LogFAQs > #969624390

13. Iroduku: The World in Colors
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37497/Irozuku_Sekai_no_Ashita_kara
Fall 2018 (13 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 7.52/10
Best Character: Tsukishiro Hitomi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZSksScSczs

Premise: Tsukishiro Hitomi, a girl who can't see colors and is withdrawn from the world, gets sent sixty years into the past by her witch grandmother. Now in 2018, she meets aspiring artist Aoi Yuito, and his drawings are the only thing Hitomi can see in color.

The Good: Iroduku is a drama/romance anime. It's another original story from PA Works, who also made Aquatope and Hanasaku Iroha. All three of these shows have similarities, like they were built using different combinations of the same ideas. They're all about girls going into the world and finding themselves, which I loved. Aquatope and Iroduku both have magical realism which allows for striking visuals and creates a beautiful world. What held back Aquatope and Iroha for me was another element they shared, the nightmarish workplace. Iroduku doesn't have that, so I guess it makes sense why it appealed to me so much. It was the perfect combination of the things I love from a PA Works original without any of the things I hated.

It's set in a world nearly identical to reality, only some people have magic powers. Witches can imbue sand with properties that create pretty images or help calm people down, for example, but there are flashier spells too. In the year 2078, Hitomi is a teenager descended from a long line of witches. She hates magic, however, because her mother was born without any powers and it eventually drove her away. Hitomi is deeply depressed and withdrawn, a state of mind thematically shown by how she sees the world in monochrome. On the night of a big festival, Hitomi's grandmother sends her back in time to 2018. Her only explanation is that Hitomi will figure out what to do once she gets there.

She meets lots of people in 2018, including Kohaku, her grandmother's younger self. Hitomi joins a joint art/photography club while attending the local high school, and there she grows closer with aspiring artist Yuito. He's another lost soul trying to find his place in the world. For some reason, his drawings are the only thing Hitomi can see in color, and sometimes they even come alive in stunning visual sequences. Iroduku is about all these people interacting and learning things about the world and about themselves. I thought it was a beautiful story.

The Bad: I can't think of any problems with Iroduku. It would've been nice if it were even longer so I could've spent more time with the characters, I suppose.

Overall: Iroduku isn't action-packed or full of twists and turns. It's a slow-paced heartwarming story about various teenagers getting to know each other and growing as a result. I loved pretty much everything about Hitomi's journey into the past. She formed some truly special relationships with everyone. I also loved the magical realism, and it led to a lot of moments with beautiful visuals.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/5/2/AAcDcBAAD6YQ.png

CHARACTER: Tsukishiro Hitomi (Iroduku: The World in Colors)
https://myanimelist.net/character/160190/Hitomi_Tsukishiro
Voiced by: Ishihara Kaori
TOP 100 RANK: 18th

SPOILERS FOR IRODUKU: THE WORLD IN COLORS

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLRZDQNjWtw
(Subtitles arent in English but there isn't much dialogue and it's the least important part of the scene)

I think Hitomi is a wonderful character. She begins the story at such a low point. Her mother always hated being born without any magical powers. Once Hitomi's powers manifested, her mother abandoned her. Ever since, Hitomi has hated magic, and in her depression she can only see the world in black and white. Then her grandmother sends her sixty years into the past, seemingly at random, and Hitomi is thrust into a strange new world. The early parts of the story detail her meeting her family in 2018, including her future grandmother Kohaku. She also starts going to high school and joins the art/photography club. The people she meets there all turn out to be very special.

One thing I loved about Iroduku was how, even though they're all still immature teens, they're also good people who are always trying their best. Hitomi unwittingly becomes part of a love triangle with Shou and Asagi. She's shocked and not sure what to do when Shou asks her out, and Asagi is hurt and begins avoiding her. When Hitomi finally turns him down, though, Shou accepts the rejection with no hard feelings. Her and Asagi also quickly make up because they all recognize that no one did anything wrong. It was all just the sad result of messy emotions colliding, and that's simply part of life. After seeing the wonderful friendships Hitomi found in 2018, it made sense that she matured and began coming out of her shell.

Still, her most important relationship by far is the one with Yuito. I loved how they both supported each others passions and helped each other grow. For Yuito it was drawing and for Hitomi it was magic, but they were both consumed by doubts. Hitomi loved Yuito's art because they let her see colors, and he was inspired by her magic. After her mother ran away, Hitomi thought magic could only make people miserable. Realizing it made Yuito happy was a big turning point for her, and I loved how they even combined their passions by using magic to enter his drawings. They really were great for each other, which is what makes the ending so bittersweet.

Hitomi is from sixty years in the future, after all, and pretty soon she'll need to return there. Despite their attraction, both her and Yuito are afraid to start anything. The video I linked is one of the most amazing sequences I've ever seen in an anime. Without any dialogue until the very end, her and Yuito finally reached out to each other and embraced. Even though Hitomi went back to the future soon after, the influence they had on each other remained. Hitomi accepted magic and she could see colors again. Even if it didn't last very long, I thought their relationship was meaningful and sweet. People don't need to be together for very long to change each other forever.