In “The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (2022),” the past and present collide in a quiet story of regret, healing, and unexpected connection.
Some tunnels don’t just take you to the past. Sometimes, they lead you to the people you were meant to meet.
There are films that dazzle with spectacle. Then there are films like The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes—quiet, almost understated, yet leaving behind questions that stay with you long after the credits roll.
Set in a sleepy seaside town, the story follows Kaoru Touno, a boy burdened by the loss of his younger sister and the heaviness of family wounds. He stumbles upon the mysterious Urashima Tunnel, a place said to grant your deepest wish in exchange for time. For Touno, the tunnel is a chance to rewrite the past and finally fix what went wrong. But along the way, he meets Anzu Hanashiro, a classmate equally trapped—not by grief, but by fear and a sense of worthlessness.
Touno wanted to fix his past. Hanashiro wanted to survive her present. But somewhere along the way, they became each other’s answer.
At first, their journeys seem different. Touno is ready to lose everything to bring back the sister he couldn’t save. Hanashiro, on the other hand, only wants to escape a life that has caged her dreams. Yet, as they spend time together inside and outside the tunnel, something changes. Their regrets, though different, start to reflect one another. They find courage not in the tunnel’s promise, but in each other’s company.
By the film’s ending, when Touno chooses to walk away and chase what he believes is his greatest wish, it seems like their paths finally split. But the beauty of this story is how it reveals, quietly and without grand declarations, that their lives had already changed because of each other. The tunnel wasn’t the magic. Their bond was.
The movie reminds us that what we thought we wanted may not be what we needed all along. In trying to fix the past, Touno finds himself moving forward. And in learning how to stand by Touno, Hanashiro finally learns how to stand for herself.
Their goodbye is not a sad ending. It is, in many ways, the exit they both needed—to stop chasing what was lost and to start holding on to what they’ve found.
Did You Know?
- The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes is based on a 2019 light novel by Mei Hachimoku and illustrated by Kukka.
- The film adaptation was directed by Tomohisa Taguchi and animated by Studio CLAP, known for their clean and atmospheric visuals.
- It won the Paul Grimault Award at the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, one of the biggest animation events in the world. (Source)
- The story also has a manga adaptation and is widely praised for its thoughtful blend of science fiction and emotional storytelling.
- Reviewers have called it a “quietly devastating” film about how regrets and loss can lead to unexpected connections.
KJSD 