Film Review: 'Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop' Feels Like A Cold Drink on a Summer's Day
Updated: Sep 3, 2021
After meeting one bright, sunny day, a shy boy who expresses himself through haiku and a bubbly but self-conscious girl share a brief, magical summer.
Director: Kyōhei Ishiguro
Cast: Ichikawa Somegorō, Hana Sugisaki, Megumi Han, Natsuki Hanae, Yūichirō Umehara, Megumi Nakajima
Year: 2021
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Runtime: 114 minutes
Film Trailer:
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop takes us on a journey of romance.
It’s a refreshing break from all the intense and fast-paced animes.
Cherry is a boy who prefers to write haikus instead of speaking.
He always carries a dictionary and posts his haikus online.
His haikus express how he feels but hides them on the internet.
Smile is a bubbly live-streamer battling her insecurities.
She wears a face mask to cover her braces from her fans and viewers.
Cherry and Smile are different but also alike in some ways.
They both have secrets — Cherry’s hiding his haikus online from real life,
Whereas Smile’s hiding her real life insecurities from her online fans.
The two bump into each other at the shopping mall by accident.
In the process they accidentally swap phones with one another.
When they meet up to swap their phones back, they begin to talk and connect.
As they walk home they get to know each other and start to open up.
Smile decides to work at the same eldercare that Cherry helps out at.
The two meet Mr Fujiyama who is one of the residents.
Fujiyama-san carries this vinyl labelled “Yamazakura”.
The disc inside is missing so Cherry and Smile go searching for it.
Their adventure brings them even closer and they start to fall in love.
But there is a twist — Cherry has one last secret that Smile does not know.
His family is moving and he knows that he won’t be here for long.
No spoilers here but this film is great for the summer and is an easy watch.
From the director of Your Lie In April, I expected heartbreak,
But this movie is more heartwarming than it is heartbreaking or sad.
It does pack a few emotional moments but it’s not depressing.
The characters are charming and well-crafted for such a short run time.
Fujiyama-san was the star here with his eccentric manners
yet emotional backstory which mirrors Smile and Cherry’s story.
What stands out the most is the unique aesthetic and colour palette.
The saturated, neon look, with the lack of contrast from the blacks
makes the film look like pop art and embodies a bright summer feeling.
This aesthetic has also drawn comparisons to Great Pretender.
The use of haiku as a way of expression is very unique
and the haikus we see around the city are visual metaphors
for how haikus are not just Cherry’s feelings and thoughts, but literally
his entire world and how he views people and places in his life.
For 80 minutes, the film is well-balanced in story and pacing.
It’s lighthearted and great watch for when you want to unwind and relax.
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop embodies its title perfectly.
From its bright colours, to the refreshing feeling roused from the story,
it feels like a bottle of cold soda on a summer’s day.
I not a poet Better end the review here Haikus hard to write
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is now streaming on Netflix.