Monster

"who is the monster?" First we see the story from Minato's mom perspective. From the start we see that they have a pretty good and close relationship with each other. We can tell she cares about her son very much, and so she quickly notices a difference in his behaviour. When he finally tells her the reason, she has no right not to believe him. She sees a monster in his teacher, who presumably hit him, in his principal, who doesnt want to protect her son. She has every right to be angry, as she is really protective over her son and she wants the best for him. As the story evolves she starts realising Minato hasn't told her the truth. She then starts to believe she may be the monster, because she wasn't there for him the way she should be. She feels like she had been a bad mother because she couldnt protect him, and Minato didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth. Then we see Hori's perspective on the story. We see how people in the city perceive him. From the start they judge him for being in love with a woman who is a hostess. It's easy for everyone to believe the rumour about him mistreating his students, as he already had a pretty bad reputation. Hori sees a monster in Minato's mother, maybe even a bit in Minato and everyone else around him, because they ruin his whole career without any proof. He never did any of these things he's being accused of, so he naturaly feels like there needs to be justice. But no one wants to believe him or help him. People around him act selfish, only caring about themselves and their own reputation. We see Hori slowly understanding the truth about Minato's situation and his reaction shows the amount of empathy he really has for the kids he teaches. As the story goes on we see a bit of principal's backstory. Makiko sees herself as the monster, because of being responsible for her granddauther's death. We can clearly see her guilt and pain in the interactions she has with Minatos mom. But she is also selfish, and she knows that. She sees that she only cares about herself and her own reputation and career, which resultet in her husband taking blame for her crime. Towards the end in a scene with Minato, we see that even while having her own troubles and feeling guilty, she doesnt want Minato to feel this way too."If only some people can have it, thats not happiness. That's just nonsense. Happiness is something anyone can have." By saying these words to him she helps him to accept who he is. In the end the whole story unreveals itself as we get to see Minato's point of view. His issues at school start as he begins to like Yori, who gets bullied for being "different" than the other kids. Later on we see that Yori has an abusive father aswell. Kiyotaka makes Yori believe he has an illness - his brain is pig's brain - because he cant accept his sexuality and him not being "man enough". We follow the boys point of view and we see that they're really just children in a cruel and unaccepting environment. Minato starts acting weird, because he feels like he has to lie to everyone, including his mom. Because of people around him he sees himself as the monster for liking Yori. But he also sees himself as a monster for not being able to stand up for him. He knows that there is nothing wrong with Yori, and he makes sure he knows that too when they're alone, but he is scared to show their friendship in class because of how mistreated Yori is. He doesnt know how to deal with those feelings, he feels lost in his head because he is just a kid, and that results in his weird behaviour. He never intended to hurt Hori, he probably never even thought that his lie might affect him. He is just a kid who tried to deal with his issue the best he could on his own. Yori feels like a monster aswell, because of what other people say about him. He doesnt see this as a terrible thing tho, he doesnt associate the word "monster" with something scary. He just acknowledges the fact that he is a monster because of his "illness". He doesnt understand that that his dad doesnt really care for him the way he is supposed to. He is used to being treated badly at home, so he never even reacts to bullying at school. He thinks that "monsters" are just treated that way, and that it will help him recover. The thing is Yori would never even think there is "something wrong with him" if not for people telling him that all the time. He is just a kid who at some point started believing those awful things said about him. We see the boys trying to deal with their troubles, having no one else except each other. They make themselves a safe space, learn each other how to cope. They stay together against their world. "Being reborn" is a reocurring theme in the movie. Yori and Minato get ready for the end of the world and being reborn, because they can't understand the world they have to live in. They only have each other in this hateful surrounding, and they feel like, either them or the world, needs to be reborn. To be better. To fit. To be right. The storm in the ends symbolises being reborn. As the storm ends, the boys talk about it. They come to conclusion they are still the same, but they are full of hope that its the world that changed with the weather. The shot is beautiful, bright, full of sun. Minato and Yori are running across the field, happy, free and hopeful. The scene is a breathtaking ending, because it makes you believe the world really may change one day. It gives you hope that one day it really will be reborn, as a place free from hatred and cruelty. This movie is truly beautiful. It captures beautifully how every situation has more than one side to it. Everyone sees the same events differently, because we are all different people, with different ways of understanding and coping. And what is a monster? Who IS a monster? Words only have meaning because we give it to them.