Upamanyu Biswas
‘Her Blue Sky’ depicts a complicated tale of love, life, self-discovery, and magic realism told through the eyes of a high school teen named Aoi Aioi. The film captures the intricacies of memory and how people are remembered in a specific way, even if it might not reflect the reality of who they are now. For Aoi, this manifests in the shape of her older sister’s ex-boyfriend, Shinnosuke Kanamuro, who reappears in the young girl’s life just as he used to be. Meanwhile, his real 31-year-old version is miles apart from his younger self, causing tensions to bubble between the pair. To make matters complicated, Aoi is conflicted about her feelings of adolescent love.
The movie embraces its confusing elements even further by the end. By blending magic with the underlying emotions festering throughout the narrative, it presents a story where unresolved feelings and ambitions play a critical role in how people perceive things. Aoi’s sister, Akane, has to come to terms with her current life and the choices that shaped her that way, even if it might have been tailored for the greater need and her love for her younger sibling. Meanwhile, a greater conflict arises within Aoi, who has to decide whether her feelings of love are greater for the boy who she remembers in a certain way or the sister who gave her everything when she had no one. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Her Blue Sky Plot Synopsis
The story begins with a three-year-old Aoi playing the third wheel in her sister Akane’s relationship with Shinnosuke. The latter is an aspiring musician and a guitarist who has plans to leave for Tokyo. However, it all falls through when the Aioi sisters lose their parents in a tragic car crash, which leaves Akane with the burden of caring for her sister. She informs Shinnosuke of her decision to stay and raise Aoi, which leaves Shinnosuke deflated.
Years later, Aoi is in high school and an accomplished bassist in her own right, having been taught by Shinnosuke when she was very young. He dubbed her the ‘Eyeball Star’ because of a mole they share in one of their eyes. Akane is 31 and a member of the City Hall, where she helps with community events alongside Masamichi Nakamura, the former drummer of Shinnosuke’s band. He has a crush on her, while his elementary school son Masatsugu harbors feelings for Aoi.
One day, while practicing in the same secluded clubhouse where Shinnosuke used to practice back in the day, Aoi is interrupted by his younger self. Although shocked in the beginning, she and Masatsugu figure out that this version of Shinnosuke, who Aoi refers to as Shinno, is a living ghost from the past, perhaps reincarnated for some form of unresolved feelings. Things get further complicated when the 31-year-old real Shinnosuke comes back to the town but is no longer his old kind and compassionate self.
When a food poisoning incident takes place, Shinnosuke’s music group is forced to recruit Aoi and Masamichi as musicians for the upcoming town festival. The young girl finds Shinnosuke’s attitude to be unkind, angry, and completely opposite to his younger version. She resolves to get the real him and Akane back together, as that might be the only way to resolve the situation with Shinno, who is trapped in the clubhouse and cannot leave. However, it creates inner turmoil within her as she has a hidden crush on Shinno, a feeling she has never spoken about.
Her Blue Sky Ending: Is the Ghost Shinnosuke Real?
One of the most confusing aspects of ‘Her Blue Sky’ also happens to be its most important element: the ghost version of Shinnosuke, or Shino. After meeting with him, Masatsugu surmises that Shinno is a ghost, but not quite the way one might imagine a traditional ghost. He is fully solid and has a physical form, which makes him very much a real person in definite terms. However, the only condition on his existence is his inability to leave the clubhouse and wander around like an ordinary person. According to Shinno, all he remembers is being rejected by Akane after asking her to go to Tokyo with him and then falling asleep in the clubhouse. When he woke up, he was transported thirteen years into the future, where an older Aoi met him.
While the movie operates under a veil of magic realism, which leaves the explanations up to the audience, the most likely reason for his appearance is the deep-seated feelings Shinno had within himself to stay with Akane despite having ambitions to move to Tokyo. Additionally, another contributing factor could be Aoi’s unresolved crush on him. Later, she and Shinno manage to break the barrier, keeping the latter locked in the clubhouse. When they do, the strings on his old guitar break. Therefore, the conditions of his magical appearance from the past could also be anchored to the guitar, which may have been the source of what brought him back. Ultimately, the mechanics of who or what he is are irrelevant, as the primary attention lies on how he impacts the lives of people around him.
Do the Two Shinnosuke’s Meet? How Do Aoi and Shinno Rescue Akane?
With the music festival about to take off, the crew finds that Shinnosuke has not come in yet. The older musician goes to the clubhouse seeking to find his guitar but only discovers his younger self hiding inside the place. It shocks them both momentarily before they start talking about what to do. Meanwhile, an agitated Aoi runs to the clubhouse and tells them both that Akane might have gotten hurt due to a recent mountain earthquake in the vicinity. Shinno berates Shinnosuke to go look for her and strive to be better, which causes the latter to take offense and get physical with him. However, Shinno reprimands him even further by telling him to live up to his younger self’s expectations and realize his love for Akane, which he seems to have buried deep within himself because of his own failures.
Aoi helps Shinno escape the clubhouse, and the pair rush towards the mountain tunnel where Akane is stuck. She is stunned when Shinno begins flying and takes her for a ride through the sky. Although lagging behind, the real Shinnosuke decides to gather himself and pursues the pair to the tunnel. He arrives late and finds Aoi standing outside the collapsed exit. Inside the tunnel, Shinno has a conversation with Akane, both resolving their differences and reconnecting with who they used to be. He professes his love for her once again and carries her out of the tunnel. The older Shinnosuke watches as Akane rushes past him and embraces Aoi. On the way back home, the younger sister decides to go back alone while the other three take a car to town.
Why Does Aoi Cry? What Happens to Shinno?
‘Her Blue Sky’ has a nuanced emotional ending, with Akane and Shinnosuke honestly discussing their feelings for one another for the first time. The latter states that he is no longer going to give up on his life and Akane as he once did. Shinno listens to the pair in the backseat, feigning sleep. Miles away, Aoi runs through the streets, trying to take off into the wind like she did with Shinno a while back. More importantly, she tries to hold back her tears as her feelings for Shinno finally take effect now that she knows he is no longer hers. After hearing Shinnosuke and Akane’s conversation in the car, Shinno disappears for good, signifying that he has merged with his real self and there is no longer a need for him to stay in the world.
In some ways, the finale highlights the tragedy of Aoi’s one-sided love and what she needs to move on from it. The protagonist’s heart may have been broken, but it was not in vain. Actually, the clue is hidden in the movie’s title, ‘Her Blue Sky,’ which is not a reference to Aoi’s blue sky but to Akane’s. It was Akane who wrote that phrase in her yearbook, which was something her younger sister fell in love with later. Everything Akane did was to help Aoi survive without their parents to help them. Therefore, the whole story is geared towards Akane’s needs and her love life, not Aoi’s. While it may not have ended with the happiest of endings for the latter, it showcases how much she loves her sister to compromise her own desires. Still, it is not the end of the world, as Masatsugu is waiting to confess to her once he grows up.
Read More: Best Anime on HBO Max
