This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
Mio is a high school, recently orphaned student, who spends every night sitting on a bench by the beach. Shun Hashimoto sees him every night while working at his grandma's cafe and decides to approach him. After initial awkwardness they are able to make a very small conversation. However, Mio's reaction towards Shun reaching out to him reminds him of the estrangement from his parents after they discovered his sexual orientation. Soon after, Mio moves to mainland to study but comes back after three years as a tenant in Shun's grandma's house. Mio, honestly confesses his love for Shun, but Shun is not very sure. Although after sometime he eventually gives in. Some time passes, and out of nowhere, Shun's ex-fiance appears on the island to persuade Shun to visit his father whose health is not doing too well. Given his past experience Shun is wary of going back, but Mio urges him to return to reconcile with his family. Finally Shun realizes that Mio is truly and deeply in love with him, although both have their share of doubts. In the end, Shun asks Mio to join him in the trip to visit his family.
My big problem with this anime was that it would go suddenly into flashbacks (and there were plenty of those), and you really have to pay attention on the fact that it has suddenly gone into flashback plus whose story they are showing and all that. Besides that, it was just really a cute little story. The story does move at a fast pace and there area lot of characters, which keep coming and out. There are 2 girls who keep appearing and we are never told who they are. Its like they are Shun's side kicks. The anime was nice, I guess. Some situations were interesting, for example the whole thing about them wanting to have sex and talking about it. I also loved how they support each other in the relationship. But besides these cute little moments, overall this has nothing new to offer. Its pretty run-of-the mill standard stuff that we have seen multiple times, this time just in anime format. (5/10)
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