Summary
There’s a beautiful meaning behind the story, making Child of Kamiari Month a must-see anime film this year.
This review of the Netflix anime film Child of Kamiari Month does not contain spoilers.
I’m often reminded of the power of anime. The art form tends to provoke a desire within us to understand emotions. Child of Kamiari Month hits its emotional stride from the start. The young character, Kanna, is riddled with grief. The opening montage shows the girl out for a run with her mother. It’s a memory — a happy but one with sad undertones. Her mother died young.
Grief is often misunderstood, mainly because it forms in many different facets. For Kanna, the running lifestyle comes with remembering her mother and appealing to the unhealthy mindset that she must win any running event she partakes in. The story takes a sharp turn in the first act when Kanna takes part in a school run, but memories of her mother and the disappointment of not coming first bring on a panic attack. From here, Kanna activates an amulet, and she is tasked to run to an annual gathering of Gods and deliver a type of food (chiso) with a gourd. With this, there’s hope she’ll be reunited with her mother.
While Child of Kamiari Month brings a fantasy dimension, the theme of grief and trauma remains rife throughout the story. Kanna has to battle between purpose and the yearning to see her mother again. The anime film toys with the dismantling idea of untapped and unaddressed guilt; it can diminish meaning until it is resolved and descope a person’s life. It feels implausible that audiences will view this anime feature as a fantasy-driven drama with mythological tendencies. It’s an emotionally fuelled case study of loss.
Other characters that add flavor to the story are introduced, but Kanna’s lighthearted nature and conveyance of emotions are the cruces. Kanna melts the heart and makes it easy for the audience to sympathize with her situation. For a simple story of a naturally gifted runner, the film makes it feel multi-dimensional. It’s more than just running. It’s life. Child of Kamiari Month understands the graft.
The Netflix anime film brings a suitable ending too. Audiences will be satisfied with Kanna’s journey and the resulting conclusion to her self-discovery. While this is a film about childhood trauma, it does not tug on the obvious. There’s a beautiful meaning behind the story, making Child of Kamiari Month a must-see anime film this year.
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You can watch this anime film with a subscription to Netflix.
