis

On IMDb for The Colors Within (Kimi no Iro):

A girl who can see colors in people's hearts joins a band with two other people.

✨ @artgirl's Review

Coming from a distateful memory of the opening scene from the other movie, I moved on to go to the next cinema. Perhaps because of that I truly appreciated watching this animated movie.

◙ Characters & Story

We see three young people live their lives apart and together. It has youthful themes and teenage angst. haha. Of course there's also some "love triangle" possibly coming up if there will ever be a sequel. Lol, we all know such stories before.

The Colors Within has enough story substance and good character development as we see how each person deals with their life circumstances. For sure many of us can relate to each character. Plus it has music and dancing too! What's not to enjoy?

However it it not a very emotional film at all. It's lighthearted and fun. Personally my heart strings weren't pulled that much because there's no need to cry or laugh out loud while watching. It's more of a visual and aural treat for me.

^{Rui, Totsuko and Kimi (L to R) | source}

What I like the most about it is, I never expected it to show how Catholic students live! 😮 It's amazing to see such in an anime! ❤️ I love it because seeing that was so unexpected! Like, have you ever watched any Catholic themed anime ever? Most of the popular ones always have demons in it. All those powerful creatures, aliens or whatever. You won't even see any Catholic characters! Of course because Japan isn't a Christian country.

Marvel Comics and the X-Men cartoons have Nightcrawler, DC cinematic universe have Constantine (although he dabbles in occult too and he's not Catholic per se but acts like an exorcist in the movie) but I've never seen a Catholic anime character until now. Yeah sure maybe I haven't seen any but I've watched a lot and nada. I don't remember any popular Christian major anime series character ever.

That fact is what made me enjoy the film as a renewed Catholic, among other things. Of course The Colors Within have people committing sin as well. That's humanity. It shows how this is not a proselytizing movie at all. 😆

Here we can see how some Catholics think of misusing and abusing the Sacrament of Confession just like in real life. So for sure many people can relate to that. 😆 It's not a good thing to do but hey, I say it should be a wake up call instead.

Lukewarm and cold Catholics will not be able to relate but at least I hope viewers get reminded. We have to avail of the Sacrament of Reconciliation more than the required once a year.

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Best part of it all is when an adult watches it, you can be reminded of the time you were young like them. Ah teenage life. Haha. Nostalgia can hit you, or not. Personally I enjoyed it even if it's a story of teens, friendship and music. I thought I wouldn't like it but just seeing how God is in it was what made me appreciate the entire movie. ❤️

It even has the Serenity Prayer in it! I mean, wow. Not a lot of movies even mention prayers! Thank you Lord for an almost Christianized anime film! 🙏 Of course it's not entirely religious so anyone can watch it and still enjoy the story.

It's a coming of age movie, a refreshing take as we watch the tale unfold. 😍 The Colors Within shows how creating something can be an amazing experience, according to the animated film creator. Again, the film is not about religion, nor was it the director and animator Naoko Yamada's intention at all

I mean, it definitely has some psychic/New Age elements too. Like, who can even see "non-human" colors of people, right? That's possibly auras Totsuko is seeing and that's not anywhere in God's teachings ever. 😆

Psychic abilities are from demons, just ask Jesus and read the Bible. 😉 Watch catechism videos online and talk to your local priest or any exorcist priest to know more. 📺

◙ Voice Acting

As usual Japanese cartoons are very expressive when it comes to their dubbing. I have no complaints whatsoever. All thanks to subtitles. 😆

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◙ Art, Animation & Music

The art is wonderful of course and enjoyable to watch. I like beautiful artwork like this. It's also colorful enough at the right times and places.

The animation is also nice. I like how they showed the transitions of colors and such.

The best part of it all of course is the music. Haha. There's an instrument used in there that perhaps not a lot of people know about yet. I learned about it some years ago and it's cool to see onscreen even if it's in a cartoon one!

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Nope the said musical tool (theremin) is not in the posters above haha. But Rui used it to play church music and even a classical one! Ah more reasons to love the movie. ❤️

I like the main soundtrack music the most out of everything the characters played. The melody of Amen, I'm Going Somewhere (水金地火木土天アーメン) is catchy and the vibe is just light and fun. 🎶 Here it is for your listening pleasure.

https://youtube.com/shorts/QkFBKNG-Frw?si=3YxTiiqg00K8ihyr

There are actually three songs but I only like the above the most. Hehe. But if you wanna know what a theremin sounds like then give Walk (あるく) (by Kensuke Ushio & Shironeko Dou) a listen.

✨ Rating

Did I enjoy watching it? Overall, yes I did! Here's a breakdown of my movie rating.

• Characters & Story: 7
• Voice Acting: 10
• Art, Animation & Music: 10

Final Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

So there you have it! It's highly recommended for everyone.

Have you seen the movie yet? Catch it in theaters near you! If you've also seen it, care to share your thoughts? 😁


XOXO,
@artgirl