Sweet Bean (2015): Movie Reaction! PATREON COMMISSION!
Added 2025-05-30 17:00:08 +0000 UTC*SWEET AND SALTY HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
I thought this movie was going to be a simple and sweet story - and it was that - but it packed SO much more of a gut punch of emotion, relatability, and historical surprise than I was ready for going into it!
Please excuse me sobbing for 20 minutes straight in this movie - the ugly crying is JUSTIFIED in this delectable and heart-melting story! Thank you, Sunspots, for "serving up" such a great commission to round out the month!
LINK TO PIP REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/w4PZaVGvsp22VfgESBpBcU
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Thank you for the comment and kind words! This film is soooo good! The impact of this film was really cutting to my core! The idea of finding “meaning” is so well done in this! I agree 100%! Tokue was ADORABLE and I just loved her so much. Her idea of finding joy in the simplest things in life is so beautiful - and makes me misty-eyed! I want to view the world the way Tokue does, but I definitely need to be reminded to! We could all learn something from Tokue! Sentaro is SUCH A CATCH - it’s not fair he’s single. His smile in that last scene was so heartwarming and just melted me! And all the moments with them going to Tokue’s room with her belongings she gave them? *passes tissues to herself* The douchlord nephew is honestly so well-acted - I couldn’t stand him or the landlord’s wife! Kirin Kiki is such a great actress! The connection to nature with Tokue and her past at the sanatorium - the movie does so well with themes like this! There are DEFINITELY themes of resistance all around! I was thinking that as I watched! I can so see the comparison to Natsume as well! This movie had the same “aesthetic” and atmosphere. And MaiMai Miracle connects as well! This film was SO important and I am so glad I was able to see it! Thank you for the kind words and comment - I am EXCITED for June’s commissions to come! Especially The Summer this week!
Romaniablack
2025-06-09 02:42:25 +0000 UTCHahahah, of course! :D She definitely seems like a great singer, but MAN, did she play an effective antagonist! Thanks for the links and the comment! :D
Romaniablack
2025-06-07 03:13:26 +0000 UTCBelieve it or not, the bitch you hated was my favorite idol singer when I was in middle school. '(I admit her singing is terrible.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSbRn5TA5eA In addition, So did the lead actress, Kiki Kirin was also an idol singer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBVddjuUXjM
iHatePiano
2025-05-31 12:42:31 +0000 UTCLoved the reaction and discussion! Fortunately, no need for any regrets when calling others ‘sweet bean’ – I actually think of this film and Tokue whenever I call anyone any kind of ‘bean.’ 🥰 I adore this film! Especially in its pacing and how it presents its narrative. Could absolutely see this being a slice-of-life iyashikei type 12 episode anime. 🥰 I saw this when it came out in the cinema, so was in my later 20s and I think I definitely needed this film at that time – it had a profound impact. It really reinforced the importance of finding ‘meaning’ in my own existence and experience of the world – as opposed to seeking this through some kind of ‘purpose’ externally, through productivity, or work, or other people. “Smile when something is delicious” and the idea of applying this to everything – I think sometimes that does not come naturally to people, and there’s of course something else that could be focused on, responsibilities tugging away at us. Finding joy in ‘presence’ is a skill which needs practice. I did not grow up around people who viewed the world the way Tokue does, so I have had to train myself in this over many years. So after many rewatches, I now mostly focus on what Tokue teaches everyone – to stop and take time to consider things with intent. It’s definitely helped me find more opportunities to find enjoyment in my experience of the world and also in the ways I now consume media. Various things I loved: The presentation of a middle-aged male character as one of the pretty birds in a cage The way the film handles the mystery of who everyone is and the progression of time – no dialogue or text, just hair growing out and the trees changing “Don’t put this evil on me!” as soon as Tokue speaks. You knew where this was going straight away. 😆 “Why is nobody dating this DILF cook?!” 😆 Right?! Sentaro is a catch. The actor who plays the douchelord must be amazing ‘cause he’s on screen for all of 10 seconds and is so effortlessly hateable. “It’s a spoon with her name on it!” Onto the list of things we cry over. 😂 Sentaro’s precious smile in the final scene! 😭 I could go on and on about how masterfully the film is put together, I’ll leave this off. Kirin Kiki is one of my favourite Japanese character actors and is a legend! But also adored everyone’s performance. Kyara Uchida only ever appeared in two films, both along with her grandma, and hasn’t appeared in any since 2015 – so wonderful to know she got to have this experience. 🥰 I never connected Tokue waving at the trees as her waving at actual people in a sense, saw it as just more of her way of anthropomorphising her experience with nature – so this was such a wonderful discovery to make on this rewatch with your analysis! She isn’t just wondering what the trees have seen like she wonders what the beans have seen (and then the tree graveyard exists separately) – she considers each tree as someONE she meets directly. Am especially grateful for this new insight! 🥰 Themes of resistance? … Definitely here! 😂 In Tokue’s quiet defiance and reclaiming of her agency, her absolute determination to enjoy the things around her regardless of all the systemic exclusion she has experienced. In Wakana’s compassion, befriending Sentaro and Tokue regardless of what her peers, her mother, the society around her ‘prefer’ to do. In Sentaro’s redemption. A few other things I want to link this to: Natsume! In the way it similarly teaches that listening to the world around you is an act of meaning and compassion – doesn’t matter whether it is yokai or beans. In how Natsume rejects the idea that emotional detachment from the world around him is the way to progress (especially in contrast with the likes of Natori and Matoba, and all the terrible people he’s had to deal with). Mai Mai Miracle! Love the way this worked out, I think these two films pair so well together! 🥰 In how joy, grief and nostalgia all coexist. In how deliberately and immersively Shinko experiences her world and teaches others to do the same. I really appreciate that you let the film do what it needed to do and was so glad to see you found it moving and tender. It is a very important film in certain ways and teaches us a fair bit of history even if it does not linger on anything. But I’m most appreciative for how purposefully it presents the idea that: to enjoy life we must notice it. And that things don’t have to be monumental or important or profitable or perfect to be worthy of our mindful consideration. Thank you for another wonderful month of commissions! 🥰 Cannot wait for everything coming up in June! 🌸
Sunspots
2025-05-31 09:40:07 +0000 UTC
