The Death and The Cherry Blossoms

The hanami season in Japan finally started on the last week of March, and of 'course with cherry blossoms in bloom, its viewing became a popular event during this season. With its beauty, almost all people love cherry blossoms, because who wouldn't, right? However, perspectives and preference do really differ because, unlike the majority who love cherry blossoms, Sakaguchi Ango, a renowned Japanese writer, finds them dreadful to watch—especially with the absence of people. He witnessed the dead being burned in Ueno Mountain and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, looking eerily beautiful and dreadful. And this dread gave birth to one of his works which was soon adapted into a 1975 movie, then later on into a 2009 anime that was animated by Madhouse.

I already gave a review about it last year, but when I read the quest about cherry blossoms, that cherry blossom arc in Aoi Bungako came to my mind. Mostly, cherry blossoms were portrayed as a sign of hope and new beginnings in most of the anime series, but since this arc is an adaptation of Sakaguchi-sensei's work, evidently cherry blossoms are portrayed differently here. The first time I watched that arc, it really felt bizarre. I'm not familiar with the source material, so I don't have an ounce of idea why the MC acted that way and what would happen to him. However, the familiarity I felt in its art style contrasted that unfamiliarity with its plot because it turns out the characters were done by Kubo Tite, the creator of Bleach!

Unlike the usual light cherry blossom atmosphere, in that anime, it was portrayed rather darkly. They even narrated the Noh play about a mother who searched for her son who met her tragic fate and demise buried beneath the pink petals. That arc somehow started comically and dramatically which was unusual considering how it turned out to be a dark one. Well, most of the stories in Aoi Bungako were dark and heavy—especially the adaptation of Dazai's No Longer Human, but unlike how they adapted Dazai's work, they somehow incorporated comedy and entertainment in Sakaguchi's story. Also, I later found out that some of the details were changed to probably accommodate the mass preference.

I don't want to delve further into those details because I think I would end up spoiling, but to give you a peek of what was this arc all about, here's my synopsis of it:

It's all about a strong yet weird bandit who has a strange fear of cherry blossoms. He lived in the depths of the mountains, where he kept his seven wives with him. He was certainly contented with how he lived not until he met his eighth wife. He was enthralled with her beauty and captivated by it, the man decided to give up everything he had cherished just to have her as his wife. Unsurprisingly, that woman was no ordinary one, and it was too late when he realized it.

I read the Sogensha edition translation of "Under Cherry Trees in Full Bloom" and compared to the anime, it's more gory there. Like I said the anime incorporated comedy which was not that evident—or it wasn't really even in the source material, and also the dancing and singing were certainly there to tone down the heaviness. Even though there are changes, still I recognize some of their dialogues that were the same as the ones that are from the source material.

I rewatched that arc this afternoon, and unlike the confusion I felt the first time I watched it, I understand now what its plot is all about—especially after I read the source material. Sakaguchi's writing style isn't that heavy compared to Japanese literature I've read before. Maybe it's because he's concerned more with telling the story rather than the construction of the sentences. As he had said in one of his essays, "Each word in a novel," he declares, "should be as light as a feather in the wind." "Be more, much more concerned with the story you are telling, not with the words". The anime may altered the portrayal and added some more details, but still, the message, the mystery and the feelings that I was supposed to receive were there.

So I guess that would be all for now minna-san! This one is indeed the opposite of the first cherry blossom scene I've shared, but it's equally memorable in its own way. How about you? What are the memorable cherry blossom scenes that you've watched in anime? If you have, feel free to comment them down!

_Source

_{The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime.}