The Colors Within Review: What Colour is Your Heart?

Naoko Yamada’s The Colors Within is a sweet and low-stakes story about religion, friendship and the undeniable power of music.

Thankfully, The Colors Within is not a particularly dramatic movie, so you shouldn’t expect Totsuko’s story to be full of horrible complications related to her family life or friendships. All in all, this is a rather laid-back and low-stakes story, which actually uses Totsuko as a sort of catalyst of change for other people’s lives. Namely, the lives of cool girl Kimi (Akari Takaishi / Kyle McNeill) and shy guy Rui (Taisei Kido / Eddy Lee). It’s those two who end up changing the most, thanks mainly to the way they end up relating to Totsuko. And it’s through them that the movie conveys interesting themes about loneliness, human connection and friendship.

As the film begins, we see that Totsuko appears to have a rather ordinary life. She attends catholic school in Nagasaki, Japan; she lives with three roommates who seem to be pleasant enough, and even though she sometimes gets distracted by the colours she sees in people, it doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. Things change, though, when she gets hit in the head with a ball thrown by Kimi in P.E. class, and is immediately smitten by her. Not romantically (initially, Yamada seems to be developing a love story, but that’s almost immediately debunked), but due to the beautiful colour Totsuko sees in Kimi.

Unfortunately, days later she finds out that Kimi has been kicked out of school, which motivates Totsuko to start searching for her throughout the city. Eventually, she finds her working at a bookstore, and after listening to Kimi playing the guitar at the counter, she tries to talk to her. It’s here that they both meet Rui and after a slight misunderstanding, end up forming a band together. It’s through this accidental meeting that the trio gradually form a strong friendship, realising that they all are lonely souls who need someone in their lives in order to find their true identities and purpose.

Yamada doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in a traditional narrative and thus develops The Colors Within’s story in a more relaxed manner. There’s not much of a structure; although there are obstacles to be overcome and a clear climax to the story, the film is more about “the feels” than the plot. The focus is on the friendship between the three main characters, and once again, on the way Totsuko allows Kimi and Rui to find what they need to do. In the former’s case, it’s to confess to her grandma that she’s been kicked out of school and in the latter’s, it’s to tell his mum that, even though he will go to college to be a doctor, his passion lies in music.

But what about Totsuko? The film keeps most of the details regarding her personal life in check, showing us her mother only briefly, making sure that we perceive her only as a high school student, friend and bandmate. That doesn’t mean Totsuko is a boring or underdeveloped character but as said before, she’s more of a catalyst for the other characters’ development than a true and complex protagonist. That would be a tad frustrating in a live-action movie, but in a colourful animated film such as this, it contributes to the story’s laid-back and naive tone. We relate to Totsuko because she’s charming and lively, not because she has to deal with trauma or has a complicated backstory.

What is interesting about her, though, is her relationship to religion. The fact that most of The Colors Within takes place within the walls of a catholic school feels relevant to the story, as well as Totsuko’s guilt regarding lying and disobeying the nuns who take care of her. She prays and goes to church a lot, and feels bad whenever she has to be dishonest, even if she does it with the best intentions. She clearly is a sweet and naive girl, who is nevertheless bound to catholic guilt and the restrictions applied to both her formal education and upbringing. The fact that she ends up rebelling against some of the rules she’s been following for years allows her to realise she doesn’t have to feel guilty all the time, and that supposedly bad things can be done for the right reasons and the right people.

In that sense, The Colors Within can be considered a coming-of-age tale, centred on three tweens who manage to find themselves with the help of each other. Once again, Kimi and Runi go through the biggest changes, but it’s through Totsuko’s story that some of the film’s most interesting themes are conveyed. And although I do feel her synesthesia could have played a bigger part in the overall narrative, it does help to turn our protagonist into an interesting figure. Moreover, it allows The Colors Within to include some really gorgeous imagery, making use of excellent 2D animation to craft an appropriately colourful world, even utilising some real-life techniques such as motion blur, focus adjustments and shallow depths of field.

The Colors Within is a charming and well-meaning story about the power of friendship and music. The animation is gorgeous, the character designs are memorable, and the songs composed by our trio of wannabe musicians are surprisingly catchy and upbeat. I do believe a less passive main character could have done wonders for the story, and I understand that many people won’t be enthralled by such a low-stakes and relaxed experience. But if you allow yourself to be swept away by this world and the way it’s perceived by main character Totsuko, you’ll probably end up having a good time. The Colors Within might not be the best Anime film released in recent times, but it’s nevertheless sweet and entertaining enough.

The Colors Within will be released in US theatres on January 24, 2025 and in UK & Irish cinemas on January 31, 2025 in Japanese with English subtitles, and an English-language dub.