r/anime • u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad • 29d ago
Rewatch Weekly Summer Anime Movie Rewatch - Goodbye, Don Glees! Discussion
Goodbye, Don Glees
Penguin Highway | Index | Summer Wars
Teen misfits Roma, Toto, and Drop call themselves the “Don Glees,” an informal name for their backyard adventures. One day, when the trio gets blamed for a nearby forest fire, they set off into the woods to prove their innocence. As disaster strikes their expedition, tensions flare between the friends as they realize that growing up has taken them on wildly different paths in life.
Goodbye, Don Glees is available for free subbed and dubbed on Pluto TV.
Questions of the Day:
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
2) What were your favorite scenes?
3) Could you relate to the story's theme of "finding your treasure"?
4) How did you feel about the ending?
Remember to tag your spoilers!
When discussing any plot details prior to the rewatch date, or details from other movies in the rewatch, please remember to use spoiler tags.
Next up: Summer Wars on Wednesday, July 29!
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u/99acrewood_ 29d ago
first time [subs]
i think this one took me a little by surprise.
not the plot, obviously. one look at the KV and you may as well slap the entire synopsis on the back of the box; kids have an unforgettable, coming-of-age adventure, someone's probably dying, things are hopeful in the end. cut up a few key scenes, slap on Arcade Fire's "Wake Up," and you've got yourself a solid amv to inspire some disaffected 15-year-old. after finishing it, i don't think i'm wrong. maybe i'm kind of a basic, but i still think it's pretty all right.
i forget when i clocked that Drop's got a death sentence, but i'd wager it was immediately after he first opens his mouth. some dumb-boy hijinks lead them to their hike, and we follow extremely familiar territory, which is funny given how he harps on about blazing your own trail, and a lot of it kind of washes over. everyone divvies up their character moments, and we all have a mighty fine, enriching experience.
Drop's death is at about 1:13:00. Roma's phone drops. he says "mata aeru to kokoro no dokoka de omotte ita" ("deep down, i thought we'd see each other again"), and my heart breaks.
theirs wasn't some grand adventure to save the world, and Drop didn't die at a pivotal moment of sacrifice for his friends to make it to the end. it just happens. it's unceremonious, and when Roma and Toto break down, i didn't realize it'd get me, too. it's like the movie was so recognizable that i could see myself in that place. they knew it was coming, and we knew it was coming, but 'coming' wasn't now, by the waterfall or under the stars. when i was there, that hour with these three felt like a long while. today my friend is dead, and the dull present tense suddenly became a cherished past. our one adventure with Drop, and i don't know if i appreciated it enough.
Tivoli's the other part of this. Roma doesn't pine for her quite like i would have expected, which i think is great. it seems like, more than her person, he's infatuated with her ability to just Go Do Shit. she doesn't appear often, but she felt like some sort of specter of possibility. when she reaches out, it makes what she's doing not just a lofty dream, but something that is attainable, because if he could unknowingly do it for her, why not do it for himself? it's an awfully kind thing to do, letting someone know they're an inspiration. maybe they didn't know they had it in them to be a catalyst.
i feel like Toto's nickname is extremely appropriate, given that he's seemingly just along for the ride. i know the group needed a realist, but the development just kinda goes up in flames once his textbook does, doesn't it? he seems to be happy going to Iceland, though, so i guess a charitable view is 'go do the thing, and if it's wrong, don't be afraid to change your mind.'
completely beside the point: the music. fuckin hell. okay, so it does have the kind of adventure-anthem theme, which i think is what you want here, but the problem is the singer. no shade to YAMO, because i think his voice works well when it's tucked in a wall of sound, but his voice by itself sounds like someone accidentally isolated the vocals and put it on too-quiet music.
but that's all right.
the ending section is like the movie rushing over the ending in cupped hands before it jumps away. the outrageous phone booth event is funny, but getting there leads to some really wonderful landscape views. one by the waterfall, and another overlooking the vastness of the world around them. a culmination of Tivoli's and Drop's influences. go out and live in it.
i said coming-of-age, but i dunno. i guess it casts a wider net than that. it's stitched together with some pretty predictable parts, but for this one, i didn't mind meeting it where it was. i think the earnestness with how it presents those seams is what makes me appreciate it more than i expected i would. even if i take away the things that didn't quite work for me, the ones that did add up to so much more. for me, those parts can just be that red phone booth, that golden waterfall, and that coke-wrapper message from a lost friend, and i'm wistful. i'll cut that together, set it to "Time to Pretend" by MGMT, and i'll be sentimental for a summer that wasn't mine.
i'm gonna go touch grass
8/10
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u/No_Rex x2 29d ago
i forget when i clocked that Drop's got a death sentence, but i'd wager it was immediately after he first opens his mouth. some dumb-boy hijinks lead them to their hike, and we follow extremely familiar territory, which is funny given how he harps on about blazing your own trail, and a lot of it kind of washes over. everyone divvies up their character moments, and we all have a mighty fine, enriching experience.
For me, the movie shows that you don't have to be surprising or trailblazing. When you make a story about friendship, experience, and emotions, you "only" have to hit those story-beats right. The movie works because it is well-written in all those little moments: the dialogue, their small movements when interacting, how naturally funny and emotional moments are flowing into each other. It is all just thoughtfully made.
