If you’ve ever sat in a quiet room and wondered if you could trade a few years of your life just to see someone you lost, you’re basically the target audience for this movie. Honestly, it’s heavy. The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes isn't your typical high school romance where the biggest drama is a missed confession under a cherry blossom tree. It’s about the Urashima Tunnel. Legend says if you find it and walk through, you get your heart’s desire. The catch? You age decades in minutes.
Time is a thief.
I remember watching the first few scenes and thinking it looked like a standard CloverWorks or CoMix Wave production, but CLAP—the studio behind Pompo the Cinephile—really leaned into a specific, humid aesthetic. You can almost feel the summer sweat. The film follows Kaoru Tono, a guy carrying enough guilt to sink a ship, and Anzu Hanashiro, a transfer student who feels like she’s constantly fighting the world. They team up to explore the tunnel. It’s a sci-fi premise, sure, but it’s mostly a raw look at grief.
What Is the Urashima Tunnel?
The movie builds its entire emotional weight on this urban legend. In Japanese folklore, Urashima Taro is a fisherman who rescues a turtle and is taken to an underwater palace. When he returns home, centuries have passed. Everyone he knew is dead. The film takes that DNA and twists it into a physical location—a shimmering, bird-sought tunnel where the laws of physics just... quit.
Kaoru wants his sister back. She died years ago, and his father blames him for it. It’s brutal to watch. Anzu, on the other hand, wants something less tangible but equally desperate: she wants to leave a mark on the world that won't fade. She’s an aspiring manga artist who fears she’s mediocre.
Inside the tunnel, seconds are hours outside.
When you watch The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, you realize the tunnel isn't a villain. It’s a mirror. It offers you a miracle, but it asks if you're willing to abandon the present to fix the past. Most of us would say yes in a heartbeat, wouldn't we? That’s why the stakes feel so high even though the "action" is just two teenagers walking down a glowing corridor.
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The Visuals Are More Than Just Eye Candy
Director Tomohisa Taguchi has a thing for lighting. If you’ve seen his work on Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War or Akudama Drive, you know he doesn't do "subtle" colors. Everything is vibrant. The tunnel itself looks like it’s made of liquid gold and deep sea blues.
It’s stunning.
But it’s the contrast that hits. The "real world" in the film is dusty, grounded, and slightly faded. It makes the allure of the tunnel understandable. Why stay in a world where your dad drinks too much and your classmates are jerks when you could step into a beautiful, timeless void?
The pacing is brisk. At 83 minutes, it’s short for an anime feature. Usually, these things drag on for two hours with endless internal monologues. Not here. It moves fast, which is ironic for a movie about time slowing down. Some fans of Mei Hachimoku’s original light novel felt the movie cut too much, especially the development of their friendship, but the film prioritizes the "vibe." It’s an atmospheric masterpiece.
Why the Ending Is Divisive
No spoilers, obviously, but the way Kaoru and Anzu handle the time dilation is... controversial. Some viewers find the resolution a bit too "neat." Others think it’s the only logical conclusion for a story about finding reasons to live in the "now."
There’s a specific moment involving a cell phone. In the tunnel, you can still get messages, but they arrive years apart because of the time difference. It’s heartbreaking. Imagine sending a text saying "I'm coming back" and knowing the person won't see it until they've aged five years. It’s the ultimate long-distance relationship hurdle.
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The film challenges the idea that sacrifice is always noble. Sometimes, sacrifice is just a way to run away. Kaoru thinks he’s being a hero by trying to save his sister, but he’s actually just refusing to heal. Anzu is the anchor. Her character arc is arguably more interesting because she has to decide if her "legacy" is worth more than a human connection.
How to Watch The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
If you're looking for where to stream or buy it, your options depend on where you live, but HIDIVE has been the primary home for it in many regions. It also had a limited theatrical run via Sentai Filmworks.
Don't watch it on a tiny phone screen.
The sound design is incredible. Harumi Fuuki’s score is delicate, and the theme song "Pretender" by eill (not the Official HIGE DANdism one!) captures that bittersweet summer feeling perfectly. It’s the kind of movie you watch on a rainy Tuesday when you want to feel something.
Real-World Themes in a Fantasy Tunnel
We all have Urashima Tunnels.
Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe it’s an obsession with a past mistake. We spend so much time looking back that we "age" out of our current lives. People lose years to grief or the "what ifs" of life. This movie takes that psychological state and makes it a literal place.
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It’s also about the pressure of the Japanese education system and the expectation to be "special." Anzu’s fear of being ordinary is something anyone who has ever tried to create something—art, music, writing—will recognize instantly. The tunnel offers her a shortcut to greatness, but at the cost of her youth.
Actionable Insights for Your First Viewing
To get the most out of the experience, keep these things in mind:
- Pay attention to the birds. The red birds in the tunnel aren't just there to look pretty; they signify the boundary between life and the "other side."
- Check the dates. The movie uses cell phone timestamps to show the passage of time. If you blink, you might miss how many months or years have slipped by during a single conversation.
- Watch the background. The clutter in Kaoru’s house tells more of the story than the dialogue does. It shows a family that stopped moving the day the tragedy happened.
- Compare it to Shinkai. People often compare this to Your Name or Weathering With You. While the visuals are in that league, the tone is much lonelier. It feels more intimate.
If you’re a fan of A Silent Voice or I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, this is right up your alley. It’s a movie that asks you to be okay with being sad for a little while, provided you eventually walk back out of the tunnel.
The best way to experience it is to go in blind. Don't look up every single plot point. Just let the summer heat and the weird, glowing tunnel wash over you. It’s a short trip, but the emotional jet lag stays with you for days.
Next Steps for Fans
Once the credits roll, you’ll probably have a "what now?" moment.
First, go find the light novel by Mei Hachimoku. It fills in the gaps the 83-minute runtime had to skip, especially regarding the side characters and the specific mechanics of the tunnel's "gifts." Second, check out the manga adaptation if you prefer a visual medium but want more detail than the film provided.
Finally, look into the other works of Studio CLAP. They are becoming one of the most interesting "boutique" studios in the industry, focusing on high-quality, emotionally resonant stories rather than long-running battle shonen. Their ability to capture the specific texture of life—like the sound of a train or the way light hits a dusty desk—is what makes The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes feel so grounded despite its magical premise.
Go watch it. Bring tissues. Don't worry about the time.