Written and directed by Neo Sora, a near-future Tokyo awaits destruction as the city is rocked by a series of foreshocks that predict a larger, more disastrous quake on the horizon. With the anxiety looming over them, a group of teenage best friends and musicians get into typical teenager trouble that tests the strength of their relationships. Starring: Hayato Kurihara, Yukito Hidaka, Yuta Hayashi, Shina Peng, Arazi, Kirara Inori, Pushim, Ayumu Nakajima, Makiko Watanabe, Shirō Sano and Masaru Yahagi.
As the coming-of-age genre became more and more saturated, it’s been rare to find one that gives us something new but Neo Sora achieves that with Happyend. Granted, it’s not blazing completely untravelled territory, it’s still got familiar roots but there’s something truly modernised and thoughtful about Sora’s writing. We get the friendships and misadventures that you’d expect but there’s also layers of political and relevant themes, that are woven into the story in a very natural way.
It’s great to see Yukito Hidaka’s Kou opening up all these questions about student’s responsibility to care about activism and social issues. He creates this easily accessible avenue for the audience to invest in the topics of privacy and freedoms raised with the story. Those are a wonderful pairing to the more familiar concept of teenagers growing emotionally at different speeds. It’s another example of how the film is so beautifully modern, these kids are so emotionally mature that it’s joyful to watch. Without the usual fumbling and simple conflicts, they’re so aware and it gives Happyend this wholesome, smoothly flowing and endearing personality.
Of course, a lot of that is achieved through the performances because this is an exceptionally charming ensemble. While the two young actors at the forefront of this story do take the lead, this is undoubtedly a team effort. Hayato Kurihara and Yukito Hidaka are like the conductors of this symphony, they open up the different choruses which allow this story to be so captivating and entertaining. There’s just a fantastic amount and variety of personalities at work throughout this cast, there’s no weak link and they’re all truly enjoyable to watch.
One of the only weaknesses of Happyend is the pacing, it can tend to let scenes run on longer than they need to, stopping it from building up a bigger energy and flow. Especially as Neo Sora’s style is typically understated throughout the film, which is rare to see. Often filmmakers really lean into the stylistic and modernised choices to reflect the youth of today, so it’s great to see Sora go with something humbler. Something that’s complimented by the strong cinematography from Bill Kirstein, which helps to give the film a big presence, there’s a genuine weight at work, something not always found with teen-centric cinema.
Happyend is a terrific modern coming-of-age drama, it’s funny, touching and utterly charming. It may move a little slow at times but its style holds a big sincerity which is backed by wonderful characters and a thoughtful story. The ensemble is full of terrifically talented young actors who are hugely enjoyable to watch. It’s a strong first venture into the fictional world for Neo Sora following the fantastic Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, it will be interesting to see what he does next.
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