Upon reaching the train station to death, a dejected soul is informed that he is “lucky” and will have another chance at life. He is placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Makoto Kobayashi, who has just committed suicide by an overdose of his mother’s pills. Watched over by a neutral spirit in the form of a little boy, the soul must figure out what his greatest sin and mistake was in his former life before his six-month time limit in Makoto’s body runs out. This film handles a set of mature themes and subjects through the eyes of a middle school boy as he learns how to take control of his future. (From Wikipedia)
While the animation techniques on display in Colorful aren’t nearly rotoscoping, much of the film feels like animation juxtaposed on top of the real world. The fact that the backgrounds are mainly painted over photographs lends to this feeling. The palette of the film, contrary to the title, is incredibly drab, as if the city is in a constant state of depressing rain.
The Tamagawa Electric Railway (Tamaden) was an electric tram line that operated in the neighborhood serving as the setting for the film, connecting Tamagawa with Shibuya Station. An offshoot section of the Tamaden, which seems to be called the Kinuta-sen, had a celebratory sendoff in 1969. Photos of the tram line and its cars are prominently featured in the middle of the film that take up the whole frame. Makoto’s friend Saotome guides him through a series of physical remnants and memorials down the route of the retired train line, terminating with a public park and a bus shelter that was once a station from the original tram. What’s left of this line now operates as the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line.