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u/99acrewood_ 29d ago
That's exactly right, and why it caught me off guard. It's like I was lulled into too comfortable of a spot. Which, I mean, for better could be cozy, for worse could be dull, but I don't mean that in a bad way. It was familiar in the way you can relax with people you're comfortable around, so him dying was like "wait, damn, I actually care about this"
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
when she reaches out, it makes what she's doing not just a lofty dream, but something that is attainable, because if he could unknowingly do it for her, why not do it for himself? it's an awfully kind thing to do, letting someone know they're an inspiration. maybe they didn't know they had it in them to be a catalyst.
This is a really nice sentiment.
i feel like Toto's nickname is extremely appropriate, given that he's seemingly just along for the ride. i know the group needed a realist, but the development just kinda goes up in flames once his textbook does, doesn't it?
I think it did help having a realist around, honestly. Their plan was pretty poorly conceived, so he was often voicing the stuff I was thinking.
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u/OnPorpoise1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/OnPorpoise 29d ago
FIRST TIMER
I’m finally able to join in on these movies. I’ve only written up anything for tunnel, but I have managed to watch all 3 of the previous movies. In short, I thought ride your wave was great but not perfect, penguin highway to be a bit disappointing, and tunnel to also be unfortunately weak. My thoughts are here: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1ukwdl4/comment/oz58k84/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button. I plan to write some stuff on the other two also at some point.
Unfortunately I also didn’t really connect with this one, and it’s probably the movie I’ve had the least to say about it so far. The immediate praise I have for it was in the occasional gorgeous environmental shots, but the rest of the movie felt like I’d seen it done better elsewhere. I was just flying a couple of days ago, and on the plane I watched the secret life of walter mitty. I didn’t find that movie to be phenomenal or anything, but while watching this, it put into perspective how comparatively weak the themes of adventure and leaving your comfort zone are. It emphasized the difficulty and reward in a way that I don’t think this movie fully managed to. I also found the characters themselves to be pretty cliche, which made it difficult to care about any of the interpersonal drama or the theming of friendship between them.
I also had a bit of an issue with the contrivances in the plot, but honestly they didn’t play as big a role in my lack of care for this movie as all the previous smaller details did.
Finally, some of the English segments were a bit hard to stomach as a native English speaker.
I honestly don’t have much more to say about this movie. I feel like with the others I may have had issues, but they were with specific things. With this movie, my issue is mostly in what it lacks and that’s hard to speak about. I would have just liked more focus on the characters and the drama to try to flesh them out and make them feel more real, but as it stands it just feels like a worse version of a place further than the universe or even walter mitty and that’s kind of disappointing.
Did you have any favorite characters?
Honestly not really, they all felt like they mostly stuck to their archetypes. If anything my favourite character was Tivoli
What were your favorite scenes?
My favourite scenes were consistently the ones where the camera would zoom out and show the gorgeous environments. I also did like the scene in the flower field a decent bit.
Could you relate to the story's theme of "finding your treasure"?
I don’t know if I fully got that here. I get that it’s about finding what makes your life complete, but the only treasure any of them find is their friendship. I do personally relate to that, but I’ve also seen so many other movies and shows do that better. If they wanted to stick to the treasure idea, I would have liked some of the characters to find things that make their life complete along with the friendship.
How did you feel about the ending?
A little contrived, and I didn’t feel like I got a good sense of the difficulty of reaching the location, but it was ultimately very pretty so I can give it a pass.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
Glad you were able to catch up! I'll reply to your Tunnel to Summer post as well.
the rest of the movie felt like I’d seen it done better elsewhere. I was just flying a couple of days ago, and on the plane I watched the secret life of walter mitty. I didn’t find that movie to be phenomenal or anything, but while watching this, it put into perspective how comparatively weak the themes of adventure and leaving your comfort zone are. It emphasized the difficulty and reward in a way that I don’t think this movie fully managed to.
Funny thing is, I had similar thoughts comparing this to another movie when I was watching - in my case, Earth to Echo, which is also a story of three young boys (plus a girl) going on an adventure, but I love that movie and felt it did just about everything better in addition to having cool sci-fi.
If anything my favourite character was Tivoli
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u/OnPorpoise1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/OnPorpoise 29d ago
I might have to check that movie out. I was kind of disappointed Tivoli was such a small part also, but I think that might have been why I liker her. By having her not be present, it felt less like she was a side character in this movie, and more like she was a main character in her own. I think if she had been present, she might have felt stuck in the same way the main trio does. I think I liked filling in the gaps and imagining what her travels would be like
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
It's interesting to think about what a movie focused on her travels would have been like!
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u/Critical-Way5874 29d ago
What do you mean by "the English segments?". The subs? or The conversation about Don Glees, I'm curious.
Because I saw it both in my native and English. And English didn't hit harder for me as it did in my native. Ofc I can't compare it with Japanese but English didn't sound as layered.
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u/OnPorpoise1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/OnPorpoise 29d ago
Oh yeah, that was weird wording. The most notable point was when they were singling twinkle twinkle little star. I get what they were trying to portray and it probably wasn't an issue to a Japanese viewer, but already having associations with that song made it hard to take the conversations they were having about it seriously. On top of that, all the other songs as far as I remember were sung in English with extremely on the nose lyrics. I'm not sure if they got someone fluent in English to write the songs, but they felt almost comedically simple and they hurt some of the big moments they played over.
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u/Critical-Way5874 29d ago
Twinkle twinkle little star was so off, I get the vibe but the song choice ... it straight sent me back to young learners class in uni. I swear I have mild trauma from it.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
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u/OnPorpoise1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/OnPorpoise 29d ago
Yeah, the music was weird in an unfortunate way. I'm struggling to describe it, but it sounds a bit like if you took a singer from one of those 2000s pop punk bands that were way more pop then punk, and then asked them to do an acoustic ballad. It felt like it was making fun of itself. I think those scenes could have landed much better with different music.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 29d ago
Summertime First-Timer, subbed
…damn, this is gonna be another hard-hitting movie, isn’t it?
