Hey remember when I reviewed that Japanese autobiographyhttps://joyousmenma93.livejournal.com/298703.html called Tottochan: The Little Girl At The Window on my LiveJournal about 9 years ago? Guess what in 2023 it got a movie For those who dont know in 1981 a woman named Tetsuko Kuroyanagi published a book centering on her experiences in an unusual elementary school just before World War II broke out. It became a best seller and these days shes known as a TV personality who even at the ripe old age of 91 continues to host a daytime talk show she started back in 1976. I read the book and while it was definitely cute and informative along with being an effective commentary on how Japan writes off children who dont conform to societys rules it was a bit too simplistic in its prose and rather episodic. I am kinda surprised it took several decades for it to be adapted into an anime especially since another movie based on the Kuroyanagis Chocchans Story came out in 1991 and doesnt have nearly as much fame and notoriety though that one is more focused on Tetsukos mother. But sure enough Tottochan: The Little Girl At The Window came out in December of 2023 to much success. I just watched a fansub of it recently and I will say the team they had work on this really did a stellar job at bringing it to life. Just like the novel its based on the movie centers on the early childhood of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi affectionately nicknamed Tottochan by her family and peers. Shes an energetic excitable curious child who is perpetually entranced by the world around her much to the consternation of her teachers at the school she attends. While she means well her behavior makes her a poor fit for the rigid 1930s Japanese public school system. Her wealthy parents pull her out of school and decide to enroll her at a very unusual school called Tomoe Academy where classes are held in empty train cars and students call the shots in constructing the classroom curriculum. Totto thrives in this new school environment making all manner of friends and learning all sorts of new things. But all is not quite well in Japan as World War II looms on the horizon and sinks its claws into not just Tottos school life but changes everything for the people around her. The animation and colors are bright and vibrant indicative of how a child like Totto sees the world around her. The actual character motion is really good and the backgrounds are given the appropriate amount of period detail. Occasionally were given glimpses into Totto and Yasuakis imaginations and thats where the animation pops off elevating the film to a new level. The art style completely changes ranging from bright experimental colors with bold lines to surrealist abstract cutout animation depending on what theyre imagining becoming a literal feast for the eyes akin to The Elusive Samurai or the works of Naoko Yamada. Thats not something you can do in a silent static medium like books which this is based on and the animation team really put their all into this one...although there is one thing about the movies overall art style that feels really off: The character designs. Actually its not so much the character designs as it is the fact that literally everyones lips are painted in a way that makes them look like they all did a terrible job at putting lipstick on. Itd be one thing if it was limited to just the girls but even the boys and men have this problem and this particular art quibble makes them look like porcelain dolls come to life plunging them straight into the uncanny valley. It really says a lot when I prefer the art style for Chocchans Story which doesnt have this issue. On the other hand the soundtrack is also very nice even if sometimes it tries too hard to play on your feelings like that one montage at the end where Totto is running through town in grief and theres a sentimental song playing as she sees injured men coming back from the war. The ending song is also very cute and well sung. Speaking of audio I really have to give flowers to all the voice actors here especially the child actors who really sell their performances here. Liliana Ohno in particular who was seven years old when she was brought on to voice Totto does a fantastic job at selling Tottos personality everything from her cheerfulness brattiness and moments of sorrow and wisdom really comes through here. By the way the movie doesnt credit all of its voice actors and Im really curious as to who the narrator is. Im guessing it might be Tetsuko Kuroyanagi herself since the narrators voice is clearly that of an elderly woman and I cant imagine it being anyone else. Do correct me if Im wrong though. Speaking of the characters the movie itself is a well made character study on Totto showing her learning and growing under the tutelage of Tomoes principal Sosaku Kobayashi and the kids around her. In a society where everyone even children her age is expected to read the room and follow any number of unspoken rules she eagerly does whatever pops into her head at any given moment. While her father and mother love her they are worried about