I went to see "My Oni Girl".
I went to see the movie "My Oni Girl" on its opening day.
To begin with, the theme song is by "Zutomayo" (Zutto Mayonaka de Iinoni.). It was a fan-based reason, as it's a band I love. But it wasn't just that; it's also because the protagonist of the story is so incredibly similar to me.
The synopsis, me and Hiiragi
To excerpt the first half of the synopsis:
Hiiragi, a first-year high school student, has a personality where he "cannot refuse requests" because he "doesn't want to be disliked by anyone." Even though he tries his best every day to do things "for someone else," he doesn't have any friends he can call his best friend.
One summer day, when unseasonable snow falls.
He tries his best to help with requests as usual, but "something" just doesn't go right.
On his way home thinking "what's wrong with me," he helps Tsumugi, who has nowhere to stay... but that night, an incident occurs.
And so on.
The parts about the boy named Hiiragi:
"doesn't want to be disliked by anyone"
"cannot refuse requests"
"doesn't have any friends he can call his best friend"
are exactly like me. His curly hair, his glasses, and his build are all just like that too. I was so similar to him. There's even a scene in the movie where he can't go against his parents' decisions; he's practically a mirror image of me.
Sacred sites in Yamagata
The story is primarily set in Yamagata Prefecture.
Yamagata Line local train and Yonezawa Station
Yamako Bus
A 41-story apartment building towering over rice fields
Hie Shrine
Yonezawa hot spring inn "Hoju no Yu"
Many real-life facilities and landscapes from Yamagata Prefecture appear in the film. It makes me want to go on a pilgrimage to these sacred sites.
I want to go on an 'Otetsutabi' (work-stay trip).
The depiction of Hiiragi helping out at Hoju-no-Yu is very similar to the 'Otetutabi' (work-travel) opportunities I want to participate in. You never know who you might meet, but watching it makes me want to do it myself. I actually met a regional revitalization volunteer in Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture just two months ago, so I find myself wondering if there might be some connection there.
Preparing with the novelization
and bought it immediately, earning plenty of points too.
I was curious about the movie, so I bought the novelization to prepare in advance. Perhaps because I had prepared, the story really resonated with me. The characters were pretty much exactly as described and as I had imagined. When you have a rough understanding of the plot beforehand, you can appreciate the finished film on a deeper level. It's definitely worth reading things like this.
It's far, but I want to go
I got into it because my favorite band did the theme song, but it turned out to be a movie that felt like a mirror reflecting myself. Zutomayo's song made me cry, but there were also many scenes in the main story that moved me to tears. As someone from the Kansai region, Yamagata feels very far away, and I have never been there myself. However, the way the movie was depicted made me want to follow the path that Hiiragi and Tsumugi took.
It's painful that it takes six hours one way and costs over 20,000 yen with two Shinkansen transfers to get from Kyoto to Yamagata, but I want to use it as an opportunity to do an 'Otetutabi' at some hot spring or farm, just like Hiiragi. I hope that by doing so, I can change just like Hiiragi did.
いいなと思ったら応援しよう！
ストリートミュージシャンの投げ銭のような感覚でお気軽にどうぞ。