Happy Birthday, Inochi Kagayaku Toki
It's not very often that you see such issues as child abuse, bullying and those with disabilities handled in such a tactful manner in this medium but this movie is certainly the most profound and poignant example of doing it right. The animation isn't very good and the music really doesn't stand out at all but that doesn't in any way stop this from being an incredibly moving social commentary on Japans culture of silence and conformity which helps perpetuate the incredibly depressing never-ending cycle of bullying and abuse.
The movie starts off with the main protagonist Asuka trying to stand up for Junko, whom is constantly bullied. On one afternoon she meets Megumi, a girl who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and is unable to move or talk but this doesn't stop Asuka from making a new friend. She finds out that there's a special needs school next door and volunteers as the classes Goodwill representative so she can go and help out everyday only to find out that Megumi also goes to the same school. Her moments with her very precious friends are but small reprieves from the constant abuse she cops from her incredibly abusive mother.
The abuse eventually builds up until Asuka's mother forgets it's her birthday and is later overheard telling Asuka's older brother, Naoto that she "would have been really glad if I didn't give birth to Asuka". These two events cause Asuka to have a complete breakdown to the point of losing her voice. Her brother, disgusted at his mother after realizing just what's going on, sends Asuka off to live with their grandparents. It's there she begins to rediscover the wonders in life and slowly starts to learn about why her mother acts the way she does.
It's only after she recovers and returns that the movie really starts to touch on the issue with bullying to the point where it honestly made me tear up a few times. It's treatment of not only bullying, but also Disabilities and Mental Illness stands out from anything else I've seen in anything, let alone anime. It's definitely not played up for laughs or a cheap sense of melodrama (or both, I'm looking at you Okada!) but is handled in such an empathetic way that I honestly can't recall the last time I've seen something that handles this so eloquently. I highly recommend that everyone checks this out as it's incredibly unique and refreshing.
SINBURGERS
[URL=http://imgur.com/wIb0F]
