36/36
She attends Tomoe Gakuen after not fitting in at her original elementary school. Meet unique students and learn new things at school, even as Japan descends into war. Ano ne Performed by AimyonLyrics and music by AimyonArrangements by Yûsuke Tatsuzaki, Takashi Kondô and Yûsuke Tanaka Courtesy of unBORDE/Warner Music Japan. When Totto-chan is forced to leave elementary school because she is too distracting for her class’s humble and pious teacher, her mother nervously tries to enroll her in a school founded by a loving, progressive gentleman. Thus begins a young girl’s journey to discover herself and the world around her as Japan’s role in World War II escalates. The animation stays true to the illustrations in the original book, detailing how Totto-chan goes from a confused 7-year-old who can’t cope in a rigid society to a 10-year-old with friends, ambitions, and an understanding of the world and its many joys, frustrations, and tragedies. Beautiful to look at, it transcends its own reality with some wonderfully imaginative sequences in which Totto-chan observes the world around her, finding beauty in a stopped train compartment or on a rainy evening. The soundtrack also works brilliantly in creating a world of wonder and innocence that unfolds under a totalitarian and dictatorial regime. Fortunately, the film doesn’t make Japan innocent of the war. It’s only through Totto-chan’s eyes and ears that we see Japan’s impatience in accepting the conflict, its effects on its population, and its devastating consequences. Early scenes of children reciting propaganda songs at school give way to whispered conversations about dog muzzles in the United States and the United Kingdom. Later, Totto-chan’s beautiful bento boxes are reduced to rice and pickled plums, wounded and disabled bodies in uniforms pass Totto-chan with some frequency, and her ever-present, intelligent father is conspicuously absent in the final act. The effects of hunger and malnutrition are visible on her classmates as they become irritable, appear to suffer from stunted growth, and fail to show up for school. It’s all truly harrowing to watch, told clearly through the eyes of an optimistic, loving little girl, and juxtaposed with the beautiful journey of a young girl coming to terms with herself. "Totto-chan: The Little Girl in the Window" A carefully crafted animation that provides a glimpse into a brief period of brutal change in a country that had recently embraced modern global politics, and the innocent generation that had to rebuild the country after the fires died down. 9/10.
