Rating: 47/100No joke, when Seven Seas first announced they licensed this light novel called I Wish I Could Meet You Again On The Hill Where That Flower Blooms and read the premise, my first thought was "Wow, I wonder how much this is gonna try to romanticize or glorify Japan's World War II history?" Yeah, let's face it, Japan doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to acknowledging its own war crimes, especially in regards to what they did in countries like China and Korea, and would much rather never give them a second thought. Having studied the formation of modern Japan in college, this even bleeds into their media and pop culture, where Japan always portrays itself as the victim rather than the perpetrator, and that aspect should absolutely be scrutinized and criticized. Granted, I do feel even Japan's own depictions of WWII in their own media has value outside of that and shouldn't be wholly discounted. That said, even they aren't above treating their own history rather thoughtlessly, so I was sure this light novel about a modern-day girl being sent to 1945 and falling in love with a kamikaze pilot would be a lazy, overly romanticized mockery of World War II. To my surprise...yeah, it's exactly that.14-year-old Yuri Kano can't stand how boring and suffocating her life has become, and has started acting out. She doesn't care for school, hasn't made any friends, and annoys her teachers with her outspoken nature. After she gets into a fight with her mother, Yuri leaves to go cool her head, hiding in an old air raid shelter. But to her surprise, she finds that she's been transported to the year 1945, right in the waning days of World War II. As she's struggling to make sense of what's going on, she encounters 20-year-old Akira Sakuma, a kamikaze pilot who helps her out. Yuri tries to adjust to her new surroundings, but finds herself falling in love with Akira, even though she knows she shouldn't. Can love bloom on borrowed time, or will history tear them apart before it ever has a chance? Honestly, I think you already know the answer to this question. But yeah, not one of the more compelling premises for a book like this, and having a modern girl be magically sent back in time just feels lazy to me, like the creator couldn't be bothered to just make a historical piece about someone who actually lived through the period and show what their life is like, something In This Corner of the World, Godzilla Minus One, and Ushiro no Shoumen Daare did quite well IMHO.But hey, it's like I always say, even a cliche premise can be done well with good writing and execution, so surely its prose and character writing can make up for that, right? Well...the prose is good. I never had trouble following what was going on, and its descriptive enough to be engaging but not so much so that people in its intended demographic can't comprehend it. It's fine for what it is, and the authoress mentioned in the afterword that this was her first novel, so it's to be expected that someone's first attempt at writing isn't going to be groundbreaking. I unfortunately can't say the same for the characters because they are all about as bland and generic as white rice. Every single character has one archetypal personality trait that they never grow out of, and even Yuri's whole arc of going from a bratty teenager to someone more appreciative of what she has falls completely flat because her growth feels less like she organically changed into a better person and more like she instantly becomes nicer the second she falls into 1945. It also falls flat because of something else I'll mention further down. Plus, everything comes much too easily to Yuri, so it never feels like she's truly challenged or forced to confront her views. Not to mention Akira is way too perfect for his own good, bordering on an overly idealized Gary Stu who can do no wrong, and all the other characters exist just to shill Yuri and nothing else. The only character who I found to even be somewhat interesting is Itakura, a minor character, but he leaves the story as soon as he gets any semblance of character.Not to mention the very thing this novel tries to sell, the romance between Yuri and Akira, is also its biggest detriment. I don't buy their romance at all, namely because 1. Yuri falls for him literally at first sight, 2. There's no point in getting invested in it because Akira being a kamikaze pilot pretty much telegraphs that it'll never happen, 3. You really expect me to believe that Yuri would suddenly want to devote herself to a guy she's only known for a few days at most, who she only sees at rare intervals because of the nature of his work? 4. Akira actually reciprocates her feelings at the very end, and I honestly can't fathom why he'd find himself falling for a 14-year-old girl he's only known for a few days considering he's accepted that he's going to die in battle. Finally, six-year age gap. Ew. I honestly think Shiomi-san would have been better off had she made the main character someone who actually lived through the period, or had her be well acquained with Akira, because not only would it be more interesting, it'd make whatever fleeting romance they'd have more palpable and genuine. Though Shiomi-san stated in the afterword that she made the MC a modern day girl sent back in time because she felt readers would relate more to Yuri upon seeing that people growing up now consider