BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu
I owe this stunning series an apology. I did not get it – initially. I did not understand its message. But as the ending approached and the credits rolled, something struck me light a bolt of lightning. I realized I was watching this series only seeing my perspective and frankly from my age. I had forgotten what it was like to be young, innocent, and seeing the world as a beautiful challenge to enjoy. More importantly, I forgot to just enjoy being in the moment and not worry about the future.
That is what this beautiful short series is. If you do not ponder and reflect, drink in its beauty, you will miss its meaning especially in the now. Indeed, I am sure this is a series not for everyone. But for a moment, brief as it was, I was transposed to being young again and now understood. Oh, this series is so beautiful in a soft, gentle unassuming way that if you celebrate its insight, you will relive the innocence of youth.
This is a story of two best friends, rather wistful at times. Sakura (Yuki Kura) with his infectious smile and soft probing eye stare also has a most photogenic face that indeed could launch a thousand ships. His niceness shines through with bright colors. While the more serious of the two, he is also the bolder of the two. Yuma (Rintaro Mizusawa) is the more gregarious one and has a bubbly, playful personality and lives in the moment. Without question, he senses Sakura’s importance to him and feels his presence everywhere. Still too young to either fully understand or acknowledge it or even bring it to the surface, it is there. Sakura, since the first moment they met as boys, has loved Yuma and has harbored for a long time a strong adulation for Yuma. Obviously, better at recognizing his feelings of love at an earlier age than Yuma.
Both are entering the last year of high school and while excited about that, both are apprehensive and maudlin also. Astutely, they know this is a time of enjoy as it never will return. Yuma says to Sakura that with the summer vacation coming they need to do something ‘bold’. Maybe as a que or perhaps the recent announcement of two teachers getting married, this spurs Sakura to say to Yuma rather forthrightly, “I don’t see you as a friend, I see you as someone I like. You can hate me all you want.” He then kisses Yuma. Clumsily yet effectively.
For Sakura to muster the courage to take this risk, knowing that the consequences might destroy their so far lifelong friendship is an act of courage. Yuma stands silent. Both then proceed to act as if nothing happened, or it was all a joke.
But deep down, both know it is not the case. Yuma reflects on what happened and as he does so, he has a revelation of how ‘cute’ Sakura seemed when he kissed him and that speaks volumes on his face. Suddenly he perceives Sakura with more tenderness and a stirring that perhaps deeper feelings for Sakura are not one-sided but he too might be feeling the same connection. In a completely endearing scene at a camp site, Yuma rather awkwardly tells Sakura he wants to always and forever ‘cherish’ Sakura. And leans over to kiss him now. All of this is done with softness, gentleness and an utter sense of innocence.
Does the world change by this gangly admission of love they both shared? No, it does not. But it does for those two. They seemingly realize that they were meant to be with each other and will always be together. I hesitate to say ‘soulmates’ because that does not seem to capture the completeness of their relationship. It seems so much deeper than that. What they do realize is that since their relationship is not going anywhere, they will enjoy their youth and capture their moments together.
They have a silly list of things to accomplish together during the vacation time. They remain playful, bantering with each other. Yuma trying to make Sakura laugh and remain silly while constantly encouraging Sakura’s musical talents. Sakura remains always and forever Yuma’s rock of support. Neither know what they want to do with their lives after high school. But for now, they want to ‘cherish and treasure’ just the moments they are now in.
What a beautiful and profound celebration of life and sentiment. Living for the moment. They remain, as they should, simply kids enjoying their lives, secure in the knowledge that they love each other and have the rest of their lives to work on that and be with each other.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? The subtlety of the performances of Yuki Kura as Sakura and Rintaro Mizusawa as Yuma are unquestionably laid-back. Soft, reflective, and deliberate. For me, I wish they would have been a bit more animated and emotional so we could see rather than assume a deeper connection between the two. This is not a criticism as much as it is a reflection of not completely understanding the depth of their relationship. I wanted to see a bit more of that. What they showed, was two very unassuming teenage boys falling in love, and perhaps (hopefully) for the rest of their lives. While they remained in the moment at all times, they also magically captured those pensive moments in life when you realize that soon this will be over, and you will never have an opportunity to relive these moments again. They expressed those sentiments not just in their faces, words, but with their playful and high-spirited adolescent behaviors. That is what captured my heart about these two.
Admittedly the story falters a bit in the middle as it seems to not be able to decide where to take the story. This detracted from the time that could have been spent to really begin to see and know these two young boys ready to become men soon.
One has to look carefully for the symbolisms in this series to sense where it was all going. It is a coming-of-age series but with a slow pace and a bit obtuse. The references to when does a tadpole become a frog is an example of that. The exchange about the color of flaxen hair questions not knowing. Yuma telling Sakura he does not want to forget these moments but know they will. Perhaps not the impact but the moments indeed. Sakura’s admission to his teacher that he wishes to remain a kid but knows that will not be the case is wistful thinking.
All of these reflects the unevenness and messiness of being a teenager and that awkward but life-changing epoch between late adolescence and adulthood. And our desire to either postpone it or not enter it at all. I think these two will step into that world analogous to taking two steps forward and one back. Slowly moving forward.
I want to see more of their journey.
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