meimichi

I don't really think of Hachikuro as a hugely favorite movie, but I recently realized that I barely have a single friend I haven't watched this movie with! If we have movie night, this is strangely always my first pick.

I recognize that it's so different from the original story, but... There's just something about the movie that makes me mostly okay with it being a loose adaptation. The beautiful parts of the movie more than make up for the occasional weak points. It boasts one of my favorite movie soundtracks ever, the cast is wonderful...and it is super, super, super pretty.

"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee.
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few."
-Emily Dickinson

"For the first time, I saw the exact moment where a person fell in love."

"Kids are amazing. They can draw sounds or smells without even thinking about it. But once we grow up, we can't capture such unsubstantial things... Hm. Well, maybe there's someone who can still do it, right here next to me..."

"How could such a jaded person make something so adorable?"
"Well, even so, because I made it, in ten years it'll fetch a pretty nice price. Send your kid to a private school with it!"

(Mayama in the movie is a totally unhinged stalker. If I were Rika, I would have fired his ass too. Just putting that out there.)

"Ugh, you're pissing me off with your stupid grin. Happiness doesn't suit you at all!"
"Whereas being miserable suits you pretty well."
"Good comeback."

"Your painting's pretty good."
"Your sculpture was better a week ago."

"Yamada... Why me?"
"What? What are you saying?"
"It's just, I don't think I'm going to change. So it'll be much better if you just look for another guy. I think...you should stop looking after me."
"...was I just dumped?"

"...so what you're saying is, I'm fired?"
"To put it bluntly, yes."
"Is the reason because I'm in love with you?"
"If I'm mistaken, I apologize."
"No. No, you're not mistaken."

"Hey, Hagu-chan, you're from Nagano, aren't you? I've always wanted to ask someone from there, but I heard once that forty percent of people from Nagano have never seen the ocean. Is it true?"

"Let's scream, Takemoto."
"You're on, Morita-san."
"I'M THE BEST!"
"BEING YOUNG IS THE BEST!"

"I just want the person I love to love me back. That's the only thing I'm asking for. And yet I get the feeling it's never, ever going to happen."
"You kids these days think too much."

"Why do you suppose people draw pictures?"
"Because they want to. Because they can't not. It's the same as asking why people live."

"I can't seem to manage 'like always...'"
"You're not well. Look, Hagu-chan, if there's anything at all I can do..."

"I wanna be happy."
"I want to be happy, too."
"Things keep going like this, we'll have to look for a four-leaf clover."
"I'd look for one, if they really existed."
"Wha...? Takemoto-kun, don't tell me you've never found a four-leaf clover?!"
"Aren't they fairytales? Like dragons and mermaids and Bigfoot..."
"Oh, god, Takemoto-kun! You have led a life so unlucky it's almost genius! ...hey, everybody! We're going to look for four-leaf clovers now, in the interest of helping out this tragic young man!"

"And...how is she?"
"...please don't tell me you haven't talked to Hagu-chan since that day."
"It's...possible that I haven't?"
"To put it simply, Hagu-chan is in a slump."
"A slump? Wait, you don't suppose it's because of..."
"Yes. It is."

"Please hire me at Harada Design again."
"It will only turn out the same way. I'll just end up..."
"It's fine if you hurt me. Because I won't get hurt."

"It was at that moment I realized how little there was I could really do for her."

"What are you doing, Morita-san? Do you have any idea how terribly Hagu-chan is doing right now?!"
"Well, it's not like there's anything I can do about it..."
"Yes, there is. There has to be. Please think of something. The only person who can support Hagu-chan right now... It isn't Hanamoto-sensei, and of course it's certainly not me. It's only you. Please take care of Hagu-chan. ...though it's not like I'm in any position to ask you in the first place..."

"Before I realized it, I was running away.
"Simply focused on working the pedals.
"And...
"And I was remembering.
"Morita-san's stupid laugh that annoys the hell out of me.
"Yamada-san's half-crying face, which doesn't suit her at all.
"Mayama-san's voice that is really very kind when you pay attention.
"Your smile..."

"Though that day the ocean had sparkled so beautifully...
"No. This isn't a time to be running away. If I run away now, it will erase everything that has happened up until now.
"Even meeting you."

"Mayamaaa! I'm taking your car without permission!"

"Mayama... I love you. Mayama, I love you."
"Yeah."
"I really, really love you."
"Yeah. Thank you."

"Don't worry. What's burning here is only money. It's not my art. It stopped being mine a long time ago. ...can I say something even more embarrassing, now? You're not alone. You have Hanamoto-san. You have me. You've got Yamada and Mayama, too. Do you know Takemoto's worried sick about you? So don't cut yourself off from everyone else. And the reason I'm standing here talking like a middle-schooler to you, it's his fault. It's all Takemoto's fault. Mr. Youth told me to think hard. That I could find a way to help you..."

"You want a ride? I can put your bike in the back."
"I'm okay."
"Ah, I see. You're on a journey to find yourself, aren't you?"
"I'm not."
"You don't have to hide it!"
"I'm not hiding anything!"
"To be young again. Here, take this, and go off and find yourself."

"I really am not cut out to help other people. So I had no idea what to say to you. And yet here I am. Am I helping you?"
"You are. You have. Thank you, for..."
"If you're gonna thank someone, say it to Mr. Youth. I'm going to leave the country."
"That's what I thought you'd do."

"Someday, I think I want to support you. I want to have the strength to be capable of supporting you. But for the moment, let me do what I can now. Now... I am going to tell you what needs to be said."

"Hagu-chan... I love you."
"...thank you."

"Dear Takemoto-kun: how is your job? Isn't it tough?
"Morita-san just did his first gallery showing in New York. The reviews were not good, but that only motivates him more.
"Mayama has been hired full-time at Harada Design. He's hustling in both love and work. I'm pretty much like, 'Do whatever the hell you want.' I'm just laying low for now.
"Oh, right! Hagu-chan has completed a new painting, using the brush you repaired for her.
"It's of a beautiful, sparkling turquoise blue ocean...
"...I think."