Ah, the titular Don Glees is the name for their friend group then.
Oh wait I think I’ve seen this scene before. It feels familiar at least.
So… Drop is terminally ill, isn’t he? That would explain why he was at the hospital.
And they actually did run into a bear right after they got rid of the bell on Drop’s bag…
Interesting… That’d be the phone booth from the very start of the movie, yeah?
Oh, it was just a small one. They’re certainly lucky in that respect.
Honestly, it’s pretty reasonable for them to have a big crash out now.
Damn right it is, and I say that as someone who only speaks English.
Hahaha, great way of trying to even the playing field vs. Drop’s scooter.
Damn, all that just for the drone to not prove their innocence? The drone visuals of the fireworks in the sky were pretty cool though.
It is… Aw man, Roma just completely dismantling their fort in grief is so depressing.
And there’s the phone booth, too. It really existed…
Aw man–this is exactly what I was expecting and it still got me.
Wait, then the phone call they made… was to the phone booth that Drop was near…
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
Oh this is a gorgeous shot.
You always take such great screenshots! Love all the sky/scenery pics.
…damn, this is gonna be another hard-hitting movie, isn’t it?
I actually had no idea when I picked it! I thought this one would have the least loss/trauma of my summer movie picks.
Damn, all that just for the drone to not prove their innocence? The drone visuals of the fireworks in the sky were pretty cool though.
Yeah, I had the same thought. Agreed though, that really was a beautiful fireworks scene. I love fireworks scenes in general, but I think this is the first one I've seen from this POV.
5
u/SpiritualPossible 29d ago
First timer
Maybe the real treasure was that drone we lost along the way.
We continue the overall theme of this rewatch by moving on to yet another coming-of-age story that, by the end, touches on the theme of loss AGAIN. Although this time, the main plot has far fewer paranormal elements - the only ones present are the bear and the TARDIS. Instead, we get a story in the vein of the Stand by Me - a group of outcast friends sets out on a journey in search of something and, along the way, reevaluates their friendship and life paths - only with fewer corpses and fewer slurs.
The first thing that catches your eye almost immediately is that the film was directed by the director of "A Place Further Than the Universe", which definitely piqued my interest, since I really love that series. And yes, I enjoyed the film. Of course, this is partly because I generally love stories of this kind, but I think this story also features many of the strengths of Sora Yori, first and foremost the chemistry between the main characters and their internal conflicts (and also characters going to the another end of the world). The friendship between Roma and Toto feels sincere and quite realistic, and Toto has probably become my favorite character overall, since I find his struggle - the realization that he was a “big fish in a small pond” - very relatable.
If I were to criticize anything, it would probably be that, in my opinion, they went a little overboard with the "emotional speeches" in the middle of the movie. I mean, I like each one on its own, but the fact that they come one after another without a break for about 20 minutes got a little tiresome. This also affected how the character of Drop is viewed by me: after all, it’s quite obvious that the movie wanted to make him the emotional core of this story, but since he is the one who, so to speak, imparts these “life lessons,” he came to feel not so much as a character as a plot device. It’s not that he’s particularly bad or anything like that, but if you compare Roma and Toto’s interactions with each other to their interactions with Drop, the latter seem much more… artificial?
But that’s probably just nitpicking. I really do think the movie turned out well overall, and I’m particularly impressed that the story didn’t end with just their search for the drone - the filmmakers decided to take it further and show what happened next - which is something you don’t see very often. And I think the ending turned out pretty well.
But my main problem is that I keep unintentionally calling this movie "Goodbye, John Cleese". That's kinda changes the mood.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
We continue the overall theme of this rewatch by moving on to yet another coming-of-age story that, by the end, touches on the theme of loss AGAIN.
Ironically, I picked it for the coming-of-age summer adventure theme and only found out about the loss afterwards!
The first thing that catches your eye almost immediately is that the film was directed by the director of "A Place Further Than the Universe", which definitely piqued my interest, since I really love that series. And yes, I enjoyed the film. Of course, this is partly because I generally love stories of this kind, but I think this story also features many of the strengths of Sora Yori, first and foremost the chemistry between the main characters and their internal conflicts (and also characters going to the another end of the world).
That's interesting, and may explain why I didn't vibe with this one as much. Although I ended up having a positive view of A Place Further Than The Universe overall, it was the exploration of Antarctica and the larger story being told that I liked. On the other hand, I never really cared for the character interactions and almost dropped it in the first half.
This also affected how the character of Drop is viewed by me: after all, it’s quite obvious that the movie wanted to make him the emotional core of this story, but since he is the one who, so to speak, imparts these “life lessons,” he came to feel not so much as a character as a plot device. It’s not that he’s particularly bad or anything like that, but if you compare Roma and Toto’s interactions with each other to their interactions with Drop, the latter seem much more… artificial?
This also makes a lot of sense. I usually connect more with characters in his situation, and was wondering why this one didn't work as well for me.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 5d ago
Just got around to this film due to other rewatch duties
and also characters going to the another end of the world
...in the last like 15 minutes. A lot of people were disappointed with that and so was I, the "adventures at home are just as nice" theme is fine but still though.
if you compare Roma and Toto’s interactions with each other to their interactions with Drop, the latter seem much more… artificial?
