Anime: Coquelicot-zaka kara

From Up on Poppy Hill is the most mundane slice of life I've ever watched. It's full of boring daily occurrences and forgettable characters. This can be good if you are a fan of the genre but it's definitely not good for those who prefer more in-depth characters and drama.

The main premise of the film surrounds students trying to prevent their club room from being demolished in preparation for the Olympics. However, there is no urgency surrounding this issue, no deadline that needs to be met or any requirements they have to fulfill in order to prevent this from happening. Things just keep going on as usual until half-way through the film it's announced that the board voted to tear the place down. How much longer do they have until this actually happens? Don't know. The majority of the film is spent outside of the club room and the main characters we follow don't seem to care that much either so so at this point in the story there was little to care about the club room anyways. This results in this part of the film feeling like a meaningless stretched out side story that was very difficult to be invested in. It all wraps up too easily to the point where you question whether it was worth giving a fuss about in the first place. The students head over to the President and he lets them keep their club room because the students want him to. That's all. This entire storyline is void of anything meaningful at all.

Another part of the film focuses on the relationship between the two main characters Umi and Shun. Both characters have the personality of a plank of wood and just fall in love with each other because they need the obligatory romance in a Ghibli film. The main focus of this second storyline is the characters finding out who is Shun's real father. There is no mystery or anything to be solved here since everyone who needs to appear conveniently appears at the right time to tell Shun who his real father is. Shun himself sums up this storyline through his own words, "I know this sounds like a bad melodrama." There is also a this part along the way where Shun thinks that he is Umi's blood-related brother and yet they both proclaim to each other that even still, they love each other. How awkward...

So it's pretty clear that I don't like this film. Both the characters and the story are boring and I found it impossible to be emotionally invested in whatever was going on. I can understand there is a clear audience for this movie for those that are into very mundane slice of life without any drama but this movie just wasn't for me.

Review
Hayao Miyazaki is leaving a massive legacy for the japanese animation industry. The notorious director not only made critically acclaimed movies, but was also capable of creating works of art with the power to conquer the west and pave a path to an entirety of followers. One of those is (although a bit reluctantly) his very own son, Gorou Miyazaki.

Gorou's first experience as a director gave us a somewhat lacking product in the form of Ged Senki and perhaps because of the lacking result we had to wait five years for his new attempt: Coquelicot-zaka kara (From Up On Poppy Hill). The wait, however, was worth it. From Up On Poppy Hill is a solid shoujo romance with a lot of the Studio Ghibli's signature and a homage to its past successes, in special Mimi o Sumaseba.

This is the tale of young Umi Matsumaki, an exemplary girl living along with her big family in an old house up the hill. Her father, a ship captain during the korean war, passed away years ago and since then she pays her respects by raising the signal flags he taught her when she was little. These signals are answered by a small tugboat, more specifically by Kazama Shun, a boy in her school, and from there on starts their love story.

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1. A simple tale
   Basically, From Up On Poppy Hill is a homage to old school shoujo romances. We had a similar tale years ago with Mimi o Sumaseba, but here things are even more straightforward, without attempts to delve deep into the character's minds and traumas. That happens because the issue of the history, the problem the couple needs to face, is dealing with the possibility that they may be siblings.
   
   Yup, but no siscon for god's grace
   Shun and Umi's relationship develop as their school's club house, an old and badly maintained building, is about to be demolished in order for a new one to be built. It falls to them, or to Umi in particular, to gather people to clean and reform the place so they can appeal to the school's chairman for a review of the demolition. This setting leaves little to the sick siscon we all know, in fact, being brother and sister is indeed a problem for them, especially for Shun, and in his denial lies the push needed to move the tale forward.
   
   And it has Ghibli's aura
   While in the school's club and even when home, we get to see those small details that make most of Ghibli's movies so endearing. Every shot is a piece of art, giving attention to a lot of minor things such as the massive amount of trash and equipment in the club's house, the tidy classical architecture of Umi's house, or the busy streets and harbor of the city. People are expressive, they move around a lot, and there are scenes with a lot of charisma permeating the tale.
   
   It can be a bit melodramatic
   Instead of dealing with the teenage mind and its inherent problems about romance, From Up On Poppy Hill tries its hand on giving the pair of lovebirds a more tragic and dramatic background. It happens though, that it ends ups being a bit too much. Instead of dealing with the suspicion of Umi and Shun being sister and brother by trying the logic thought and drama (perhaps their father betrayed her wife in the war, perhaps they were separated early, etc.) it chooses a path of dramatic tale which gives little room for development. In fact, it resolves things far too quickly for all the problems it could cause to our main couple.
   
