SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

volkansayin1881 I think gin alone. Him life is tragedy. Hotaru is a surprise for gin. This anime is so pure. This is perfect. Gin happy to die but life for girl will be hard. There was a love that was quite innocent without exaggeration.He was very impressed with me. Good job in a short time. How bad it is to get lost among your hands while you are hugging your love.

mixalisteo This film is the epitome of 'short yet full' way of telling a story.It is about childhood, and the difficulties of being alone as a kid.It uses an extraordinary almost ethereal character to guide the girl - and the audience - through the one way travel of growing up and the lessons you learn along the way.It explores a child's view on mortality, love, and friendship all in one.Finally, it is about leaving childhood behind and moving on while keeping the memories alive either happy ones or sad ones.It's an unmissable experience that will leave you with a sweet yet nostalgic feeling.Its a masterpiece in every aspect.

pinkarray This film is a flashback of Hotaru as a child, growing up with a masked guy named Gin. There is a plot hole on Hotaru getting lost in a forest, as clichéd as it seems, it's not really her getting lost that really concerns me but the reason on how she got lost. I don't know if she ran away from her parents or what.There is also lots of hitting a child which I do not approve on. They're kind of played for humor but 6-year-old children can be really sensitive about getting hurt so I don't see why they would whack a child on the head. A good spanking would be better. But like how much Gin hurts a child when she had no idea that her touching can cause him problems is just frustrating to me.I didn't care for Hotaru, I thought she was a stupid little girl. I especially hated how she cried with her hands over her face for a long time at the age of 9-10 year old!

itamarscomix A young girl is lost in the forest, and rescued at the last minute by a strange boy, who may be a spirit in human form. She returns to meet him every summer, as she grows up and he remains the same; over time they develop a special friendship, but the boy warns her that because of a curse which was placed on him, they may never touch.Hotarubi no mori e is a sweet little fairy tale, that draws heavily on Japanese tradition and mythology. It's a pleasant enough watch, more lyrical and sensitive than most anime I've seen so far, and the very short runtime (under 50 minutes) ensures that it doesn't overstay its welcome. That runtime also makes it very unsatisfying, though; it's frustrating when you realize that, even if it were only over an hour long, it would get boring quickly, mainly because it has very little to offer. Hotarubi no mori e has some pleasant atmosphere, but no character development, no original design, and no real point or moral at the end.Hotarubi no mori e seems to be heavily influenced by the master Hayao Miyazaki - mostly because both draw from the same myths and share the same elements. That natural and instant comparison does it more harm than good, though; it's just not as good as Miyazaki's work, it doesn't achieve the same level of audience involvement, it doesn't feel as real, and the animation is far from being on the same level. The animation in Hotarubi no mori e is pretty and pleasant, as is the story, and it's practically impossible to use stronger words to describe it. Pleasant but forgettable, probably worthwhile for anime fans but not much to write home about when we still have the genius of Miyazaki around.