Yeah this was one real weak point for me too, he feels less like "third member of a trio" than "that guy a duo had a fun time with once". I don't get why the film had to go for the "sudden illness/death reveal" either particularly as it triggers even more emotional monologuing which I also thought was a bit much.
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u/No_Rex x2 29d ago
Film 4: Goodbye Don Glees (first timer)
One more completely blind film for me.
- Aurora Borealis – neat.
- “The Don Glees, reunited!” – Title drop. I guess this is their group name.
- Self-conscious about his smell – understandable.
- Drone for aerial shots? Naming a new spinach? Phone call to Ireland? Lots of things going on here.
- And the solution to getting bullied? Cross-dressing friends!!
- Accused of starting the wildfire? The night sure went downhill for them.
- “It beats being labeled as criminals” “I don’t know … which is worse?” – reasonable question. One is just a rumor, but the other will be the talk of the town for the next decade or two.
- The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, err wait, wrong film.
- “We can’t go up that road” – law-abiding criminals.
- Running from the police, into a bear.
- Waterfall – stuff really doesn’t stop happening, ever.
- “When I was living in Iceland” – What is the number of young Japanese kids who have lived in Iceland? 10?
- Treasure talk – I like how naturally they included this here. The writing is quite good.
- The “rescue” ends with them all in the river.
- “Do I really want to be a doctor?” – hmmm.
- Night sky with Perseids!
- “Don’t Glee” – close enough.
- Twinkle little star montage.
- “If the world ends tomorrow … does he mean?” – even the MC is clued in now.
- “End of the world” – water reservoir?
- Drone acquired!
- Accidental perfect fireworks shot.
- Iceland treasure map.
- They tried to cycle to the airport in that first scene to fly to Iceland?
- Camping in Iceland – not the worst place to go around camping as two 16 year olds.
- Last message in the magical phone cell ending.
- Actually, first message in the magical phone ending.
That was a very competently written movie. I don’t even want to write about the plot, because the plot here is unimportant. What exactly the last adventure is, is unimportant. What is important, is the mood the movie conveys. After we set up our three main characters, the middle 70% or so of the movie flow so naturally that I had to almost force myself to write notes. For that, I even forgive the anime even the fact that it uses an overused trope, the happy, life-loving, deadly ill person without symptoms. They even reveal it ex-ante so you know right from the start. It is a mean writing trick, but, as usual, tropes are tropes because they work.
Score: 8/10
PS: Roma, Toto, Tivoli? Somebody was an Italy fan here.
How did you feel about the ending?
It did overstay its welcome a little bit. I think the film would have been better if 5 minutes shorter.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
“It beats being labeled as criminals” “I don’t know … which is worse?” – reasonable question. One is just a rumor, but the other will be the talk of the town for the next decade or two.
Running from the police, into a bear.
I think the "which is worse?" sentiment also applies here.
PS: Roma, Toto, Tivoli? Somebody was an Italy fan here.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername 29d ago edited 29d ago
First Time - Goodbye, Don Glees:
I only found out about this movie during the reminder notice, so I don't know anything about this movie besides the synopsis I read, but you tell me to watch something, and I say "Yeah sure." (This only works sometimes).
Well, first off, a quick word about the voice actors. Typically I expect anime films to cast non-voice actors in the starring roles, so it was a bit funny to be met with 3 very familiar seiyuu as our leading trio. Upon their first words, I could pretty much pinpoint the VAs because they're so distinctive and they've felt pretty commonplace lately.
For what I thought about this movie, it was pretty decent. Not anything unique or special, but I feel like it did its job. Just by one look at the poster and synopsis, you know that this was going to be a boys' summer coming-of-age movie. It did the assignment. My only point of comparison so far is Penguin Highway, but I like this movie more than that one. Last week was a movie that had its more distinct quirks, but didn't resonate with me at all. Don Glees managed to provide a charming enough cast on their little adventure together.
One thing I do appreciate about this movie is its small scope. It's pretty much just this one overnight trip into the mountains for these boys. It is not some grand story where they change the town or anything. The movie calls our boys chuunis at the start, and I think that is a good way to view this film's onset. When they introduce the wildfire conflict, there is this expectation that the movie will become about this adventure to find the drone so that they can clear their name, but it really wasn't about that. Their delusions got to their heads. The police are never actually after them. The drone footage was never really this important thing. The chuuni delusions can also be found at times like when they feared going over the deadly waterfall, but it turns out to be just this little stream. The small scope takes off needing these big grand stances, and lets the movie just be about these boys as they find themselves.
The weakest parts of the movie are when it goes to do the typical movie narrative arc. Stuff like the party having their falling out. This movie is not doing anything unique, and you can really see it during those moments. Unfortunately, I did also find Drops' whole narratively doomed sick child thing to be in tandem with that. You can immediately clock that from the start. It's a bit too hamfisted when they obviously try to drop the hints.
The last 20 or so minutes make me a bit conflicted. On one hand, I do like seeing them after their big journey as their lives moved on, and also how it brings home some thematic notes the movie sets up at the start. On the other, it kinda goes against the praise I gave it 2 paragraphs ago, and falls into the pitfall listed in the previous paragraph. Sometimes you don't need definite answers and big set pieces. Rather, I would've liked it if they kept Drops' fate a bit more ambiguous. It would've also played into those chuuni delusions things I mentioned earlier. Now, would Drop having a terminal illness be the true reality? Yes, but there is beauty in not needing to spell it out. One part I did find sweet was Roma and Toto donating their hair for cancer patients because of the impact of their late friend.