   It gets the job done
   The charisma of the support cast, the casual scenes around Umi's house and the school's club house, the busy streets, the expressive power of Shun, Umi, and her younger sister. There is a lot of incredible quality riding on here, perhaps being one of the best animation jobs done by Studio Ghibli. There is, however, a certain lack of impact, a fault at not exploring the depth the tale could have. It is not as a sweet touch as in Mimi o Sumaseba, but also not as sad and powerful as a Hotaru no Haka, but damn, those two are very high comparative points. In the end, From Up On Poppy Hill is a solid romance capable of reaching a more narrow audience, but still with a lot of high points.
   

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Comments
It's somewhat cruel to put Gorou's work besides his father's, but even when doing that, From Up On Poppy Hill stands firm. This is a charming romance brimming with production quality and capable of delivering a lot of what anyone expects of Studio Ghibli.

I could say it also has been affected by the power of modern day animes, which is something rarely done in a movie by the renowned studio. If that is good or bad I cannot say, but I feel that if the studio wants to survive past the skills of Hayao and Isao, it needs to embrace a few changes to their thriving, but old, formulae.

Me: *Mocking the characters' sleeping* I need sleep. Come back in a month."

I get that Goro was trying to improve from his last film, Tales from Earthsea and I'm proud at him for this but this film just didn't make much sense.

I had started this film off two years ago when I was 15, I liked what I saw but then as the film went on, its story and characters started to feel inconsistent.

The films' melodrama was too much. Umi can sometimes be annoying in the film's dramatic tone and it would probably be better to just drop her off in a better story. And her family did not provide anything other than just being there as Umi's family.

The script is so inconsistent and the directing was so awkward, it doesn't feel like a Ghibli film.

This film had potential to be a great film. It started off great with funny moments but was filled with generic friendship: two characters don't like each other, then they make friends.

I liked how realistic it is but there was also some fantastical moments that didn't really blend well.

Note: Rate me! This review is based on [NODLAS] english subbing of the film and it may contain disagreeable opinions and spoilers. I aim to try and be assertive, objective and spoiler-free as possible when it comes to my reviews and the views I express here are of my own. Feedback is always appreciated.

P.S. If you can give me any advice on how to make shorter reviews, it'd be very much welcome. I spend way too long, literally days, making one whenever I want to write a review and need a solution.

~**Prologue**~
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZOAhWbzll4

"Kokuriko-zaka kara" or From up on Poppy Hill is a 2012 Japanese animated, coming of age, drama film with a bit of romance produced by the acclaimed Studio Ghibli. It's directed by Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea) and based on a serialised Japanese comic of the same name by Chizuru Takahashi and written by Tetsurō Sayama.

Set during the 60s of Rural to Urban Japan, the plot is about a Girl name Umi Matsuzaka who, as the eldest sibling in a family of five, raises a pair of signal flags everyday at her seaside house in Yokohama Bay without fail as she anticipates her father's return, who went missing in action during the Korean War. In school, Umi finds herself involved in a student movement seeking to prevent the demolition of an old club house. In the process, she falls in love with the newspaper club president Shun Kazama, only to find out that they might be related by blood. 

Another year, another Ghibli movie but after a nice step in the right direction with the fantasy of Arrietty now comes a more down to earth, dramatic tale in the line. Looking at the scores, it certainly does stand out but how much exactly does it?

~**Art and Animation**~
The Highlights:
The Art and Animation is simply top tier just as much as we've come to expect out of Ghibli's style. For one the setting of Rural to Urban Japan in the 60s is very much captured and drawn out well in its detail and vibrancy. From the scenery of nature to the interiors, resources, mechanics and objects of daily life and tradition, especially in the clubhouse being a highlight, all adds up to the visuals bringing the setting to life. Character designs are also well presented, being simple yet detailed and slightly drawn differently enough in physical appearances to stand in place amongst the setting. The animation is also very fluid in its motions, where the environmental interactions of the setting and objects sway as they should in real time alongside the characters in their respective personalities and interactions as well.

Lastly, camera angles, from 1st to 3rd person, are also used well to capture and immerse in not only the important, interesting and exciting moments of the plot but also the scenery and interactivity of the setting and how beautiful its drawn out in both art and animation categories. Also, I don't think any CG is used as the majority of the animation looks to be drawn out and coloured to detail. Otherwise, all in all, the Art and Animation is still very much stellar coming from an acclaimed studio and seemingly it's no surprise that with good animation and art, you can make even the most mundane and daily life of settings stand out.

