Some anime fans seem to be under the impression that whenever tragedy befalls a pretty girl, the anime is automatically rated “good” and its flaws are written off due to being called “good”. Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai, or “I want to eat your pancreas,” is an addition to this label, and by falling into the same traps as many of its predecessors, the film manages to rack up even more flaws, ultimately reflecting the overall viewing experience. .
PS This review contains spoilers, so please read it after viewing.
History
The story of Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai, which has already been told dozens of times, is very simple: it revolves around an anonymous protagonist (let’s call him Character A) who spends time with Yamauchi Sakura, a popular classmate whose days are numbered. . to her pancreas disease. As Character A helps Sakura fulfill her wish list, he develops a close relationship with her and eventually falls in love with her. After her death, Character A comes out of her shell and learns to be friends with those around her. At first glance, the plot structure is solid and can touch viewers’ hearts if done right, but not in this case.
By poking fun at what has already been done before the heroine’s death in anime history, “Pancreas” runs the risk of being extremely predictable. While this isn’t inherently a flaw, the film’s presentation seems to have to do with depriving viewers of their enjoyment by revealing character A in the least interesting way possible. This does not change the fact that character A’s monotony ran counter to the intended emotional impact of many of the scenes.
Still, that wasn’t the biggest problem with the plot. Indeed, for such a cliche, ironically, the anime’s biggest flaw is its attempt to subvert audience expectations.
Most viewers hope that the film will ultimately lead to tears of goodbye for Sakura and character A as she takes her last breaths in her hospital bed, succumbing to her illness with a satisfied smile on her face. Although it is very conditional, it would work. However, in the film itself, Sakura is killed by an off-screen stab wound. Yeah, stabbed to death, serial killer on the loose.
There is no justification for this “turn”. Even if the killer didn’t appear out of nowhere (thanks to a failed attempt at “foreshadowing” or Chekhov’s gun, or something else in the previous movie), removing Sakura from the story this way is, at best, cases, dubious and, at worst, completely useless. One could link this stupid development very far with the philosophical message that “death can come from any angle”, but the sheer stupidity of the situation completely negates the intended emotional effect.
After this shocking twist, the plot quickly returns to its original course until the end, leaving much to be desired due to its lack of originality and monotonous presentation.
Style
The art of the pancreas is generic but nice to look at. With the exception of character A (who looks completely normal), the character designs are usable. The background art of the film is quite good and up to the expected standard of theatrical anime production. The animation for the most part is nothing special, with the exception of a couple of episodes that are animated in much more detail. A minor complaint relates to the film’s use of photomontage, which devalues the viewers’ experience of the film’s production.
Here I also write down the soundtrack. This is the best part of the movie. They did a great job with the opening and closing songs, and the soundtrack, while not particularly outstanding, got the job done when needed.
characters
Character A is an absolute self-promotion to the audience. From the overall “high school anime” design to the behavior, he is completely nondescript as a character for most of the movie. He has little personality on the outside and exudes no energy in his storytelling and interactions with other characters. While this behavior is not entirely unrealistic given that he is a loner, it does create an unsettling viewing experience as the audience is forced to follow the point of view of someone who hardly ever voices his opinion. The lack of a longer internal monologue makes the unnamed protagonist difficult to understand or sympathize with. On the rare occasions that character A says more than some kind of “Yes”, much of his dialogue revolves around the joke that he doesn’t have any friends. While it was kind of funny (in a sad way) at first, the excessive repetition of this character trait quickly became obsolete and only highlights how little Character A has other than his own outsider status in the class. As a result, character A’s development after Sakura’s death seemed unnatural and forced due to plot reasons.
As for Sakura, the film desperately tries to portray her as an emotionally fragile girl hiding behind a carefree mask. In fact, her character never really develops outside of “pretty anime girl” action. The way the film explores the more sensitive side of Sakura’s psyche is anything but subtle, as she directly tells character A (and by extension the audience) that she is fragile beneath her cheerful demeanor. In this case, Sakura is more like a caricature of a person close to death, rather than a character that needs to be invested with significant emotional impact and fails as “drama”.
The relationship between the two characters is questionable, to say the least. According to conventional (anime) logic, the combination of a calm character (Character A) and an animated character (Sakura) provides the perfect environment in which they can play off each other’s traits. However, there is little dynamic between the two, to the point where one has to wonder how the relationship can be sustained if the plot doesn’t call for it. Character A seems to be constantly uninterested in almost everything he does, as if he is fed up with his machinations. Interestingly, this is probably the most realistic and interesting part of his character considering Sakura’s characterization. She acts selfish and becomes more obnoxious as the film progresses, forcing character A to follow her in whatever she wants. Despite her reluctance, Character A always follows Sakura’s whims, the cause of which can be attributed to Sakura’s regular references to her impending death in a light-hearted manner. All of this shows that Sakura is manipulative and constantly accuses Person A of not being okay. The shock of Sakura’s needlessly violent antics reaches a boiling point during the bedroom scene. While the protagonist’s behavior is undeniably wrong, Sakura isn’t perfect at setting the situation. What’s even more disappointing is that this BIG conflict, despite its serious implications for the nature of the relationship, isn’t explored in any meaningful way at all. Instead, it is lazily simplified and resolved with the intervention of a third party: Sakura’s ex, who has no other purpose than to unite the main couple with his idiocy (and disappear once he completes his mission). Sakura’s selfish behavior comes into play again a bit as she is a cute anime girl and character A never stops thinking for herself or reconsiders getting involved in a toxic relationship.
The secondary characters of Pancreas are unnecessary and insignificant in the general scheme of the plot. Kyoko, Sakura’s best friend, constantly harasses the unnamed protagonist for dating Sakura. To make matters worse, she never tries to resolve her differences, viewing the protagonist in too negative a light. Takahiro, Sakura’s ex-boyfriend, has no other purpose than to resolve the climactic conflict between the two main characters, appearing in a total of two scenes in the film. Without exaggeration, he disappears, and after fulfilling his role, nothing more is known about him. The most amazing secondary character is undoubtedly Miyata, not because of his personal intrigue, but because of the uselessness of including him in the film. For anime with a school setting, the goofy character has traditionally been the main character. At the same time, Miyata cannot fulfill even this role satisfactorily. He has nothing like a relationship with Person A, only occasionally offering him gum and getting rejected. While the action of his character can be interpreted as a reflection of character A’s growth as a character, what is presented to the audience is not true, resulting in a meaningless, random, and unnecessary hero shell. None of the supporting characters are eligible to be included in the film given their (lack of) character, and nothing would change in the overall scheme of things if Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai only revolved around the unnamed protagonist and Sakura.
conclusion
Despite my initial low expectations, after seeing it I was completely disappointed. From the boredom for how cliché everything was from the first minute. What made it worse was how much the movie treated the audience like complete idiots who couldn’t think for themselves. The protagonists’ philosophical statements about life and death are perfunctory, introducing nothing new to a well-worn topic. From an emotional standpoint, Pancreas fails, its ostensibly climactic or shocking moments evoking little due to how unrecognizable the main characters are. Overall, Pancreas was off-putting and left me wondering when the movie would end as it winds through a tired and boring narrative.
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Source: IXBT