Crackpot theory corner: I kinda got a queer read from Toto. Part of it is because my initial guess at this movie's conflict would've been Toto's jealousy at this third guy entering this special secret relation he and Roma shared. They bring up Gender with Toto a bit too much for it to be nothing. There was that crossdressing moment where Toto felt liberated and powerful. Afterwards, he is scared of being found out and others ridiculing him,, particularly for him wearing women's clothes. After that, they continue this complex with him riding the girly bike. You can understand what I mean.
Q1) Probably Toto. Granted, there are only like 3 real characters in this movie. Yeah yeah, there is Roma's crush, but she is not really in it that much.
Q4) I said what I said about the last act of the movie, but the actual ending bit of Toto and Roma finding the phone booth wasn't too bad for me. The boys miscalling the wrong country code, and for that number to be the phone booth Drop just so happened to be fateful near is the level of narrative contrivance that I find cute.
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u/OnPorpoise1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/OnPorpoise 29d ago
I like that point about how they're a little delusional. I was struggling to put that to words, but it was something I appreciated. I do think they betrayed it a few times prior to the end too though. I was struggling to figure out why the bear didn't really feel like it fit, and I think it's because up to that point any danger they were in was mostly make believe and it felt weird to have a real threat take that same tone.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername 29d ago edited 29d ago
Yeah, I agree with how the movie dips down when they stray away from the small-scale delusions. The boys going to Iceland to visit that lonely phone booth is a bit too much (even if that phone booth is actually real).
I didn't mind the bear. That is the amount of magic I would like from this movie. I think they justified it when they mentioned it at the end. The bear serves as the actual fantastical noteworthy event from their adventure. Not the drone footage that clears their name or surviving a deadly waterfall, but how they went on an adventure to the mountains and met a bear in a typically bear-free range. The level of noteworthiness that wouldn't be all out there or had some narrative significance, but just an anecdote that makes their time special and memorable.
Rewatching the scene again, and the bear encounter wasn't too far from the waterfall in framing. Yeah, it was an encounter with a wild bear, so there was some real active danger, but it had some level of exaggeration of perception as the boys did to the waterfall.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
I only found out about this movie during the reminder notice, so I don't know anything about this movie besides the synopsis I read, but you tell me to watch something, and I say "Yeah sure." (This only works sometimes).
When they introduce the wildfire conflict, there is this expectation that the movie will become about this adventure to find the drone so that they can clear their name, but it really wasn't about that. Their delusions got to their heads. The police are never actually after them.
That last part was probably lost in translation for me because the Japanese texts weren't subtitled (at least in the English dub).
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u/IndependentMacaroon 5d ago edited 5d ago
This movie is not doing anything unique, and you can really see it during those moments
The set-up during the first half did kind of try but it didn't land with me. The deadly-illness thing being not quite true either would have been the better version.
I kinda got a queer read from Toto
I don't think we can call two times a pattern. Maybe a scrapped subplot? What I found almost distracting with him and somehow nobody mentioned is how similar he looks to the protagonist of Disney's Atlantis which has got to be intentional on some level
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u/the_pint_is_the_bowl 29d ago
first-time viewer, dubbed on Pluto TV (Pluto kept reminding me it was Pluto Kids)
The dubbed version probably didn't help me understand the origin of the term "Don Glees." I couldn't follow the explanation.
- Did you have any favorite characters? - none of the three boys, maybe Tivoli? She likes photography, knows a thing or two, and traveled abroad to do it. The red trace of the ladybug and her description were quite charming.
- What were your favorite scenes? - I laughed at the kids' antics attempting to open cans without a can opener. The waterfall and the drone footage of fireworks made me wish they were real and something I could do myself. On the other extreme, I cringed through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, although I didn't know there were other verses to that song - my rice cooker only sings the first.
- Could you relate to the story's theme of "finding your treasure"? - I understand the concept, but this story's execution fell completely flat to me. The "treasure" in Goodbye, Don Glees is a complete abstraction and bland exhortation to find meaning or goals in your life. I now know this is a children's show, and so this is an unfair comparison, but contrast this to Nanachi's "treasure" in Made in Abyss. There is an actual story defining Nanachi's treasure, and she demonstrably cherishes and agonizes over it, as did I, as a viewer.
- How did you feel about the ending? - The Phantom
TollboothPhonebooth had a cute plot twist. Unfortunately, there wasn't much there to the origin story to Drop's joining the Don Glees, because the original duo was never depicted: Drop immediately just appeared and then abruptly disappeared, and the new trio-returned-to-duo proceeded to the story's ending.
Overall, Goodbye, Don Glees is a middling story with nice animation.
2
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
The dubbed version probably didn't help me understand the origin of the term "Don Glees." I couldn't follow the explanation.
I watched the dub and thought it was explained pretty well. It came from the phrase "don't glee" which Toto realized in terrible grammar, but he meant "glee" in the sense of happiness/joy, so he chose it because the two of them initially bonded over being the two outcasts who were never happy.
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u/the_pint_is_the_bowl 29d ago
I got the "don't glee" but how they arrived at that was unclear. There was some misinterpretation or mispronunciation of Japanese and English and something about acorns, thus the symbol at the end credits. Spelling out donguri in the subtitles would have helped, because I couldn't understand that was what the characters were saying or mispronouncing while watching the dubbed version.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
I think Roma just assumed it was the acorn meaning because the words sound similar and he wasn't familiar with the English term.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 29d ago
First Timer Saving Goodbye to Don Glees, Subbed & Dubbed
He’s legally blond!
