Disappear by Touch 'Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light'

How long will you keep a love that you won't be able to touch but look forward to each summer only to disappear at one unforgettable summer night after touching a human?

I pondered on this question as I watched the movie, Hotarubi no Mori e (known as "Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light"). It was a poignant yet tragic tale of supernatural love between a human girl and a human-like being that ended up in an expected but still sad ending. I wish the story was made with a different ending but it won't be this heartcrunching and loving, if not for the imaginative and unique storytelling of the Japanese mangaka Yuki Midorikawa. 

Before I start at the story of the movie, let me just share some tidbits how I got this along. I was watching videos in Youtube when I came upon this curious movie that I thought was made by Ghibli. Ghibli studios have a way of capturing an audience because of their gently beautiful but simple art style. The colors of the anime is vivid but very gentle though not quite like Kaguyahime which was more watercolor when it was done but then Kaguyahime was created with a deeper melancholic feel than Hotarubi. Anyhow, both of the artwork are very fabulous. Btw, the shinto shrine was one of the best drawn building.

The greenness of the forests and blueness of the sky first got into me as I checked the trailer of Hotarubi. Plus, the sparkling whitish lime green light. It appeared to be a curious watch, especially that it has this mysterious feel over the male character that seemed to be restricted by something. I didn't watch it right away because as I watched the short trailer, I already felt sad knowing that the guy named Gin will disappear through a human touch. 

And honestly, this is the main allure of the movie. Sadness on the disappearance of the male character in the ending. It's final and irrevocable and if there's a movie something quite like this my main reaction will be to watch the entire movie so as to get the full story; so far I haven't found one yet like Hotarubi. So, I took my seat and immersed myself in it, uncovering the mysteries behind while trying to understand how this kind of impossible love developed and end in a not-so conventional ending.

Hotaru Takegawa was six years old when she got lost in the spirit mountain known to be the home of the gods and other spirits. While crying alone in the woods, a strange young guy with a white hair that wore a mask called out to her catching her attention and easing her anxiety at the sight of his presence. At the sight of relief, Hotaru jumped towards the strange masked guy, but was instead hit with a branch that he was holding. Strange for a mysterious guy to hit a kid with the stick rather than touch her. 

The mask guy explained himself that if ever he touches a human, he'll forever disappear setting the complexity outright of the story. So to Hotaru who realized the strangeness of the situation, she didn't try to touch him. They became fast friends that day and while having fun, Hotaru forgot his restriction and once more got hit by the stick. As they part in the dusk that day, the strange masked guy introduced himself as Gin.

That entire summer, Hotaru enjoyed Gin's company, unfazed and unscared inside the woods of the spirit mountain, at the same time, feeling and seeing the entities of the mountain. She was only slightly spooked out one time when a shadow fog appeared ready to eat her but Hotaru was easily protected by Gin. The shadow fog turned out to be a brown fox spirit with a long beautiful bushy tail of the mountain. She also got a glimpse of a hand branch that warned Gin that he was with a human, which he easily responded that Hotaru was his friend. And there also appeared japanese umbrellas from nowhere followed by whispers of Gin's name.

All the mountain's unseen creatures were always around Hotaru and Gin as they played inside the woods that entire summer. Hotaru realized that Gin is not scared of anything so one time she tried surprising him by appearing suddenly hanging upside down from the tree. Gin was surprised but he wasn't fazed. The branch broke and Gin was shown like he was trying to catch her, but of course, he couldn't, so Hotaru fell on the bush below the tree.

At the reality of the cruelty of the situation, Hotaru cried while pleading Gin never to touch any human being. She must be crying out of pain from falling on the bush, but of course, it was more of the reason that Gin, her childhood friend can never help her in times of accidents, especially one that requires human contact. 

Time passed and Hotaru became a middle schooler and eventually a high schooler. She always spent summer in the country house of her uncle. All the time, being close to Gin as much as possible. As Hotaru grew older each summer, she realized that Gin was not showing any signs of aging. 

One time as they were inside the forest enjoying the mountain view, Gin opened his past to her and explained how he came to be near human but is no longer considered one. Gin was abandoned in the forest as a baby and the mountain spirits took care of him after finding him in the middle of the forest crying helplessly. The brown fox spirit put a mask on his face to stop him from crying.

Since then, Gin grew up inside the forest with all the mountain's spirits looking after him. It was how God saved his life after being abandoned as an infant. Gin can only live in the forest and must never touch humans, otherwise he will be gone forever. He was grateful for his life but he must somehow knew that his life spirit is already at its limit.

Gin invited Hotaru to attend the Summer Spirit Festival, which he never bothered asking about on her before, apprehensive that Hotaru might be scared. That evening, Hotaru and Gin wearing their kimono walked inside the shrine of the mountain filled with so many human-like creatures. Spirits, said Gin to Hotaru. They enjoyed the sights and laughed at the performance. 

At the end of the festival, as colorful fireworks fired up the summer night sky, Gin and Hotaru walked along the dark trail. Two kids were walking and running passed Gin and one almost stumbled on the ground. Gin touched the child to stop him from falling. The touch meant nothing. 

Until Gin saw his hands turned to greenish white lights evaporating like glass shards in the air. Knowing that he was about to disappear, Gin called Hotaru to embrace him and she hugged him close until only his kimono remained. He said, "I love you" as his lights disappeared in the darkness. A bright neon firefly floated in the air.

Gin's disappearance was fast and undoubtedly very painful. That last scene of the movie is the saddest part for me. Hotaru was able to hug Gin for the first and  last time. That pretty much ended the story though Hotaru was seen going back into her uncle's house as the last scene rolled to the credits.

Hotarubi no Mori e makes me release a sigh of disbelief and unfounded sadness. Gin's disappearance is the very final and last drop of his existence. The way it was drawn was so perfect with glass-like fragments of light moving up truly emphasizing the last scene. I love the firefly effect and the glowing lights as Gin evaporated into those mini lights.

The musical score of the movie, a cello played at the first part while piano streaming at the end part were so gentle and soothing as the story unfolded. Relaxing instrumentals floated behind the gradual pace of the story. It sounded like a very cool summer with gentle breeze blowing in the summer air.

The movie length was 44 minutes and in this short time, the entire story was covered without the sense of haste. It's actually breathtaking and made me wish that it could have been lengthened to at least an hour to show if Hotaru will still visit the mountain even if Gin is no longer there. His presence and the memory of their summer spent together in that mountain would still linger. 

The voice actress for Hotaru, Ayane Sakura did a great job at voicing a six years old although it didn't really change when she became a teenager. I love the voice actor for Gin done by Kōki Uchiyama. His voice was very beautiful to listen to, crisp and direct with just a hint of sadness. It was splendidly done. The two voice actors delivered well their voices for the main characters. 

The movie was directed by Takahiro Omori and produced by anime studio Brain's Base in 2011.

Anyone who would love to get lost in the cool yet mysterious summer in the remote Japan countryside is in for a treat. Watch Hotarubi no Mori e and disappear with the crystal lights into the forest of fireflies light.