Summer Ghost: A Underrated Masterpiece

Genre: Fantasy and Drama

Director: Loundraw

Date: Nov 1, 2022

Duration: 45 Minutes

If I were to tell you about this film, I don’t think you’d heard of this film before. But I think it’s an underrated film. Now, I am going to try my best to not spoil it for you guys. So here goes nothing!

The story is about 3 best friends who’re looking for this Ghost who only comes out in the summer. Meet the 3 main characters - Tomoya, Aoi, and Rio - who are secondary school students and they met each other through the internet. They have this plan to meet this ghost. Tomoya has this passion to pursue art in the future, Aoi has an experience of being bullied in school, and Ryo is suffering from this illness. The ghost only comes out when the 3 of them light fireworks at this certain location.

Well, where do I begin? There are so many elements which I love about this film. But for me, the story is the one which makes it stand out. Picture this, you and your friends are always close to each other, hang out with each other, and nothing can separate you apart from each other. You'll never get sick of each other. I like how there's a connection with the story and how it related to real life, in a way. We, as humans, go through problems almost every day. Whether it's major or minor, problems are problems. The film teaches you about how you should not treat everyday life for granted. What comes to mind for me, is "Carpe Diem" - Seize the Day. The way they show it in the film is just keeping it simple and letting the audience have thoughts about it.

Visually, it doesn't look like films such as Your Name, Weathering With You, Garden of Words, etc. But then again, don't judge a book by its cover. I would say the visual approach is something unique and something rare you don't see a lot of.

Summer Ghost for me is probably rated as one of my favourite Anime films out there. Its simplicity, and the way it connects people, are some reasons you should watch this film. Trust me when I say 45 minutes doesn't feel like 45 minutes - it just shows how the storytelling element stood out.