The Colors Within: a kaleidoscopic celebration of teenage creativity

Yamada Naoko has always been fascinated by music, and since the K-On! franchise – an anime series (2009-10) and film (2011) following the lives of four members of a high school’s light music club – it has remained central to her storytelling. 

With The Colors Within, a story about three teenagers who form a band, she consolidates her collaboration with the Yuasa Masaaki-founded studio Science SARU, following the acclaimed medieval drama series The Heike Story (2021) and the free-flowing, experimental short film Garden of Remembrance (2022). One of Japan’s most innovative animation studios, Science SARU has given Yamada full creative control over her narratives. Partnering with screenwriter Yoshida Reiko (known for A Silent Voice, 2016, as well as The Heike Story), Yamada delivers another deeply humane exploration of youth, identity and creativity. Together, Yamada and Reiko create an empathetic narrative framework in which young girls and women can grow as characters.

The impressionistic visual storytelling that underpinned Garden of Remembrance is developed here, capturing protagonist Totsuko’s synaesthesia – which enables her to see the colours of people’s souls – through a mesmerising canvas of watercolours layered over hazy childhood memories, and bursts of colour that accentuate emotional connections. The film is enriched by a varied and evocative soundtrack composed by Ushio Kensuke, another of Yamada’s frequent collaborators. This is complemented by the catchiest and geekiest song, and an unexpected needle-drop in the shape of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’. 

The school setting echoes many of Yamada’s previous projects, but here Totsuko and her friend/bandmate Kimi attend a Catholic school – depicted as surprisingly warm despite a rigid set of rules and punishment system. While all-girl Catholic boarding schools are not uncommon in manga – and consequently in anime – they often serve as an ideal backdrop for yuri stories (also known as ‘girls’ love’). 

Still, The Colors Within is neither an overtly queer film nor one that indulges in complacent queer-baiting tropes. Instead, it embraces an inherent queerness in its story, evident not only in Totsuko and Kimi’s repressed lesbian desire but also in the gentle characterisation of the third band member, Rui. What makes The Colors Within a queer story, and one that perfectly exemplifies the significance of a chosen family, is its compassionate portrayal of young people who defy societal norms and expectations. Music, ultimately, serves as the cord that binds them in a tight embrace of acceptance and mutual inspiration. 

► The Colors Within is in UK cinemas from 31 January.