It’s almost impossible to read the title Summer Time Machine Blues and not get mildly interested in seeing it. The title wasn’t the only thing that made me want to watch this movie; I was also attracted by the abundance of praise that this movie had received. The plot of this movie is pretty hilarious too. The members of the Sci-Fi Club accidentally break the remote control for their air conditioner during what seems like the hottest day of the year. Suddenly, a time machine appears in the middle of their room, and instead of doing anything important with it, they decide to go back in time to the day before to prevent the remote from breaking. They eventually realize that altering the past would then erase the timeline that they’re living in and they try to put everything back to normal without running into their past selves.
Summer Time Machine Blues is simply one of the smartest, most mind-blowing movies about time travel that I’ve ever seen. It’s insane how much attention to detail there is. Everything seems to fit into place. There are no loose ends. There aren’t any plot holes (or at least none that I’ve noticed). There are even a few moments in this movie that I’d say are downright ingenious. Not only is the plot so carefully put together, but they are easter eggs everywhere in this movie.
There are a few scenes where you’ll see the characters’ future selves sneaking around in the background. Sometimes there’s a very subtle flash in the background that indicates when the time machine goes through time. When you watch the first third of this movie for the first time, it’s easy to get confused and not know what’s going on, but over the course of the movie, they reveal everything. There are many times where my mouth just dropped because of how amazed I was by the storyline.
There are a few scenes where you’ll see the characters’ future selves sneaking around in the background. Sometimes there’s a very subtle flash in the background that indicates when the time machine goes through time. When you watch the first third of this movie for the first time, it’s easy to get confused and not know what’s going on, but over the course of the movie, they reveal everything. There are many times where my mouth just dropped because of how amazed I was by the storyline.
The characters in this movie are very entertaining too. It’s a lot of fun to watch them interact with each other. The star of the movie played by Eita (who also appeared in Train Man) was easily my favorite character from the film. There’s a romantic subplot that goes on between him and the female lead. Eita’s character is so likable that you really want him to succeed and the ending turns out to be bittersweet. The energy in this movie is also refreshingly unique.
Admittedly, they are a few minor flaws in this movie. It definitely isn’t perfect. When a few of the characters first go back in time, it occasionally cuts back to the characters who stayed behind and some of their scenes aren’t very eventful (well, at first. You later find out that those scenes are kinda important). It's not really as funny as I had hoped either, but then again, my expectations were unreasonably high. It also feels like it takes forever for the movie to end. During the last 20 minutes of the movie, there were many instances where I thought the end credits were about to start, but then the movie would keep on going. The ending that eventually happens though is definitely satisfying.
Admittedly, they are a few minor flaws in this movie. It definitely isn’t perfect. When a few of the characters first go back in time, it occasionally cuts back to the characters who stayed behind and some of their scenes aren’t very eventful (well, at first. You later find out that those scenes are kinda important). It's not really as funny as I had hoped either, but then again, my expectations were unreasonably high. It also feels like it takes forever for the movie to end. During the last 20 minutes of the movie, there were many instances where I thought the end credits were about to start, but then the movie would keep on going. The ending that eventually happens though is definitely satisfying.
Summer Time Machine Blues isn’t a perfect movie, but it’s pretty damn close. It’s funny, romantic, and engrossing from beginning to end. Just thinking about this movie brings me a lot of joy and I’m always reminded by how much fun I have watching it. Overall, Summer Time Machine Blues is easily one of the most cleverly written movies of all time.
Images from Ichicon and AsianWiki
Images from Ichicon and AsianWiki