‘Sing with a spark of harmony’: Music that comes from the heart

If there’s one subgenre of Japanese animation that works really well, it’s Slice of Life. Precisely these naturalist proposals, with a certain touch of costumbrismo and melodrama (mainly adolescent) have led to the production of several recent jewels, such as ‘Goodbye, Don Glees!’, ‘Josée, the tiger and the fish’ or ‘Looking for the magical Do Re Mi’. However, I also like those productions that combine that traditional touch with supernatural elements.which directors like Mamoru Hosoda or Makoto Shinkai are experts of.

Now Yasuhiro Yoshiura comes with “Sing with a spark of harmony”. A production that adds a musical touch, an increasingly present element in Japanese animation. Indeed, the tape was released in 2021 in Japan, the same year as “Belle”, with which it bears several similarities. However, if Hosoda’s film explores one of its usual themes, interaction with the virtual world, Yoshiura chooses to explore the consequences of the irruption of artificial intelligence in society.

So ‘Sing with a Spark of Harmony’ is set in the near future, where artificial intelligence is fully integrated into society, going so far that there are androids that do things like grow rice. The plot will begin with the arrival of a mysterious new student at the institute, named Shion Ashimori, whose greatest wish is to make the withdrawn protagonist Satomi Amano happy. What neither Satomi nor her group of friends expected is this Shion was an artificial intelligence android in testing and whose mission is to make Satomi happy.

A delightful surprise with exquisite animation

Mixing Slice of Life and science fiction is nothing new, the same ‘Belle’ mentioned before, as well as titles like ‘Hello World’ or ‘Your Name’. It is also true that the subgenre goes very well with fantasy, see the case of ‘Her Blue Sky’ or ‘The Haunted House in El Cabo’. But ‘Sing with a spark of harmony’ is surprising, as, initially, it follows what is expected in this type of production, with a shy protagonist, who hides a deep trauma and in which the importance of having a network of friends is remembered in order to get out of this spiral. In this respect, the tape resembles “A Silent Voice” or “I want to eat your pancreas.”

However, what pleasantly surprises is how the screenplay by Yoshiura and Ichiro Okouchi chooses to combine these aspects with a story that follows the structure of the fantastic Hollywood cinema of the 80s or 90s. The android Shion has a charisma worthy of ET or “The Iron Giant”. On the other hand, he points out how the advancement of technology can lead to reaching that blurred line between what is human and what is an artificial intelligence. He recalls what Sarah Smith and Jean-Philippe Vine did with ‘Ron gives an error’, but with a better structured message, which also warns of the dangers of extreme dependence on technology and the importance of friendshipto talk face to face, as the ideal way to communicate.

Added to an exquisite animation, typical of the latest Shochiku productions, ‘Sing with a spark of harmony’ is a touch of fresh air within the Slice of Life, which demonstrates that there are still original ideas that know how to work using elements already seen, but executed in a different way. One of those jewels that once again recall the mesmerizing power of the Japanese animation style, which finds the ideal home on the big screen to delight in every detail.

Note: 8

The best: The charisma that Shion exudes, how well built the group of friends is and the animation that pays attention to detail.

Worse: It’s hard to get started at first.