#Our opinion on «Sing a Bit of Harmony»

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“Our opinion on «Sing a Bit of Harmony»
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The Crunchyroll Anime Night will continue in the summer. This time it was the musical drama «Sing a Bit of Harmony», but it convinced us…

This is what the movie is about:

The mysterious Shion is a new addition to the school in Keibu and quickly rises to become the most popular girl. No wonder, she is beautiful, has an open nature, but at the same time is very mysterious and has extraordinary athletic talent. Her singing is particularly amazing and enchants everyone. To everyone’s astonishment, she is fascinated by the loner Satomi, who she absolutely wants to please. That’s why she sings her a serenade – in the middle of the classroom! Soon after, Satomi discovers Shion’s big secret: she’s actually the prototype of a new artificial intelligence, an android! Satomi’s childhood friend, tech nerd Toma, handsome Gocchan, stubborn Aya and judoka Thunder are all charmed by her singing voice and try to help Shion on her mission. What does a person need to be happy?

Moby

After a trailer that seemed very hectic with a genre switch every second, I approached the film with low expectations. I didn’t find out anything about this film until it was licensed and only read a recommendation afterwards. For me personally, lower expectations have turned out to be a better mindset than high expectations through hype over the last few years and this helped here as well.

Right from the start you are introduced to a SciFi setting in Japan that isn’t all that unbelievable. Androids and artificial intelligences (AIs) that help people in everyday life and at work are being tested in a small town. The mother of the protagonist Satomi develops the AI for an android named Shion at the Hoshima company. Shion is then asked to pass a field test at Satomi’s school so that Satomi’s mother, Mitsuko, can achieve success. Passing undetected as a student doesn’t necessarily work, and Satomi asks a few schoolmates to keep Shion’s secret.

Due to the dilemma and Satomi’s lack of friendships at school, the first half of the film is structured like a typical slice-of-life anime, trying to make friends and process trauma. The lives of those privy to the secret are illuminated and Shion tries to help them. She does this in the belief that she will make Satomi happy afterwards, but Shion is a bit of a tough nut to crack. Finally, when Toma was about to show his gratitude to Satomi, Shion and the teenagers are tracked down by Hoshima. Shion is then deactivated, which also hurts Mitsuko’s career.

Genre-Flip

From this point there is a tonal change in the film, the positive appearance of the SoL stories is gone. The teens miss Shion, and Mitsuko rebels against Hoshima by helping to free Shion. The film becomes more dramatic and action-packed, but the sensitive feel of the film is retained. While the songs initially seem like (more or less) fitting by-products, towards the end they turn out to be the connecting elements of the film as a whole. The genre mix of the film didn’t lose me as much as was the case with «BELLE». But I also attribute this to the motivations of the characters, which are more understandable and comprehensible here than in Hosoda’s musical drama. The teenagers have their unique personality traits and perspectives on life, making them a wide spectrum for audiences. Gocchan and Satomi in particular stuck out in my mind because while they don’t have close friendships, they aren’t portrayed as stereotypically emotionless characters.

Although I’ve almost only mentioned positive things so far, I have to say that towards the end the film felt a bit too long and the film could have ended a little faster. It’s a pity that the songs in the film weren’t Germanized so that the excellent synchro didn’t have to read additional subtitles. In some places the German translated text of the Japanese songs was sung, but never in the professional setting of the Japanese singing parts. Since there are also very talented female singers in Germany, I would have liked to see what Shion’s singing would have been like in German. I hope that Crunchyroll will try to Germanize songs like “BELLE” in the future, partly because this means that people with reading disabilities – like my companion – will also be able to see all facets of the film.

Conclusion

“Sing a Bit of Harmony” had enough wit, dared to play with different genres and showed an entertaining development on the important characters. This was unexpectedly well done and I can therefore recommend the film to people who have fun with Slice-of-Life and also to those who would like to get to know something new.

Rating: 7/10

Moritz

Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s film “Sing a Bit of Harmony” is a colorful and life-affirming work that mostly hits the right notes. Yoshiura, director of works such as “Paterma Inverted” or “Time of Eve”, once again demonstrates his artistic talent with his latest film. Like Yoshiura’s earlier works, the story of the AI Shion revolves around the question of how artificial intelligence is progressing and how it can affect our lives. However, «Sing a Bit of Harmony» is not similarly philosophical. Primarily aimed at a rather younger target group, the questions about the coexistence between man and machine are answered superficially at best. Especially at the beginning of the film, the robot girl Shion primarily fulfills comedic rather than philosophical purposes.

The group around the protagonist Satomi, who has to keep the secret of Shion’s true identity a secret, is likeable across the board, if not entirely original. The character constellation of shy, spirited, unapproachably cool and jealous has been seen a little too often, especially in recent years. After the somewhat sluggish start of the film, you inevitably take the initially stereotyped characters to heart. This is particularly due to the second half of the film, which clearly picks up speed and provides deeper insights into the inner life of our protagonists.

Musically, “Sing a Bit of Harmony” has a lot to offer, especially Shion’s singing interludes are a successful change from everyday school life. Overall, however, the pieces are thematically very close to each other and are therefore not quite as memorable in the overall context. This comparison becomes particularly clear in a direct comparison to Mamoru Hosoda’s evening filler «BELLE», which was also released in cinemas this year and thematically ventures into similar spheres. Nevertheless: Ryo Takahashi’s music exudes immense charm and crystallizes as the clear highlight of the film.

Conclusion

All in all, “Sing a Bit of Harmony” is a slice of life worth seeing with a good portion of science fiction. The story about the girl Satomi and the AI Shion does not reinvent the wheel, but it definitely provides entertaining entertainment, especially for younger viewers. The film may not be able to hit every note, but it is always harmonious.

Rating: 7/10

>> You can pre-order the film on Amazon here! <<

Thanks to Crunchyroll for providing the guest list spots.

©YB, SBHPC

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