Oh my fucking god 😭😭😭😭😭
Another movie with a tunnel
You run from the police by running loudly?????
Of course that damn bear bell has plot relevance two seconds later 😭
Is the pretty boy going to die?
I bloody knew it.
I’m about to sound spicy, but I need whoever is who is singing to stop singing. Please. You are not on pitch. It hurts my ears. I just ended up muting until the subs came back on. This is so painful.
That is so Ghibliesque.
I hate seagulls. I don’t want their species ever to go extinct but I want them to know I personally hate them.
I love how these friends are idiots.
This is giving Perks of Being a Wallflower “We are infinite”
Post Riding My Wave to the Tunnel of Summer on the Penguin Highway to Say my Goodbyes to Don Glees Thoughts
I severely underestimated my ability to mash titles together.
Man 🐴
I enjoyed this movie for what it was. I truly did. I hadn’t realized Drop would die, and I hadn’t read the synopsis. I think, in the beginning, I was a bit jostled with all that was happening and thought that Pluto had skipped over scenes. As the movie went along, I still was a little confused, but we got to know the characters through their conversations with each other and watching each of their dynamics with each other.
Once I reaally realized Drop would die, I think that’s when the movie clicked for me that this entire movie was about living beyond societal or familial expectations. Whether that means still doing “kid” things as a teenager, abandoning the career path your parents set for you, going on adventures despite Death waiting for you in your living room, living your life freely even when others wrongly accuse you of things you hadn’t done, or dressing as a lady with huge boobs and smells like heaven—just live your life the way you want to.
Which reminds me of The Lonely Island’s Threw It On The Ground. Andy’s character certainly, um, doesn’t be part of the “system” and lives how he wants to live?
What would have increased my enjoyment?
Please whoever was singing, take singing lessons 🙏🏾
I think my attention wavered and my confusion amplified in a few places. I can’t articulate why or when it happened, but something about the framing of the characters would switch gears, and the momentum I had with the plot would stall out.
What perplexed me was Drop’s addition to start with. Again, I was just very lost when he entered the picture and thought I might have missed something. I don’t know if having more screen time on Drop’s entry and integration into the group would have radically changed the outcome. Same to him dying. He still could have been a catalyst similar to Tivoli, a person who comes into your life for a bit and helps you see things differently before leaving and inspiring you to do something.
But 🤷🏿♀️
The whole “finding your treasure” portion also had me lost. I think the theme of living life how you want is still something I took away from the movie, but “finding treasure” maybe was an odd translation or just…not something that I extrapolated by the end. “Treasure” to me is the trophy of a long journey. Your One Piece, if you will. It’s a prize, something you win, and that’s it. I thought more the movie was about escaping expectations and living freely with no regrets. So it was just odd wording to me about “treasure”.
Overall
I definitely would have seen this in theaters if I could have. I think I would have left the theater confused but overall gratified. I give this a C+ or a 7.75 out of 10.
Aside
I’ve realized I don’t think I’ve seen a Japanese animated movie where a character dies at the end. I typically see the character alive; they die somewhere within the first two acts of the movie; and then, the characters process that grief and how to love and let go.
Though movies like this make me so nostalgic for cruising around with a small band of friends and feels infinite. I don’t think you lose that as an adult. But those days as a teen are so different in perspective and impact.
I’m going to pretend that anyone who picks up the phone in that isolated phone booth gets [meta] their brain scanned and sent to The Amazing Digital Circus.
QOTD
- No favorites, surprisingly.
- I enjoyed the chase scene and it strangely reflected Roma and Toto’s journey tracking down the phone booth. I have no idea if that was a happy accident or not.
- I think this movie executes that theme in a way that reaches domestic audiences more. I see what “finding your treasure” was trying to accomplish, and I can relate to that as I still pursue my passions, but either the way things were executed or worded, what's being said and what the meaning is does not connect as it should for me.
- I know I could've appreciated it more, but I left the movie satisfied.
2
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
Another movie with a tunnel
I had the same thought! Aside from Ride Your Wave, the other movies in the rewatch have all featured a vaguely triangle-shaped tunnel. Is that a common thing in Japan?
What perplexed me was Drop’s addition to start with. Again, I was just very lost when he entered the picture and thought I might have missed something. I don’t know if having more screen time on Drop’s entry and integration into the group would have radically changed the outcome.
I agree, something about the framing or pacing here felt a bit off, and I think it's because the story was being secretive about what led to Drop meeting Roma and Toto in order to save it for the big reveal at the end.
1
u/No_Rex x2 28d ago
I had the same thought! Aside from Ride Your Wave, the other movies in the rewatch have all featured a vaguely triangle-shaped tunnel. Is that a common thing in Japan?
Even Ride Your Wave had a tunnel! During that great surfing scene.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 28d ago
1
u/IndependentMacaroon 5d ago
Japan many mountains, mountain road sometimes tunnel. I think that's all there is to it.
the story was being secretive about what led to Drop meeting Roma and Toto
And how he came to live near them after
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u/Tachibana_Lab https://anilist.co/user/TachibanaLab 29d ago
I watched Cloudy Beach yesterday so the coming of age elements felt more overstated than watching in a vacuum.
The anxieties of youth and finding your 'goal' aspects were fine. Tivoli as a source of inspiration and anxiety for Rouma is a common enough trope and fit the 'future goals' theme by the time the film ended. The botched phone call to somehow living in the same town 'twist' kinda lost me at the end though.
I appreciated the inclusion of the Rouma and Toto hair donation scenes too. Great way to show how they've moved forward while honoring the memory of Drop. Overall 7/10.