World War II to be too far removed from their own lives to relate to. I can understand the sentiment, but this just feels like a really lazy way to do it.Now, to the novel's credit, it does make a valiant effort to condemn war itself, the violence that ensued from it, and the whole concept of kamikaze pilots. I don't know if this particular bit was in the Japanese version or part of the translation, but it very subtly mentions that Japan attacked other countries as well, though doesn't go into detail beyond a throwaway line, and even mentions that the Yasukuni Shrine is now considered controversial due to enshrining the remains of war criminals. It's not the most damning condemnation of its own war crimes, but hey, I'll take what I can get. I think at this point we ought to just accept that Japan is never going to outright condemn its own war crimes in any of its pop culture. You certainly don't see anime covering stuff like, say, the Rape of Nanking. The authoress clearly meant for this to be a historical coming-of-age romance with the message that people who never grew up during war need to appreciate what they have and not take it for granted. Now, I'm not opposed to the message here, as it's a much needed one, especially in these trying times, and considering how entitled people have gotten in the past few years, there are definitely people who need that message hammered into their heads.However, I think the novel completely botched its own message too. The prologue is meant to show Yuri as being a bratty teenager who annoys her mother and teachers, and she does do so, but both her mother and teachers are depicted as so comically, exaggeratedly cruel and mean-spirited towards her that I couldn't bring myself to see Yuri as being entirely in the wrong. The teacher yells at her for the oh-so-terrible crime of not paying attention in class and then throwing a tantrum like a toddler when she snarks at him, and the book wants us to sympathize with Yuri's mother, saying that her husband left and has to work two jobs to support her. However, in practice, we never see Yuri's mother be anything except angry, even emotionally manipulative, and abusive towards Yuri. Seriously, what is it with Japan and trying to convince people that parents who slap their kids, call them a spoiled brat without irony, and say guilt-trippy things like "You always cause me so much trouble all the time! What are you going to do to make it up to me?!" or "You're no child of mine!" means they're good parents? Furthermore, the novel also violates "show, don't tell" by not attempting to show Yuri's mother being kind to her except for one scene at the end, reducing any moments they might have had together to just one-off paragraphs that don't amount to anything, which further undermines its message of being grateful for what you have. Because of all this, the message of not taking your life for granted comes off more like "Hey, kid, you really ought to appreciate the mother that yells at you, hits you, and calls you names. You need to be happy that you get to go to school where you get treated like garbage for existing by teachers who couldn't give two shits about you." Like...why should anyone be grateful for people who do nothing but berate them and treat them like garbage? I mean, sure, Yuri does act like a brat sometimes, but lots of teenagers pulled the shit she did at least once in their lives, and I find the idea that she has to just accept being treated like a leper for...just being an annoying teenager to be absolutely abhorrent. It'd be one thing if the novel was longer and expanded more on the other characters to give them more depth, but alas, tis not to be.In the end, I Wish I Could Meet You Again On The Hill Where That Flower Blooms is just another cliche time travel romance that ultimately doesn't really have anything new to say. It only uses World War II as a backdrop for its trite love story, doing little but making a mockery of WWII and all that happened in it. If you look at it from that lens and don't expect too much from it, you can find a short, sweet read that doesn't offer much in the way of substance. I might check out the live-action movie and see how that fares compared to this. I know they changed Yuri's age from 14 to 18 in the movie, which gets rid of the icky age gap aspect of it. If you're a history buff who expects it to be treated with the weight and gravitas it deserves, give it a miss.
13 days ago • Subscribe
More like this
Milet - The Story of Us
Man, there's so many games that I want to play, but no English translations for them exist, official or fanmade. Boku no Natsuyasumi (Any game besides 2, as…
Milet - Bliss
The weather is actually warm out?! The snow is steadily melting?! What is this sorcery?!
The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, The Lot of Us: Saitama
Dicussing Saitama, the bald hero with a dream of…losing?
The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, The Lot of Us: Bakugo
My Hero Academia’s latest season has put its characters into a final battle of sorts. A winner takes all scenario where Tomura and All for One are fighting…
The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, The Lot of Us: Rikka
The grand adventurer of delusion: Rikka
The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, The Lot of Us: Shouya Ishida
Shouya Ishida is certainly flawed, but not without his dynamic elements.
