The Colors Within doesn’t demand your attention. It’s too small in scope and ultimately fails to follow up on what seems like an interesting premise. Even without living up to its premise, this serves as a unique effort from Japanese anime studio Science Saru (who recently produced the excellent Scott Pilgrim Takes Off for Netflix) because of its lack of stakes and quiet feel.

The Colors Within Review

In this film, directed by Naoko Yamada and based on a script from Reiko Yoshida, we follow shy high schooler Totsuko, who can see people’s auras manifested through color (like a type of synesthesia). She quickly becomes enamored by her cool peer, Kimi, at her all-girls school after falling in love with the colors she emits. Trying to fit in, she accidentally exclaims that she plays the piano, leading her to form a band with Kimi and a music enthusiast, Rui.

The three form a friendship tested as they all avoid key responsibilities in their lives, leaving the audience to wonder if their band will stand the trials and tribulations of adolescence. It’s a fine enough story as the base for the film, but this frustratingly lacks a real hook. Watching these three characters just isn’t interesting enough to sustain the 100-minute runtime.

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This is a disappointment for those like myself with only a surface-level interest in anime. It seems initially reminiscent of Your Name because it’s a coming-of-age story with a fantastical twist. The ability of Totsuko to see color is presented early on as something reasonably important to the story, but as it develops, it ends up as just an afterthought to serve for a few beautiful scenes and nothing else. The stakes in a film like this don’t necessarily have to be outlandish, but because of that, it ultimately doesn’t demand attention, and it has little to set it apart.

From a visual perspective, this is not a disappointment, however. Yamada’s direction nicely leads to a few terrific and sentimental scenes, beautifully filled out through its animation. A few particularly gorgeous scenes represent some of the best in recent anime. Although the plot leaves a lot to be desired, its simplicity means that we spend much more time developing the three leads, and by the end, they feel very familiar.

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This film is about music, so it’s nice that the score is a total knockout. Kensuke Ushio brilliantly composes a touching and unique bed of music for the characters to rest on. The songs the fictional band plays are plenty of fun. This is a great visual and auditory experience that mostly makes up for a script that needs more of a punch in it.

Is The Colors Within worth watching?

One of the underwritten themes of the film is queerness. While not explicitly stated throughout the film, it’s clear that Totsuko isn’t and struggles to fit in as a result of this. The tenderness of Yoshida’s script does a solid job of exploring this without directly mentioning it, which serves as an interesting commentary on how this is handled in both Japanese society and the modern world. It also makes Totsuko a more interesting character because her personal feelings are up for interpretation.

The Colors Within is a human-centered anime that will appeal to people looking for a quiet yet touching story. This will satisfy those who are already fans of the style or aren’t looking for something particularly complex. Without a hook to make the film stand out better, though, this ends up being something that doesn’t need to be immediately watched and should be saved for a time when you aren’t looking for anything challenging. It’s nice on the eyes and ears but offers little else to be memorable.

The Colors Within opens in Los Angeles on December 13 and in theaters nationwide on January 24.
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