The Lows:
None in my honest opinion. Maybe 1 or 2 bland textures but that's about it.

~**Sound**~
The Highlights:
Studio Ghibli, to me, has also been known for having a great soundtrack to accompany their films and here it's certainly no different. Composed by Satoshi Takebe, the soundtrack as a whole, very much fits into place of the film, adding the right emotion, atmosphere and immersion towards the transpiring moments of the plot. Most of the tunes themselves are instrumental with a few orchestrated and having lyrics sung by Japanese vocalists. Not to mention, the tunes in tone range from being enlightening and upbeat to soothing, symphonic, traditional anthem and mello but otherwise, they certainly help to add that “feeling” of the moment correctly, whenever dramatic, cheery or warming, as the plot gives way to it. The main highlight of the sound comes from the film's theme song “From up on poppy hill, summer of goodbye” sung by Aoi Teshima. The way the song happens to be very soothing to hear as it is classical really helps to represent an identity to the film in conjuncture to the ending so it's certainly a strong point from sound to film.

Sound effects and background noise is very much solid too within the setting being reminiscent to how environmental, interior and daily life objects and interactions sound in reality. As such, I imagine the 60s of Japan wouldn't be too different in that regard. Lastly, Voice actors are also very fitting of their respective roles in the cast to keep it short and nothing seems to feel unnaturally acted or what not. Overall, the sound very much accompanies the film well in regards to adding immersion to the overarching plot alongside the scenery of the setting to go with it.

The Lows:
While the sound overall is consistently good throughout, I feel it doesn't really stand out as much as previous Ghibli titles outside of the film's main theme song. Not to mention, there were, at times, where I felt certain tunes were lacking oomph to really help complement and add immersion to particular moments of the plot. Also, I'm not a big of the anthem like tunes but otherwise, the sound is all very much competent as it is to the film.

~**Story**~
The Highlights:
Most Ghibli titles have generally had good stories to tell and safe to say, the story holds out well here. As such, despite being rather simple, it's generally well written and presented to the most part. Set during the 60s of rural to urban Japan, the plot is, like the description, very much a coming of age, dramatic down to earth title with themes revolving around nurturing family ties alongside love and meaningfully, respect in a way for what's left of the past, particularly of which is war torn and has shaped the setting and atmosphere as it is now. As such, the respect out of the past comes from the characters defence of a historical club house being demolished by governing officials as it was built back at the past time. Not to mention, the nurturing of family ties comes in the case of respecting a missing father out of the past and, under certain dramatical circumstances with the protagonists and related cast, identifying if someone else is related to the father or not amongst family ties and what exactly did said father do to propose those circumstances. Oh and there's also a bit of romance in between too with a bit of a twist at first but also enjoyable, subtle and fairly well realised.

Despite the rather simple details, the story as a whole is presented well in an interesting manner to say the least and the majority of the dramatic, enlightening, routine and touching moments offered within the plot is enjoyable and more importantly relative to the development of it. Furthermore, it made me care for what's happening so the emotional impact is certainly up there to a degree. The pacing, while a bit slow to start off, is very much finely balanced as the moments transpire in the plot and the interactive symbolism, from the pulling up of specific flags to the black and white photo and traditional anthem-like singing, also adds to the dramatical impact of the plot. The ending and resolutions too, is mostly fine as it is and saying more would be spoilerific. All in all, in-spite of the historical time, it's a fine, down to earth, coming of age, dramatical story with a bit of romance and past respect of war tragedy for depth as it is. Also, just because it's rather simple, doesn't mean it can't be good.

The Low:
As expected from the 8, there are certainly a few glaring flaws to be had with the story. For one, the romance can seem to be under developed as more focus seems to be placed on the rest of the plot elements from the drama and coming of age elements towards family ties to defending the clubhouse and finding a resolution to all these things. Not to mention, the story, to me, isn't all that memorable and enjoyable to me as previous Ghibli films like Whisper of the Heart or Spirited Away subject wise and the development of the story towards the end does seem a little rushed a bit for conclusions. Otherwise, the story still stands out well by itself for the film throughout.

