A girl who can see colors in people’s hearts joins a band with two other people.
‘The Colors Within’ is a new Japanese animated movie from director Naoko Yamada, best known for directing the successful anti-bullying anime ‘A Silent Voice’ just under 10 years ago. This movie centres on a high school student called Totsuko, a shy teenager who has the ability to see people as colours, which draws her towards a fellow student called Kimi. This ultimately leads to Kimi and Totsuko forming a band with another teenage boy called Rui, where they explore their personalities and challenges growing up through their music.
If you’ve seen the trailer for this you’ll have likely been drawn by the vibrant colour palette (as befits a movie about a character who sees others as colours) and the catchy pop songs, but unfortunately that covers for a pretty boring and unremarkable Japanese anime that never really got going for me. There are nice messages about accepting yourself that come through in the pop songs, alongside a nice sequence set to an instrumental version of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’, but to be honest that’s about all there is to this movie. The story doesn’t really go anywhere and it lacks a punch, content to be nice and light without giving you a reason to invest in the characters or the story.
All in, ‘The Colors Within’ is just quite forgettable, and to be honest, despite making a big deal about the main character seeing others as colours, it has very little relevance to the plot!
Rating: 2/5
Directed By: Naoko Yamada
Starring: Akari Takaishi, Sayu Suzukawa, Taisei Kido, Yui Aragaki, Yasuko, Aoi Yuki, Minako Kotobuki and Keiko Toda
'I have a purpose. If you think that it's some kind of blessing it's not. It means I have an obligation to see a very specific thing through.' Marty Supreme (2025) 
This point, while loosely formed and completely bereft of reasoning, is actually not without its merit.
Truthfully, without the synesthesia element, viewers would be far less intrigued by the promotional content. But the film isn’t about synesthesia — it’s about how music brings people together.
And if you were truly looking for some kind of “twist” or “punch,” you weren’t going to find any. This simply isn’t a story that presents grand questions, but that doesn’t make anything irrelevant. All of the details come together to form a soft, simple, and ultimately satisfying charmer.
LikeLike
Hi Gwendolyn – thanks for reading my review and glad you enjoyed the movie!
I wasn’t expecting a twist, but I did think the story could have had a bit more force & power than what it had and I felt that overall it was quite meandering and lacking in emotional weight.
I’m pleased it had more of an impact on you though – we can’t all like the same things 🙂
LikeLike