The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, The Lot of Us: Rei Kiriyama
Rei Kiriyama is one of the most overlooked characters in anime. Here’s why.
The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, The Lot of Us: Hidenori Gotou
Samurai Flamenco is a bad anime, but it still has a lot to say about the nature of heroism and trauma.
The Best of Us, The Worst of Us, the Lot of Us: Carole and Tuesday
These two soul sisters represent much more than just music.
The Hermit shows us a slice of Arche’s hip hop origin story.
Arche takes us on a lyrical journey, navigating chapters of her youth. The Hermit reveals a defiant, determined artist, thick in the process of defining herself. The song…
The Secret of Us
Another day, another Thai yuri “love team.” Today it’s Lingling Sirilak Kwong and Orm Kornnaphat Sethratanapong, better known to fans as “Lingorm.” They star in The Secret of…
The Story of Perrine
Like its 1977 predecessor Rascal the Raccoon, 1978’s The Story of Perrine is among the least-known World Masterpiece Theater entries in the English-speaking sphere. Such does not seem…
Dog of Flanders, Future Boy Conan, Perrine Monogatari, Anne of Green Gables
The Story of Suikoden
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes promises to revive the Suikoden series in everything but name, but what's so great about Suikoden that it's worth reviving? Well, read on…
Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story (Episode 3) – A Match Between Just the Two of Us
Rose used her contacts to get Eve into the under 15 girls World Championship tournament as a final day guest. She wouldn’t get to play directly with Aoi,…
The Last of Us Season 1
This review was written by a person who never played or will play the game. There are multiple timelines in this story. We don’t jump around , in…
The Soul of a Story
How do we deal with “products of their time,” stories we love, with their problematic elements that can teach us the wrong message, even when we just want…
The Story of Animerama: Cleopatra
A Thousand and One Nights didn’t come together quite as smoothly as Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto hoped, but they did manage to make a...
Cleopatra: Queen of Sex, Sazae-san, 1001 Nights, Tomorrow's Joe, Belladonna of Sadness
The Story of Animerama: Origins
In the 1960s, one of the first studios to make anime for television was Mushi Productions. Towards the end of that decade, their desire to ...
The INSANE Story Of HELLSING
Download OperaGX for FREE: https://operagx.gg/BonsaiPop4 Hellsing is one of the best vampire stories out there and Alucard is obviously the coolest anime vamprie ever created. But maybe you…
The INSANE Story Of Trigun
Go to https://www.world.holzkern.com/en_world/bonsaipop and use my code BONSAIPOP15 for 15% off + a polishing cloth worth over $15! Trigun is a show people have seen, but so few people have…
The Story of a Door
I’ve always believed that if a story is able to center around one large theme, and representing it through a simple object, it can achieve wonders. Suzume no…
The Story of Puppet Princess
Karakuri no Kimi (2000) https://myanimelist.net/profile/animebackwhen Puppet Princess Review This is a true story.. It happened to a friend of a friend of mine. So one day back in ancient Japan when 2…
The Story of Animerama: Legacy
The Animerama trilogy officially ended in 1973 with the failed release of Belladonna of Sadness and the closure of Mushi Productions. That...
Broken Down Film, Cleopatra: Queen of Sex, The Sensualist, Unico, Belladonna of Sadness
The Story of the Japanese Peruvians
They're one of the world's most important Japanese diaspora groups. Meet the Japanese-Peruvians, and learn their dramatic history.
Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story – 12 – They’re Coming After Us
Nadaminami’s Himekawa Mizuho, Japan’s Number One high school golf girl, knows the upcoming doubles tournament is meant to be a coronation for the Athena CEO’s daughter Aoi, anothe…
The Last of Us - A COMPLETE REVIEW
The Last of Us by HBO deserves a complete review. For the last 10 years, The Last of Us has been my favourite game of all time and…
State of the US Manga Industry 2018
Viz Media massively upgrading to the digital era, Seven Seas becoming one of the most beloved publishers, and newcomers and comebacks in the physical/digital manga scene. *DISCLAIMER* I…
The Last of Us II‘s Ending Explained
Among the complaints levied against The Last of Us Part II, perhaps the most common one is the ending. Some see it as a betrayal of both the…
![Featured image for eyes by milet [Album Review] | J-Music Exchange/Rate](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20210102/1609625668.434.21883.png)
eyes by milet [Album Review] | J-Music Exchange/Rate
Hello there! Before we start, I hope everyone is still doing well, both physically and mentally. The multitude of events that have occurred these past couple months have…
The Last of Us and the Importance of Player Agency
So I just recently finished The Last of Us (yes, yes, I’m years late to this party) and I am…upset about it. I was really enjoying the game…
The Story of Animerama: Belladonna of Sadness
By 1971, things looked grim for the Animerama project and Mushi Productions. Cleopatra had flopped, Tezuka had resigned from the studio i...
