I finally finished watching the movie that I've been meaning to watch since its trailer got released. I first read its webtoon way back in my high school days and because its story isn't long, I thought it wouldn't get adapted. However, last year its trailer suddenly popped up in my socmed feed, and I was definitely thrilled while watching it. The art style and animation were really promising; that's why I promised to allot time to watching its movie adaptation. At last, I finally got time yesterday, and after an hour and a half of watching, I again felt what it feels like after I read its webtoon. So much for that, I’ll now share with you a bit of what it’s all about and also afterwards my review. That’s why if you are interested, sit back and join me as we unravel the story of a girl who's searching for peace but found something else instead. What—or perhaps, who could it be?
Your Letter is a slice-of-life South Korean animated movie that was released last year, October 1. This more than one-and-a-half-hour movie was produced by Studio Lico and Studio N. This movie adaptation was based on the 10-episode webtoon written and illustrated by Hyeon A. Cho, and it was directed by Kim Yong-Hwan. This movie follows the life of So-ri, a bullied girl who transferred schools hoping to get a new start. However, even though she’s now far away from her bullies, the trauma is still there haunting her. That led her to isolate herself and become wary of everything she does in her new school, but that loneliness didn’t last long because one day, she discovered something that would soon change the course of her new life.
Beneath her desk, she found a letter that soon become her guide in meeting new people. As she moved further to look for the next letter, she unconsciously found herself opening up to the new people she met. Little by little, her life became better and as she unravel the personality behind the mysterious letter, distant memories resurfaced and before she realized it, she's back in the midst of fireflies—the same ones that helped her find their way back to him.
I didn’t expect that after all these years, I’d feel the very same feelings I felt after reading its manhwa, but the thing is, it resonates more with me now. Before, I was more focused on the visuals rather than its plot, yet now that I get to watch its adaptation, I now further understand the underlying message of it. It’s unbelievable that even the little kindness we give can go along changing other people’s lives. I thought that was kinda fictional before because how could those seemingly insignificant actions matter? However, now that I learned better than before, it became apparent to me that even those small actions can affect other people. I loved how it reminded me of how little kindness can uplift a suffering person.
Further, aside from those realizations, I also like how they’re able to execute the mystery behind those letters. Those little drawings were certainly cute and enjoyable to watch alongside with cozy narration. The voice actor behind Ho-yeon certainly did a good job in portraying his role because I did really imagine even before that he’d be soft-spoken. It’s definitely fulfilling hearing those characters getting voice so well, and yeah...even though it sounds a little bit odd at first because I’m not used hearing Korean dub on animated film, I got used to it much faster than I anticipated to. And also, their OST was definitely a plus for me because of how well it matched and even, at some points, elevated the mood of the narrative.
As for its art style, I already mentioned that I find it promising because of what were shown in trailer. I somehow braced myself for a little glow down on the actual movie, but thankfully the visuals their didn’t disappoint me. Of course, it wasn’t the exact match with the art style in webtoon, yet the vibe I get from it is the same. Strangely the art style somewhat reminds me of the ones in Makoto Shinkai’s movie—I mean the vibrant colors and also the detailed sceneries and background. The animation on the other hand was quite far with Makoto Shinkai’s movies because unlike the smooth movements that Japanese movies have, theirs' is quite stiff and unnatural.
Despite its flaws, it’s still obviously enjoyable for me—not because I know its story is nice and it ended greatly, but because it was adapted well. It may not be perfect, but it certainly has charms on its own that would hook you into it. The concept may be not the new, I mean there are already a lot of webtoon or manhwa that featured bullying in their stories, but if you want to try one that isn’t that heavy, then this movie is really a must watch for you.
Before I end this up, I'll share with you its trailer, so—
Have you seen this movie already? Or is it your first time encountering it? Well, if you have something to share, then feel free to write it down in the comments. And that's all for now, minna-san~ I hope you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
All of the pictures were screenshots I took while watching its movie.
