The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

2022 [JAPANESE]

Animation

IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 496 496

Plot summary

Tono Kaoru heard a rumor: The laws of space and time mean nothing to the Urashima Tunnel. If you find it, walk through and you'll find your heart's desire on the other side...in exchange for years of your own life. On the night Kaoru just so happens to find himself standing in front of a tunnel that looks suspiciously like the one the rumor describes, he finds himself thinking of Karen, the sister he lost in an accident five years ago. To Kaoru's surprise, he's been followed by the new transfer student Anzu Hanaki, who promises to help him experiment with the mysterious tunnel--but what does she want from Kaoru in exchange? And what will he have left to give, after the tunnel's done with him?



July 07, 2023 at 07:46 PM

Director

Tomohisa Taguchi

Top cast

720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
760.49 MB
1280*534
Japanese 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 22 min
P/S ...
1.52 GB
1920*802
Japanese 5.1
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 22 min
P/S ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ranadeavadhut 9 / 10

A Beautiful and Thought-Provoking Tale of Grief, Love, and Acceptance

The film is beautifully animated with muted colors that perfectly capture the film's melancholic atmosphere. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and the voice acting is top-notch. The film's pacing is slow but deliberate, allowing the viewer to fully immerse themselves in the story.

The film's central message is that we should cherish the present moment and not dwell on the past. The tunnel represents the temptation to go back in time and change the past, but the film ultimately shows that this is a futile endeavor. The film also explores the power of first love and how it can help us to heal from past trauma.

Overall, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes is a beautifully animated and emotionally resonant film that explores themes of grief, loss, and first love. The film is a must-see for fans of anime and coming-of-age stories.

Here are some of the things that make the film stand out:

The film's unique premise and setting.

The film's beautiful animation and muted colors.

The film's well-developed characters and relatable story.

The film's slow but deliberate pacing.

The film's central message about cherishing the present moment.

Here are some of the things that viewers might not like about the film:

The film's slow pacing.

The film's focus on melancholy themes.

The film's ambiguous ending.

Overall, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes is a well-made and emotionally resonant film that is sure to resonate with viewers who are looking for a thoughtful and introspective anime film.

Reviewed by smoothrunner 6 / 10

Great visual, dull storytelling

A schoolboy meets a schoolgirl on the railway station and gives her umbrella. You're right if you immidiately thought about love story, because that's how romances begin in recent anime. The "The Tunnel to Summer" is full of such cliches and you shold be ready for them while watching this anime like you are ready to the fact that there are little to no differences between fast foods' menus. The boy is your stereotypical male lead from modern anime: average in all aspects possible, anxious, whiny, hyper-reflective, impulsive, obsessive, self-absorbed, lacking common sense, intellectually and emotionally dull. In other words he is typical psychasthenic. The girl also matches current tropes - she is determined, rational and brave. Overall that's your another modern cliche with gender roles inversion. How refreshing indeed. The boy and the girl are in some way alike because both of them have problems with their parents and struggling to find a way out of their current situation. To cope the boy clinged to the past and the girl clinges to her dream of becoming mangaka.

That's where fantastic element comes into action. The boy finds a mysterious tunnel where you can find something that you lost in the past. The tunnel has a different time flow with hours there being years in the real world. So the boy and the girl begin to explore the tunnel in order to gain their wishes from it. The boy wants to ressurect his deceased sister while the girl wants to find in the tunnel a talent for manga that she thinks she is lacking (no logic here, since you can't find there something you didn't have - yet another clumsy sacrifice for the plot progression). In the process they fell in love with each other but since it's an anime they are unwilling to admit and reveal their feelings untill it's almost too late. The moral here is that you should not cling to the past but look into future. End of story. There are many plotholes and dumb acts in the process but overall that's it because this boring and tedious anime indeed ends abruptly.

The name "The Tunnel to Summer" is most probably a refference to Heinlein's "The Door into Summer" where the protagonist is trying to find a way out of the disastrous situation he stucked in. Heinlein's novel is also dealing with time shifts and a love which survives through years. But where in "The Door into Summer" the main character is actively searching for his "door into summer", putting all his efforts and ingenuity into this, the protagonist of "The Tunnel to Summer" is passively wasting his life and endagering his love by obsessively clinging to his past. Giving the tendency of anime protagonists to became more and more dumb and mentally disordered it's a good thing he realizes his problem after all. But really, he is not the best example to follow for the young adults. Heinlein's protagonist is much better suited for this role. Not to mention that "The Door into Summer" is a much more enthralling and imaginative read.

But "The Tunnel to Summer" has its pros. First of all it has great visual both in terms of drawing style and the animation. The main characters are aesthetically appealing and likable despite their density. Also this anime has positive moral message and happy ending, which is a great feat in the times of hypersentimental and decadent storytelling.

Reviewed by abstk 10 / 10

This is a movie anime that has so much sentimental value, with great key messages hidden under minimal storytelling (but captivating) waiting for you to discover!

In my opinion, Tunnel to Summer is undeniably will be one of interesting best 2023 anime candidates to being considered.

Based on my experience, watching Tunnel to Summer without knowing storyline & its trailer would provide an exceptionally captivating experience and this will grow on you If have chances of finish reading its original Light Novel & Manga

Because the main storyline and key messages of both novel and anime is almost the same. The differences are in details the novel kinda has semi-spinoff story.

Some examples of why the movie is worth spending time watching it :

  • Great meaningful key messages
  • Other than high quality animation & cinematography, I'm being blown away first time seeing tunnel's interior design and still nowadays curious about inspiration/reference why the tunnel looks like that. I'm really want to see interview from director!


  • beyond expectations emotional drama scenes
  • Great soundtracks that has its meaning matched with the storyline (Pre-Romance, Finale. & Katappo by eill)


The only downside until now I can think is the storytelling toward the end is quite accelerated to jump into the climax scene which is understandable But if your brain is not fast enough, you might overlooked some interesting detail of the movie.

( It's a bit similar to the feeling of just finished watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, but Tunnel to Summer is extremely much easier to understand❕)

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