Harmonie https://ikilote.net/Galeries/News/Anime/AT/HarmonieOVA162.jpg Agreement or concord an interweaving of different accounts into a single narrative a pleasing arrangement of parts Theres something mysterious about the subjectivity of things that resonate with us. Years of accumulated experiences all meticulously build a worldview that can only be called unique despite over 8 billion others sharing the same base experience of life with us. Thus when something comes along that strikes a chord with some obscure part of our unique life experience we dont always even understand why. When I first watched this short 25minute film years ago that was the feeling I was left with. As the final note of the gorgeous ending sequence faded away I had the strange feeling that I had heard it all in a dream years ago when I was still just a child... Like I had rediscovered a foundational truth that had been lost along the path of life. To this day I cant explain why Harmonie gave me that feeling but it is one that Ive cherished for a long time now. Since this is a review I should probably actually discuss the subject of said review: Harmonie is by all accounts nothing terribly special. It is a short film that almost entirely follows the schoolday interactions of a painfullyaverage boy and the pretty girl he is crushing on. Those with shorter attention spans might even consider the slow sliceoflife format to be a drag. Ill even admit: after rewatching it recently I didnt find the majority of it as captivating as I did years ago. Im not even sure why that is... But perhaps that only adds to the message of this film. The theme of this story is human connection and how seeminglyinsignificant moments can sometimes connect people who otherwise would have nothing to do with each other. Those moments are ephemeral and who knows how many of them slip by unnoticed in our daytoday lives. When I first stumbled across this film almost a decade ago the moment was just right to make an impact on me. Now that moment is likely gone forever another memory to be filed away like a faded picture in an old album that may never be opened again. But something about that is almost priceless in itself isnt it? Ive purposely avoiding saying too much about the fine details of this film since I dont want to create too much of an expectation for those that might watch it. Part of the joy of media is stumbling upon those little moments that connect with you deeply. Will this film do that? Who knows. But I can safely say this even after all these years: when the final scene comes to an end as the main characters stare at each other in surpriseconfusionin awe of the serendipitous truth theyve stumbled upon... As the painfullybeautiful ED sequence begins to play like something out of a longlost childhood dream... In that moment real human connection doesnt feel so out of reach. In fact it feels perfectly natural.