An urban myth states that if someone eats the body part that isn’t functioning in their own body, it will heal it. The heartbreaking film, “I Want To Eat Your Pancreas” is a beautiful rendition of this myth. 

It has the classic ‘wallflower boy meets the popular pretty girl and they fall in love’ theme, but it is way more than that. Our main character meets Sakura, a girl who is slowly dying from pancreatic disease. No one knows about it except for her parents. The main character figures it out and now Sakura demands that he finish her bucket list with her. Unwilling but not wanting to say no to a dying girl, he obliges and follows her every step of the way. 

Popular voice actors, Robbie Daymond and Erika Harlacher, take the lead roles in the film. They also take lead roles in many other anime such as Kakegurui, A Silent Voice, and Violet Evergarden. Both actors are  reputable when it comes to the anime world and are well loved. Harlacher does many voices that are hard to pinpoint and executes characters perfectly while Daymond does reputable work outside of anime such as voicing in Ever After High and Avengers Assemble. 

Studio VONL has done a wonderful job executing the original work of Yoru Sumino, the author of the novel. The beautiful animation, the character diversity, and the character development of the main character all come together to make a fascinating story. The detail of not using the main character’s name till the very end really shows his personal growth and makes the character relatable since he isn’t attached to a name. The whole film is also from our main character’s point of view, giving the watcher a personal connection to the boy. 

The film has won the audience award at a festival in Scotland called ‘Scotland Loves Anime’ and has many adaptations. The original novel, a manga, an animated film, and a live action film. The film was announced back in 2017 in Japanese. A couple years later in 2019, English subtitled and English voice acting for the movie was also announced, so all types of people can watch it.

All of the scenes had admirable animation and acting, but the firework scene is what most fans remember when thinking about this film; a girl escaping her hospital bed to see the fireworks on a bridge with the boy that she trusts most. The only scene that crosses the line a little bit is when Sakura leads our main character on. It gets a little too uncomfortable for the viewer but it is over quickly.

This film is a great way to have a relieving cry and get a positive message out of it. Anyone who struggles with themselves as a person or is having a hard time opening up to those around them should give this movie a watch. Everyone could benefit from watching this incredible film by watching it on websites like “thewatchcartoononline”, “animekisa”, or buy the DVD.

L Underw00d