Have you ever watched something so magical that it left you speechless in the end? I’m referring to Yuki Midorikawa’s Hotarubi no Mori e (meaning Into the Forest of Fireflies’ Light). This is about a little girl, Hotaru, who got lost and stumbled into the magical forest where there are ghosts and monsters. There, she met Gin, a strange guy wearing some type of mask. Gin helped her on how to get out of the magical forest.
Every summer, she takes her vacation on her grandfather’s house in the country so that she can go to the forest to see Gin. Gin was always there waiting for her and they would go to the forest together. Unfortunately, if a human touches Gin, he would disappear. This is the funny and sad part. Funny because every time Hotaru forgets about this warning and try hugging Gin, he would hit her head with a stick. The sad part is, although we know that both of them are falling in love with Gin (besides the fact that Gin’s only a ghost now), she can never touch, hold hands or kiss him. One summer, Gin took Hotaru to their festival in the magical forest and when they were about to leave, a kid stumbled and was saved by Gin. This is the shocking part — the boy was a human and not a ghost or monster! Gin glowed from his hands and later all over his body. He said, “Come, Hotaru. I can finally touch you.” They exchanged their “I love you’s” to one another and then he disappeared and left his mask.
That part was really heart breaking. Imagine someone you love so much for a very long time — resisting the urge to hug him — finally hugged you and said I love you back to you and then he’s gone in an instant. Watch this anime film and tell me that your heart was not moved a bit!
Hotarubi no Mori e was released in Japan on 2011 as a 44-minute anime film.
I’m featuring Kinoshita Ackerman today, and she is cosplaying Hotaru and CN : Aoi Hideyuki as Gin and the wonderful photos were taken by Daichi Photography. Because of their cosplay, my heart was once again reminded that we should not take for granted our loved ones because they will not stay forever.
