_This review (expanded from the one I wrote for MyAnimeList: `https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=282934`) is based on the version of_ Fireworks _screened in American cinemas during the first week of July, 2018. I might revise this review if I get a chance to see it again and take proper notes, and/or watch the live-action film that came first._

----

_Uchiage Hanabi_ was simultaneously engrossing, cringe-worthy, beautiful, and shallow. It's quite the accomplishment in its own way.

The art is gorgeous… with the unfortunate exception of some truly awful CGI scenes. (One of these, showing a staircase at the school, is used repeatedly throughout the film). When SHAFT puts in the effort to deliver a properly animated shot, it shows. Unfortunately, it also shows when they don't. I didn't really notice the character stiffness mentioned in other reviews I've read on MyAnimeList or Trakt, but I definitely felt that CGI was overused. With that in mind, I decided to award the **art 8/10** based mostly on the non-CG segments, so as not to let the CGI drag the traditional animation down too much.

I have no doubt that the soundtrack contributed immensely to my enjoyment of the visuals. DAOKO is now on my radar solely because of this film. (Kosaki Satoru was already familiar from his work on the _Suzumiya Haruhi_ franchise, _OreImo_, and others.) With no aural equivalent of CGI to detract from its score, the **music** earns a solid **9/10**. Foley and environments sounded above average to me, so that doesn't hurt either.

However, I'm afraid that's where my praise must end. The **story** and ==**characters**== were beyond shallow, earning just **3/10** and a pathetic ==**1/10**==, respectively.

I couldn't keep track of any of the school boys at all. Even Narimichi blended in with the group for the first third or so until the plot ramped up, and without him around the other four guys were just interchangeable cutouts to me. Nazuna was just a generic moeblob with no personality to speak of. Her desire to [spoiler]run away from home[/spoiler] seems unmotivated by anything in particular. She's not doing it to avoid being torn away from anyone, and her home life seems perfectly fine. It's really just there to kick off the story, much as the boys' conversations about whether fireworks are flat or round merely give them a reason to walk to the lighthouse.

Sadly, it's also not much of a story at all. I would go even further than other reviewers and say that the whole film can be summed up in two words: **"What if…?"** That's the only character motivation I saw, and the only thing driving the plot (if one can call it that) forward. I was planning to watch the live-action film at some point after this, and I probably still will—but I'm not excited to do so any more. Without stunning anime visuals to lean on, I guess the soundtrack is all I can hope for.¹

The most disappointing thing about the script is something all too common in the anime world, and in cinema generally: wasted potential. What could have been a deep, philosophical, existential reflection on the nature of reality turned out to be just another shallow teen romance. _Steins;Gate_, this is not.

Hell, I'm not even sure if he got the girl or not. That ending could spawn an entire review of its own, but I've prattled on enough already.

Despite the story and characters, I did find the ride worthy of an **8/10 Enjoyment** score, borne on the backs of the art² and sound departments alone.

### Rating breakdown

**Overall: 5.8** (arithmetic mean of the ratings given to each element)
Story: **3**
Animation: **8**
Sound: **9**
Character: **1**
Enjoyment: **8**

----

1. And maybe a super-cute lead actress…
2. DIGITAL@SHAFT cuts excluded