Tomorrow's Joe, Belladonna of Sadness, Cleopatra: Queen of Sex, Little Wansa
Call of the Night, Episode Eight: All of Us
When everyone is falling in love, while you stand alone.
The story of the Site, part one
Despite everything, it worked out Hey there! I’m the Firsty Duelist, also known as Crazo17, crazo2008, and [REDACTED FOR PRIVACY REASONS]. I’m also the creator of a new…
The Big Story of The Littlest Angel
A heavenly host of icons brought Charles Tazewell’s charming tale to records, TV, and animation.
The INSANE Story Of Rurouni Kenshin
Check Out AdamandEve.com. Use code BONSAI for 50% Off 1 Item + Free Shipping in the US & Canada + Free Rush Processing *some exclusions apply* Rurouni Kenshin is…
A Story of the San’in Region
2018/3/5 UPDATE: Due to technical difficulties, most of the images on this blog are no longer functional. However, you can download a zip file of the full Kojiki…
Ranma ½: Not Even ½ of the Story
Greetings, fabulous people of the Internet! Hanime on Anime here, and wow. Just, just wow. Yeah, this is going to be an interesting review today. Don’t get me…
The INSANE Story Of G Gundam
Use code BONSAIPOP50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next month of orders at https://bit.ly/3yYecEq Da SEO Stuffs: G gundam, mobile fighter g…
The Story of Little Monica Review
We all have that hentai that we repeatedly watched when we were at that young age, where we explored the internet and discovered that glorious pornographic medium. After…
Burning Sky: The Story of Gaea
Want to know more about the world of Gaea? Well, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good read! Enjoy our official foreword to the story of…
The Insane Story Of Yusuke Urameshi
Yu Yu Hakusho content is right around the corner, and with that coming up, we wanted to revamp our initial take of Yusuke Urameshi to get it right…
Manga of the Month: Neighborhood Story
Neighborhood Story by Ai Yazawa This month’s manga is a seminal work by beloved manga-ka Ai Yazawa, creator of Paradise Kiss and Nana! Learn more! Read a free…
Books: The Story of British Animation
By Andrew Osmond. Most people looking at this review will be anime fans. But what does “British animation” bring to your mind? Probably Wallace and Gromit and Aardman.…
The Sad, Sad Story of Genya.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba S3 Ep 6 Review So, after the end of the last episode of Demon Slayer, I took the initiative and looked up what the deal…
The Strange Story of Creamy Mami
She was pretty big in the 80s to the point where modern anime wouldn't be the same without her. The butterfly effect is real. If this didn't exist…
The Story of Monster Hunter World
Want to see ALL videos early? Support me on patreon for exclusive access! https://www.patreon.com/oceaniz Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:00 - The Five Fleets of the Commission 00:16:37 - A Star journeys across the…
Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist
A manga about a veteran novelist who plagiaries the work of a woman. When she commits suicide he is visited by a woman claiming to be her twin…
The INSANE Story Of Fist Of The North Star
Get a browser that’s literally better at everything: https://operagx.gg/BonsaiPop3 Fist Of The North Star is wild. Kenshiro and Hokuto Shinken can do literally anything. And we're going to go…
MWAM x milet : Koikogare MV composed by Y.Kajiura is out
Yesterday milet’s YT channel updated with the PV for the ED theme song Koikogare for S3 (Swordsmith Village arc) of Kimetsu no Yaiba by MAN WITH A MISSION…
One of Us is Lying
A jock, a princess, a delinquent, and a nerd. One of Us is Lying is a young adult novel about four teens with totally separate social lives...
