I’m a huge fan of love stories mixed with sci-fi like premises. Anime like Plastic Memories and ,surprisingly, Darling in The Franxx really revealed that to me. However, this one… wasn’t it. Let’s get into it.
Fireworks is about a boy who goes back in time for this girl he kind of has a crush on…but not really because it wasn’t established very well in the beginning…but by the end he’s head over heels for her…to help her run away from home because her mom is getting married again and...yeah…the premise for this one is a little questionable.
I’m just gonna start off by saying this anime had some interesting choices in direction. While it is a beautiful anime with some extremely cinematic moments, there are moments that created confusion for the overall tone in my opinion. It almost felt horror and thriller at times when that’s clearly not what the movie is going for. I mean…I think that’s not what the movie is going for.. There are directing choices that make this movie feel like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. One moment it wants to feel cute…the next moment it feels unnecessarily tense and uncomfortable. There are shots that feel like it’s meant more as a thriller and suspenseful scene, but that’s not what the scene is at all. Not to mention there is a scene where the music completely stops and the conversation between the two begins to feel intense. It feels like it wants to set up for a reveal or crazy moment because of the shot selections and the absence of music…but then nothing happens… These choices create clashing tones and really take you out of the movie.
Like I said earlier I'm a fan of Sci-Fi romance stories, but this one felt like the use of the Sci-Fi elements were just for the heck of it. The MC is able to go back in time, but every time he does the end result feels the same, even at the end of the movie. This is also a spoiler so skip ahead if you don’t want to be spoiled… Along with him going back in time, he’s also going to different worlds or universes. And my question was… why? It makes the movie feel messy and not sure what it wants to be. He’s going into different worlds, but it’s not doing much for their relationship. It’s just a thing that’s happening that the writers try to tie in… except it doesn’t really feel like it was tied in and leaves you feeling disappointed and confused by the end. Honestly if they stuck with just the time travel, it would’ve felt less wasted. The use of supernatural elements should help add to the plot and world building. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.
Also, I wasn’t a fan of this love interest. The writers tried to make her feel mysterious, but it again feels so unnecessary and partially annoying. She as a character was kind of annoying too. Her choices feel like she’s lashing out, but we don’t get nearly enough back story and connection to feel like it’s justifiable. Especially when the home she’s in seems like a really good home. Towards the last act of the movie, the writers try to make her mom sound like she’s not a good mom…but just because she jumps into relationships quickly. She doesn’t abandon her kid, or hurt her child, or do anything of that nature. It’s just because she enters a relationship quickly. Like that’s why we should be okay with all this happening? Her mom is never shown harming her or doing anything to make us feel like she needs to be away from her…so the motivation for her running away and the MC helping her feels a bit….. Stupid…
Could this movie be cut down by 20 or 30 minutes, most definitely. Was this worth the watch for me? Not really.. Would I encourage you to watch it yourself? Only if you’re that interested. I was hoping this would be great, but I got let down and sort of wasted my time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a gorgeous movie cinematically speaking. However, I think that’s all the movie really has going for itself. Have you seen fireworks? What did you think about it? Let me know down below. Peace.
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