29/40
She went to school at Tomoe Gakuen after failing to fit into her original elementary school. She meets unique students and learns new things at school even when Japan is at war.. Ano nePerformed by AimyonLyrics & Music by Aimyon Arrangement by Yûsuke Tatsuzaki, Takashi Kondô & Yusuke Tanaka Courtesy of unBORDE/Warner Music Japan. When Toto-chan is forced to drop out of her elementary school because she is too much of a distraction for her pious and devoted teacher, her mother nervously tries to enroll her in a school founded by a loving and progressive gentleman. And so begins a girl’s journey to discover herself and the world around her, even as Japan’s involvement in World War II deepens. The animation stays close to the original book’s illustrations, detailing how Toto-chan goes from a confused 7-year-old who can’t fit into a strict society to a 10-year-old with friends, ambition, and an understanding of the world and its many joys, disappointments, and tragedies. Beautiful to watch, it transcends its own realities with some incredibly imaginative sequences where Toto-chan looks at the world around him, finding beauty in the compartment of a commuter train or on a rainy evening. The score also works brilliantly to create a world of wonder and innocence that collapses under total and dictatorial rule. Fortunately, the film doesn’t make Japan innocent of the war. It’s only through Toto-chan’s eyes and ears that we see Japan’s willingness to embrace conflict, the effects it has on society, and the devastating consequences. Early scenes of children reciting propaganda songs at school give way to whispered conversations about muzzled dogs in the US and UK. Later, Toto-chan’s beautiful bento boxes are reduced to rice and pickled plums, injured and disabled bodies in uniforms frequently pass by Toto-chan, and her ever-present and intelligent father seemingly disappears in the final act. The effects of hunger and malnutrition are seen in her classmates as they become irritable, appear to suffer from stunted growth, and fail to attend school. All of this is truly harrowing to watch, told clearly through the eyes of an optimistic and loving child and juxtaposed with the beautiful journey of a girl coming to terms with herself. "Toto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window" ; is a lovingly crafted animation that gives us a glimpse into a brief period of brutal change in a country that had only recently entered modern global politics, and the innocent generation that had to rebuild the country after the fires died down. 9/10.