Hotarubi no Mori E // To the Forest of Firefly Lights: OVA FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2025-04-09 13:00:02 +0000 UTC*SUMMERY HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
Since I have to delay one show for a week with scheduling, I thought I'd react to this requested OVA, and OH, what a JOY this was! It's anime original, sweet, heartfelt, and gives just the right tinge of bittersweet summer nostalgia! And from the maker of Natsume's Book of Friends, so you know it's good! I hope you enjoy as much as I did!
Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Episode 13 should be back next Wednesday!
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/erEvqfsC4Yk7M2CjdXpVmU
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Yes, silence in anime is peaceful, calm, and indicative of something dire or ominous to come. At least it wasn’t SOUL CRUSHING, but a good, healthy-cry inducing. This OVA gave me all the feels in the correct way and sets up and executes everything it needs to so well! And YES, Gin from Bleach has ruined my attachment with these characters of the same name and made me always fearful! That is really smart about the bag of dry ice to keep it from melting! I really like the way that the relationship between Gin and Hotaru is explored in this as well! I love the Camellia making a second appearance all within a week or two! Oh wow, that backstory idea with Gin is a lot darker than I had originally thought! That is so sad! I do at least appreciate that the yokai in the forest took pity on Gin and “saved” him or tried to help him at least. The little ways they had them together but avoiding touching was well done, I agree! Gin’s closure with Hotaru and that whole scene was so well done! It’s so bittersweet but heartfelt! I’m glad that they were able to get that closure and Gin could move on! I agree, while it’s cruel the series leaves us begging for more, I did appreciate what the story gave to us and it ended with just the right levels throughout. I definitely could relate to Hotaru’s summer experiences with her uncle, which was sweet, and YES - stay off the farming equipment and pigs on farms always make me think of the Wizard of Oz when they told Dorothy not to fall in the pig pen! XD Thank you for the comment and kind words! I was missing Apothecary Diaries, but glad I got to see this!
Romaniablack
2025-04-17 20:04:09 +0000 UTCThe silence at the beginning is very peaceful, but I’m with you that in anime it can feel a little more ominous than peaceful 😅 Romania: Hopefully this will be happier than Grave of the Fireflies Well I wouldn’t say it’s as painful as Grave of the Fireflies, but this is on my list of things to watch if I need to cry. No matter how many times I watch it Gin’s goodbye never fails to make me cry 😢 The mask and not being able to see Gin’s facial expression when he meets Hotaru makes him a much more intriguing character. It’s a great way to want to know more about him. Romania: I want him to take the mask off by the end. Me (immediately thinking of when Gin puts the mask on Hotaru and the smile on his face as he tells her goodbye): Doesn’t hurt at all 😭 For the ice lollies/popsicles not melting I don’t know if it’s something they’ve done for years, but certain stores in Japan pack your cold goods away with a little bag of dry ice or an ice pack in order to keep the stuff cold or frozen. I just knew you’d appreciate our silver-haired fox being named Gin 😆 Honestly though between this Gin and Ichimaru from Bleach if I ever come across any other silver/white-haired characters called Gin I will try to not become attached to them out of fear they’ll die and break my heart 😅 I love that we explore the concept of age and maturing in this OVA. Like you said, on the outside Hotaru’s physical age will someday make her look the same age as Gin, but he will always be older than her. I also like the way their relationship is explored and slowly develops over the years. Romania: She needs to get closure with Gin so as she can move on and be with Protagonist Man. I don’t think you meant for her closure to come in the way they chose to take this story 😅 The flower in the snow is a camellia, or tsubaki in Japanese. Connects nicely with the movie I picked for commission, Miss Hokusai 😂 In the Japanese language of flowers I believe it’s meant to signify “perseverance and devotion”. Gin’s backstory would definitely be a lot less painful if he was the Mountain God 🥺 I don’t know about in Japan if there is anything similar, but I do know that here and in Scotland there was an old myth about changelings. There was the idea that by returning a changeling child to the forest, the Fae might return your actual child to you. In reality the changelings were usually just sickly babies but it was easier to think of them as being a mythological creature that had taken the place of their actual child, and if their actual child never returned then they were safe and alive with the Fae instead. It’s what first came to mind the first time I watched this and saw Gin’s backstory. I love the way they show Hotaru walking differently alongside Gin in comparison when she’s walking with her classmate. With her classmate she can hold his hand. With Gin she keeps her hands behind her back, and even clutches one arm with the hand closest to Gin, as if she’s physically holding herself back from the possibility of her touching him, even by accident. Romania: Is he gonna kiss her at the end, so that he can disappear and she can move on? Yes but no 🥺 But good job on guessing that would be how their date would come to an end. Gin disappearing is truly heartbreaking. It’s beautiful seeing them so happy as they hold one another, but then for all that’s left in Hotaru’s grasp to be his clothes and her momentary happiness to turn so quickly to grief, it just makes me cry every time! Though my tears aren’t simply ones of sadness, it’s also for the happiness that they had and the memories that will live on even after Gin is gone. And then to get all the forest spirit’s reactions, especially after all their previous warnings and worry over Gin hanging around Hotaru 🥺 A truly poignant bittersweet story. Also a cruel ending of just giving us that black screen with such a song, just to make us more teary-eyed and leave us begging for more 😆 Completely agree that Hotaru’s uncle being fine with her running off to the forest as a kid is very reminiscent of when visiting older family who live out in the country. We were only told to stay away from two areas (one because of farming equipment and the other because there was a bit of a mean sow that would try to kick or bite us if we went near her(, but otherwise we were just left to roam around my great aunt’s place. Her response to us being gone for hours on end sometimes was always “They’ll come back when they’re hungry” 🤣 Great reaction as always, and such a wonderful choice to fill Apothecary Diaries’ spot this week!
Anime Annie
2025-04-09 22:17:52 +0000 UTC
