The moving story of "The Sea Turtle and the Boy" and its reviews

The Sea Turtle and the Boy - A moving story about the shadow of war and the preciousness of life

■Overview of the work

"The Sea Turtle and the Boy" is a TV special that was broadcast on TV Asahi on August 15, 2002, and is an animated work based on a novel by Akiyuki Nosaka. It is 55 minutes long and consists of one episode. It was produced by TV Asahi and Shinei Animation, and the copyright is owned by K2 and Shinei.

■ Story

Tetsuo, a young boy who was burned out of his home during the Naha air raid on October 10, 1944, takes refuge with his mother and grandmother at his aunt's house in a village in Urasoe and transfers to the local elementary school. Tetsuo feels a bit out of place in his new environment, but he makes friends with Norio, a bully, and Hanako, whose brother was seriously injured in the air raid and hospitalized. Tetsuo starts playing with his classmates and has almost forgotten the horror of the air raid. However, when Hanako's brother dies, he is reminded once again of the fragility of life. To comfort the wounded Tetsuo and Hanako, Norio takes them to a secret place called "Gama." Gama is a cave teeming with life, where sea turtles and dugongs come and go, and there they are able to forget the war for a while. However, the war approaches Urasoe, and the village is destroyed by bombardment from the air and naval gunfire from the sea. Tetsuo, who has been separated from his family, reunites with Norio and Hanako and tries to escape with them, but Hanako collapses and Tetsuo takes refuge alone in a "cage." The story depicts Tetsuo's struggle to protect the sea turtles' eggs while battling hunger.

■Explanation

"The Sea Turtle and the Boy" is a work written by Akiyuki Nosaka, the original author of "Grave of the Fireflies," depicting the misery of war and the preciousness of life. It depicts the horror of war and the people who try to live despite it, and conveys a page of history that must not be forgotten. According to a quote from Bandai Visual, as the words "A very long time ago, there was a war..." indicate, it is a story that does not allow the memory of war to fade away.

■Cast

・Tetsuo: Yuki Tokiwa・Norio: Kento Namatame・Hanako: Yuuna Mimura・Teacher: Takaya Hashi・Kenta: Sota Murakami・Haruo: Takuya Ishihara・Yoshiko: Chiaki Ozaki・Tetsuo's Grandmother: Yuko Hisamatsu・Tetsuo's Aunt: Rin Mizuhara・Adult voice: Hiroshi Egawa・Man: Takeharu Onishi・Voice: Eiji Yanagisawa・Narration: Ai Sato

■ Main staff

・Original story: Akiyuki Nosaka・Art: Seitaro Kuroda・Planning: Junichi Kimura (TV Asahi), Yoshio Kato・Director: Tetsuo Yasumi・Script: Nobuyuki Fujimoto・Direction: Ken Ushikusa・Character design: Shuichi Seki・Chief animation director: Koichi Maruyama・Art director: Minoru Nishida・Color design: Hiromi Imaizumi・Director of photography: Kazuhiro Sasaki・Sound director: Akira Okuma・Music: Osamu Sakuraba・Sound effects: Akiko Muto (Soundbox)
Image animation: Tadahiko Horiguchi Title: Hironori Nagatomo Editing: Hajime Okayasu Producers: Taro Iwamoto (TV Asahi), Sojiro Masuko, Kumi Ogura Production: TV Asahi, Shin-Ei Animation

■ Theme songs and music

・IN1
・Flowers ~Flowers in the hearts of all people~Sung by: Shokichi Kina & Chanpuruzu

・IN2
・Flower Kajimaya ・Song: Shokichi Kina & Chanpuruzu

■ Evaluation and impressions of the work

"The Boy and the Sea Turtle" is highly acclaimed for its depiction of the horrors of war and the preciousness of life. In particular, the scene in which Tetsuo struggles to protect the sea turtle's eggs deeply touches the hearts of viewers. Its portrayal of the horrors of war and the people who still try to live moves viewers deeply. Furthermore, by faithfully adapting the original work by Nosaka Akiyuki, the film conveys the original message well.

The character designs and drawings are also very detailed, and the wartime background is realistically reproduced. In particular, the scene in which the village of Urasoe is bombed is visually shocking, visually conveying the horror of war. The music also plays an important role in enhancing the atmosphere of the work, and the theme song by Shokichi Kina & Champloose symbolizes the theme of the work.

This work touched many viewers as a story that does not let the memories of war fade away. It is especially highly regarded for its educational value in conveying the horrors of war to the younger generation. It is an important work for learning about the history of war, and we highly recommend that you watch it at least once.

■Reasons for recommendation

"The Sea Turtle and the Boy" is a moving story that depicts the misery of war and the preciousness of life. In particular, the scene in which Tetsuo struggles to protect the sea turtle's eggs deeply touches the hearts of viewers. It depicts the horror of war and the people who still try to live, and deeply moves viewers. Furthermore, by faithfully adapting the original work by Nosaka Akiyuki, the message of the original work is conveyed clearly.

The character designs and drawings are also very detailed, and the wartime background is realistically reproduced. In particular, the scene in which the village of Urasoe is bombed is visually shocking, visually conveying the horror of war. The music also plays an important role in enhancing the atmosphere of the work, and the theme song by Shokichi Kina & Champloose symbolizes the theme of the work.

This work touched many viewers as a story that does not let the memories of war fade away. It is especially highly regarded for its educational value in conveying the horrors of war to the younger generation. It is an important work for learning about the history of war, and we highly recommend that you watch it at least once.

■ Related works

Another work by Nosaka Akiyuki, the original author of "The Boy and the Sea Turtle," is "Grave of the Fireflies." "Grave of the Fireflies" also depicts the misery of war and is a similarly moving story. Other animated works with the same war theme include "Barefoot Gen" and "In This Corner of the World." These works also depict the misery of war and the preciousness of life, and share themes in common with "The Boy and the Sea Turtle."

■How to watch

"The Sea Turtle and the Boy" can be purchased on DVD and Blu-ray. It can also be viewed on video streaming services. In particular, the Bandai Visual official website provides detailed information about the work and how to watch it, so be sure to check it out.

■ Summary

"The Sea Turtle and the Boy" is a moving story that depicts the misery of war and the preciousness of life. The scene where Tetsuo struggles to protect the sea turtle's eggs deeply touches the hearts of viewers. The horror of war and the people who still try to live are depicted in the story, which deeply moves viewers. In addition, the faithful animation of Nosaka Akiyuki's original work firmly conveys the message of the original. The character design and animation are also very careful, and the historical background of the war is realistically reproduced. In particular, the scene where the Urasoe village is bombed is visually shocking and visually conveys the horror of war. Music also plays an important role in enhancing the atmosphere of the work, and the theme song by Kina Shokichi & Champloose symbolizes the theme of the work. This work has touched many viewers as a story that does not let the memories of war fade. In particular, it is highly regarded for its educational value in conveying the misery of war to the younger generation. It is an important work for learning the history of war, and we recommend that you watch it at least once.