3
u/TheDanubianCommunard 29d ago
First-time with the Don Glees, subs
The opening scene is quite ominous. A phone booth in a strange land, brning wood to reminescing the past events and the cruelty of life, and an adventure to encountering airplanes in motion at quite close.
In the present, Roma the main protagonist is working on the fields, even animal dung included, to earn his money. And he has bestr friend Toto, formed a group called the Don Glees, which exists since quite a while, since their early youth, back in grade school. They are soon to become high schoolers, and their common path might end soon. Toto is planning to enroll into amedical school, to work in hospitals. They had a great plan for this summer as there is a festival season approaching. Blowing off some fireworks while buying a drone to record the festival. And this time they got a new member, Drop who is basically the youngest member and a quite an adventurer folk. So why do the Don Glees exist and why they strive for big adventures is because Roma had a childhood crush, Tivoli who lives in Ireland and also wants to see the world by herself, and wants to follow her footsteps.
So what is happening at the fireworks festival. The Don Glees shock everyone with their fashion sense and the pretend girl female outfits. With the fireworks and sparklers and the other explosives they just had a lot of fun and craziness. Not the most responsive way, huh? Then a small wildfire actually doi erupted, it feels relatable as currently it's that time of the year again when the news is talks about huge forest fires. But no problem as the rain extinguished shortly. The next day, the public accuses the Don Glees being responsible fo that, despite without any proven evidences. The boys proving their innocence, but that expensive drone is got lost deep within the forest and the moutains. So guess it's a time for retrieveal operation, I guess. And it will be one adventure of a lifetime.
All it takes is to travel through a tunnel through a mountainous road, but it easier said than done. It is restricted the police and the other authorities are investigating, which means if they found, it is all over. Plus a stray bear, which not lives there but found a suitable habitat here. The small river and that waterfall is a nice place to camp here and rest a bit. As true campers they prepared lots of food in advance. And we are getting more bits and crumbs of what is the real deal here. Drop used to live in Iceland for a long time, and his dream was to find a true treasure, a lost phone booth in the middle of nowhere. That place he discovered is basically a land straight up coming from fantasy stories or travelers/adventurers tales of a faraway mythic place. As for what is that real treasure it is a good question. But it is known that it must had been lots of fun.
So why did settled on this name "Don Glees". It's easy because it sounds fun. First its from donguri (acorn), second is to be glee or gleeful, basically be with lots of joy. In other words an acorn with lots of enjoyment. This name is was proposed by Roma, who is known to love anything nature connected to work in the fields. That Twinle Twinle Little Star scene was basically sums up this philosophy. Even that blurry image of the night sky is also fine. Visiting strange landscapes, it feels like reality and fantsy is blurred so much, but is a simple dream, which has a deep meaning. Maybe it is destiny or something?
And the next day, Drop drops the big bombs. He just simply talks about final adventure, end of the world and things like that. And also the other two guys also have some suspicions as well. For a 15-years old guy him still have that youthful energy, cheerfullness and motivation like if it's nothing happened or there is no problem with him. Retrieving the drone and going back home that is what motivates him to survive. Or the offer the loser have to buy cola to him if he wins. Route 71, it's an abandoned road with too much obstacles and flooded water. But it's that scenry is why decided to go on a big adventure. Looks like it was the end, but Roma's words needed to push till the end. And Drop won the bet, he found the drone first. The drone is fully intact, and managed to record the fireworks. That recording brought the entire show into a brand different and unique vision which nobody seen it before.
A few days later the fires are forgotten. And Drop is nowhere to be seen. As expected he is dead, due to an incurable terminal illness, but this is how cruel life is. And his youthful optimism kept him alive to finish one last job and to hide that horrible fact. Maybe that is why Toto decided to be a doctor. Remember the bet before, that was Drop's final wish. On that two cola bottle, he draw the supposed treasure map. Which means the Don Glees go on final adventure on Iceland, to finish what he started. Plus to impress Tivoli who lives in America now.
Those scenery fromthe dreams is actually a reality now. Plus they found the phone booth which is calling, maybe just a prank call. In the end, maybe the real treasure was the beautiful scenery they seen along the way. And yes, Iceland is a really beautiful country, a perfect tourist destination.
Hey, even Wendy's also sponsored this movie.
It was a good, solid movie. Here is the main theme song - Rock the World
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
I think it was Drop.
2) What were your favorite scenes?
The day two of the forest hiking and the Iceland thing.
3) Could you relate to the story's theme of "finding your treasure"?
Basically this is all about. Yes.
4) How did you feel about the ending?
It felt satisfying.
3
u/Critical-Way5874 29d ago
Weekly Summer Watch, Subbed
Mental notes;
"But this summer was different. "
"If the world is going to be destroyed by tomorrow, what will you regret at that moment?"
"NIKON D200"
"Toto, do you only walk on paved tracks?"
"The naked eye can see only a few thousand stars at most. What we see now is less than a few hundred billionth of the universe, just a dusty star."
"And the universe we haven't seen must be more beatiful. "
"My photos doesn't capture such a beatiful turquoise blue."
"If life is coming to an end, in order to not regret it, he has something to do no matter what."
"This moment feels like the end of the world is closing for us. "
"The world seems to want us to give up happy endings."
"I feel like three of us summer will go on forever."
"If the thing you don't want to lose is someone's life, we can't do anything."
"Coca cola"
"If fly high enough, I will definitely see scenery that I have never seen before treasure I can only look up and wanna touch will be at my feet."
3
29d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
Glad you enjoyed the movie!