her and dont quite know how to handle her at first. Mr. Kobayashi is a man who fights against a society that writes off certain children because theyre too problematic or have problems that arent their fault creating a safe haven for kids who have additional needs that the typical Japanese school system cant offer like Yasuaki a boy suffering from polio. Other characters like Tottos parents and her fathers orchestra instructor are also given quite a bit of nuance and subtle depth to them without coming off like its beating you over the head with melodrama. I do wish Tottos classmates had gotten a bit more characterization and focus though. That said Totto herself is a great wonderfully realistic depiction of an energetic child without leaning into being saccharine or overly idealized. Shes a gigantic tomboy an imaginative girl who does whatever she wants in spite of the consequences would much rather play outside and watch street musicians rather than sit at a desk all day throws tantrums if she doesnt get what she wants causes trouble and doesnt always realize her actions can get herself in trouble but shes still shown as a genuinely good kid who wants to make her friends happy and do the right thing. Shes the kind of girl Im sure youve run into at least once in your life and I could definitely relate to some of her experiences such as when her baby chick dies despite trying to raise it as best she can. In the background of this collection of highly emotional stories history marches on. Slowly but surely we see the effect on Tottos uppermiddleclass Tokyo family as the war begins and then continues to its inevitable conclusion. Through the eyes of a child we can see the subtle effects of warcandy machines becoming empty her lunches slowly becoming less healthy and the steady increase of more and more injured men in uniform. Its heartbreaking and also a great example of visual storytelling at its finest. Tottochan is similar to In This Corner of The World where the story is more interested in getting you to care about the characters and be invested in them before the more dramatic stuff happens and the more haunting war segments dont happen until near the very end of the movie. Because Tottochan is primarily a sliceoflife movie it can be easy to dismiss it as just being boring. However Im of the view that Tottochan is at its best when its focusing on its characterization and showing Tottos life in detail because thats what the book is like too and the harder hitting tragedies wont hit as hard if we arent made to have some kind of emotional connection with them first. Tottochan as a movie knows what it is and has no problem with being what it is a character study on Tottos life and a commentary on childhood education and the problems that come with forcing children to conform to rigid standards. There is one other issue I have with the movie that was also in the book. Remember in my review of the book I mentioned that my least favorite chapter was one where Mr. Kobayashi lets the kids all swim in the pool naked? Well the movie decided to adapt that chapter and my issues with that particular scene from the book still apply here. Japan has no problem with showing children in the nude unlike the West and while I understand the message its trying to impartthat children shouldnt feel ashamed or embarrassed of their bodiesit can still be discomforting to people who arent aware of this. There ought to be better ways to teach kids that rather than let boys and girls swim in a big pool in their birthday suits supervised by a male teacher. If someone tried something like this in America theyd be accused of being a pedophile and fired on the spot regardless of their intentions. Interestingly the movie actually removes mention of the kids parents protesting this in the book. I still enjoyed the movie even with this but if youre one of those people who cant stand even the slighest showing of stuff like this in any media at all I dont know what to tell you. Calling it now the second some company tries to release this in America I bet some soccer mom is gonna see it and petition for it to be banned and accuse it of being child pornography. Ive long since stopped being surprised at the increasingly stupid things people have done in the name of protecting the children or some bullshit like that. I watched Jurassic Park when I was three and I turned out fine But even with all that I still think Tottochan: The Little Girl At The Window is not only a great anime movie as a whole but a stellar adaptation of Tetsuko Kuroyanagis autobiography with a message that still rings true even today. Im honestly surprised GKids hasnt licensed this yet since theyve licensed other stuff similar to this previously especially since Tottochan is a TOHO property and GKids is owned by TOHO now. I actually hope it comes out on home video in the US soon because this is a movie that needs to be seen and is a testament to how empathy and kindness should always take precedent over conformity. I know one of these days I plan to check out Chocchans Story even though that has no existing English subs at all.