~**Character**~
The Highlights:
The characters are very much, fairly developed and likeable characters to say the least, even if a little cliché and most of them being there to serve the plot. To start off, Shun and Umi, being swept into the protagonists seat, happen to gain the most emphasis. As such, it's in the protagonists new founded to ever changing hobbies, priorities, relationships, interactions coming to realisation and awareness of certain circumstances that not only drives the plot effectively in its respective genres but also offers solid, if simple character exploration and interest amongst them. Not to mention, the protagonists level headed and distinctive personalities alongside behaving quite logically in action within the plot's transitional moments of support or conflict, adds to make them more down to earth, believable characters as they progress.

As far as the secondary characters go from other family members to friends alike, all of them have their distinctive, simple personalities, relations and interesting factors that ranges from cheery, goofy, smart, level headed, apprehensive and all even if they feel familiar, simple and serve more as backdrop to the support, comedy and conflicting moments of the plot alongside fleshing out the protagonists. In more details to the plot, some of the characters happen to play more of a support or conflicting role towards the historical clubhouse drama while others, family to closely related aside from the main father figure, play more of the same roles towards the drama behind the family ties developed within the plot. Saying more than would be spoiler territory of course.

With regards to emotional impact, it's good to see the characters, particularly the protagonists, don't get too overly melodramatic and when it does come down to that emotional moment in relation to the plot, the feelings of the involved characters feel genuine, saddened or enlightened as they may be. Overall, the protagonists alongside the rest of the cast are, to the most part, developed well within the movie time frame. Sure, only Umi and Shun remain to be the most stood out of the group but alas, the whole cast is still relatively appealing and important as they help to create the moments of brief support, cheers, warmth and conflict that adds to the development and impact of the coming of age, dramatical plot as it unfolds.

The Lows:
While the characters themselves thoroughly remain interesting as the plot progresses, it's hard to deny that they can feel like “cardboard cutouts” of previous Ghibli films with characters, being only there to serve the plot in a role of support, comedy or conflict and to flesh out the protagonists. Of course, the protagonists are also guilty of this as well and thus, alongside appearance and the rest of the cast, aren't as memorable outside of the film. Lastly, Shun's feelings towards Umi feel superficial as the plot doesn't seem to allow much chemistry for there to be a genuine romantic relationship alongside his jerk moments feeling a bit unreasonable for the action as it is. Other than that, while there are flaws present amongst the characters, they are still a likeable and sympathetic cast nevertheless even if nothing all that special outside of the film.

~**Value**~
As far as replay value goes, I certainly would watch it once again on the occasion sometime in the near future if I ever wanted a simple, down to earth, dramatical film done right very much like this despite the historical time. However, taste asides, I can imagine the film being put to watch again simply being as one of Ghibli's better films on track and more so for those who are into the genres of drama. Not to mention, those who are interested in exploring a bit of the past historical, rural to urban settings and atmosphere of Japan alike that's become settled out of a past wartime. For what that's worth, there is a bit of historical and traditional value to that regard. Also the impressive visuals and music by Ghibli is something much worth noting as well.

~**Enjoyment and Final Thoughts**~
From up on Poppy Hill is another fine and welcome addition to Ghibli's line of films. Sure, the film isn't the magical, whimsical or fantasy title like we'd come to expect out of films like Spirited Away. Nor is it as enlightening as Whisper of the Heart and has a few more developmental flaws. However, it still offers quite the simple yet interesting, well thought out, down to earth, coming of age, dramatic tale revolving around nurturing family ties and depth in its meaningful message to respect what's left of the past, particularly of which is war torn in effect before the settlement of 60s rural to urban Japan. The characters, for short, are also interesting and play an importance to the development of the tale. Not to mention, the beautiful visuals and audio, really capturing the essence of the setting and special moments, whenever traumatic or enlightening, that add to the emotional investment of the plot. As far as the romance goes, it's fairly decent enough to say the least.

Overall, while it's no where near the best Ghibli film, it's definitely worthy of a recommendation to all Ghibli fans and more or so for the fans of drama, coming of age genres and historically past modern settings of Japan alike. So give it a chance and more than likely you'll have a good time with the film. Looking forward to more, Studio Ghibli works in the future.

~**The Breakdown**~
Pros:
+ Well developed coming of age, drama plot with a meaningful message.
+ Superb Animation and music captures post modern 60s Japan nicely.
+ Likeable, distinct characters who feel down to earth and play a role towards the overarching plot.
+ Little to no unnatural melodrama in between the plot.

Cons:
- Characters are pretty cliché outside of the main protagonists who aren't as much in contrast.
- Main romance feels underdeveloped and lacks chemistry in between.
- Shun's jerky/stubborn actions feels a little unreasonable and stupid.
- Action, magical, fantasy junkies should probably stay away.
- No Sex WTF! *shot*