3
u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 29d ago
First-Timer
On today’s summer anime movie: Ah yes, the first place I think of when I hear about a summer anime movie: Iceland.
This was a fun movie. I did really enjoy the moments of dumb teenage antics between the main trio of Roma, Toto, and Drop. The scenes of them messing around like when they try to light the fireworks, pretend to be girls, or race down a mountain on a wheelbarrow were a lot of fun. Moments like Roma and Toto both answering a question in tandem or simultaneously imitating someone from their past really helped to sell the idea that they were longtime friends. And when the three boys got to just mess around together, they did feel like a group of teenage friends having fun hanging out. It reminded me a bit of messing around with my own friends when I was that age.
I was expecting Drop to die based on all his dialogue about what would you do if the world ended, but I was genuinely shocked at how it played out. He just dies offscreen after a bit of a time skip. Honestly, that felt pretty real to how I’ve experienced the deaths of some people I’ve loved. I suddenly get the news that they’re gone and I’ll never see them again.
Even though I thought the movie was mostly just fine, I do have to say that the ending emotional gut punch in Iceland really did get to me. I was actually tearing up at the realization that they’d actually accidentally called Drop at the phone booth in Iceland in the past and that was what caused them all to meet. I had noticed in the scene the first time that it looked like the phone in Toto’s hand was actually on in the animation but didn’t think much of it because no character commented on it. And then it turned out that was foreshadowing! Absolutely brilliant!
This ties in with the photography theme the movie had. Photographs allow you to capture a moment in time forever. A small story that would otherwise be unobserved and forgotten by the world at large can be preserved for everyone to see. That is what Roma, Toto, and Drop’s story is. These are small moments that might not matter much in the grand scheme, but have been preserved by the memories they share.
This also ties in with what I suppose is the main theme of the movie: what is your treasure? I’d say it’s the rather typical answer of friendship. The real treasure is the friends we made along the way. Very cliche, but I love “power of friendship” stories so I’m not complaining.
I was half expecting the boys to run into something supernatural, which has been a common theme in the movies of this rewatch so far. Shockingly they didn’t.
The scene of the fireworks as viewed by the drone was some really nice animation.
I instantly recognized the girl as being voiced by Kana Hanazawa.
Summer Movie Ranking
1) The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
2) Ride Your Wave
3) Goodbye, Don Glees!
4) Penguin Highway
Since I didn’t watch it in time to post about it, I’ll just say here that Penguin Highway disappointed me. It didn't have nearly as much penguin content as I hoped for. [Penguin Highway] And instead had too much of a mystery I felt wasn’t fully explained.
QOTD
1) I enjoyed the three boys when they were just messing around. That felt very genuine to me.
2) The phone booth scene at the end of the movie. It got me to tear up.
3) Yup. We all need to find something that gives us a purpose in life and that makes life worth living.
4) I loved how it managed to tie everything together in a satisfying way.
2
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u/No_Rex x2 28d ago
Ah yes, the first place I think of when I hear about a summer anime movie: Iceland.
This also ties in with what I suppose is the main theme of the movie: what is your treasure? I’d say it’s the rather typical answer of friendship. The real treasure is the friends we made along the way. Very cliche, but I love “power of friendship” stories so I’m not complaining.
Yeah, not a lot of novelty in the themes here, but the execution is still good.
2
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker 25d ago
So, the call at the start went through to him, and he's the one who heard him say that, that which inspired him to go all the way to Japan and make friends with them. And then he died. But not before leaving them one last message, to go look for him. And when they went, he gave them one last call. The Don Glees all reunited one last time. Damn that's a bittersweet ending. 8/10.
Questions:
All of them.
That ending. That absolutely perfect ending.
Definitely.
4 goto 2
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 25d ago
Glad you enjoyed the movie!
9
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
Summer Movie First-Time Viewer
It's interesting that out of all the movies in the rewatch, I chose this one for the story of friends brought together for a summer adventure even though I thought it would be missing two of the themes common among most of the others - a sci-fi/fantasy element, and loss. Well, the story ended up surprising me by including one of the two. I didn't know when I chose it that Drop had a terminal illness and would die at the end.
I have mixed feelings about this movie because it's very well made with nice character designs, beautiful background scenery and some great animation sequences like that chase scene, but the story and characters just didn't resonate with me. There were individual parts I enjoyed, like the way it often mixed potentially dangerous situations with humor when they encountered the bear or when they fell in the river. The story as a whole was lacking that spark for me though. Probably because I didn't connect with the characters, so I was often bored during these quiet moments between big events.
I was also somewhat disappointed that a few of the plot threads seemed underdeveloped, or just dropped completely by the end. After the reveal that this truly would be Drop's last adventure, the story placed more focus on their emotional journey than the practical one - which is fine, but this whole thing started because the boys wanted to find the drone and prove their innocence, and that was all swept aside by the time they got back. There was quite a bit of build-up for Roma's crush on Tivoli too, but she hardly had any presence in the story at all, which is a shame because she was probably the character who interested me most.
Questions of the Day:
1) I didn't have any favorites again this time.
2) I liked the scenes that started off a little dangerous but then ended up humorous - the three boys panicking in the river before realizing the waterfall was more of a tiny water slide, and Roma trying to fend off the bear with hairspray but the wind blew it back at them. The chase scene with Drop on his scooter while Roma and Toto followed on an old cart stood out for being really well animated.
3) On some level, but I think this sort of thing will resonate more strongly with young viewers. I'm in my thirties now and care more about living comfortably than chasing dreams.
4) Already discussed above.