Fireworks or Uchiage Hanabi is a romantic sci-fi anime movie that was first released in 2017. It garnered mixed reviews from critics and viewers, ultimately becoming the sixth highest-grossing anime film of the year.
In an amalgamation of narrative techniques, Fireworks explores teenage love and alternate dimensions, among other things. But whenever there’s time travel involved, things get a little tricky. And with the way the movie was wrapped up, fans have questions about its ending.
The Fireworks anime was open-ended, its ambiguity symbolized by the movie’s full title: Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom? It’s a reference to the different worlds and possibilities within the movie, and the various perspectives in which the ending can be viewed.
In this article, I’ll give you a full explanation of the Fireworks anime movie ending and what it could mean and why.
What happens at the end of Fireworks?
At the end of the movie, the drunk pyrotechnician in charge of the fireworks fires the magical orb/marble/ball that Norimichi used to create what-if scenarios, i.e., enable travel to alternate timelines.
The orb breaks into multiple shards, showing multiple alternate futures. Norimichi grabs the shard in which he can see himself and Nazuna on Odaiba Island in Tokyo, enjoying a romantic future in each other’s company.
In the next scene, Norimichi jumps into the sea, where he and Nazuna share an underwater kiss. Nazuna asks, “When we meet again, what kind of world will it be? I can’t wait,” after which she swims away.
The scene cuts to the school, where the teacher is doing a roll-call. Norimichi’s name is called out 3 times, but there is no answer.
What does the ending of Fireworks mean?
1. Happy Ending: Norimichi and Nazuna End Up Together
The Fireworks anime movie has a happy ending in one of the parallel universes that the magical orb establishes. When Norimichi grabs the shard that shows him and Nazuna kissing under the Tokyo bridge, it implies that he selected that timeline. This is confirmed when he doesn’t answer his attendance in school.
If you choose to look at the ending this way, then Norimichi and Nazuna succeeded in their plan and eloped to Tokyo to be with each other forever.
The teacher doesn’t call out Nazuna’s name because Nazuna was meant to be moving away, but Norimichi hadn’t informed anyone that he would be shifting. This is why the teacher only calls out Norimichi’s name.
Since the orb was destroyed, it would make sense that the world was reset to before Norimichi made the first change to his future.
Now, there are a lot of people that think that the magical orb and time travel bits didn’t really happen – that all the alternate timeline stuff was actually just metaphorical and not real.
Even if this is true, it would not change anything about this ending. When Norimichi saw the possible future he wanted in the shard that he grabbed, he made a choice. A choice to go to Tokyo and be with Nazuna.
Either way, Norimichi ran away with Nazuna. The two end up together.
2. Sad Ending: Norimichi and Nazuna Die
One of the possible interpretations of the ending of Fireworks is that Norimichi and Nazuna both died when Yusuke pushed them from the top of the lighthouse. In the beginning of the movie, we see the two underwater, looking like they are drowning. The last thing Norimichi says is, “If…”
If Nazuna had chosen Yusuke over Norimichi, he would never have pushed them.
Norimichi also wonders, “What if…” implying that perhaps the whole movie is part of Norimichi’s imagination, reliving parts of it, but this time, with the help of the device of the magical orb.
When Yusuke pushed them from the lighthouse scaffolding, Norimichi is able to toss the orb and change his future.
This would also explain the fantastical scenes unfolding in the movie, which we would then be seeing from the dead-Norimichi’s point-of-view.
The end scene in the classroom would be considered as separate from the entirety of the movie, kind of like an epilogue. It is separated by the single drop of water within darkness. Here, we pick up from the day after the festival, after Yusuke pushed the couple.
The teacher would assume that Nazuna has left school, but calls out Norimichi’s name. Yusuke looks disgruntled and sad – this is probably because he’s just killed his best friend and the girl he was supposedly in love with.
3. Symbolic Ending: No Real Ending At All
The Fireworks movie is all about symbolism. The name of the town that the characters live in is called Moshimo, which means “if.” The filament within the magical orb spells out “if” as well. The full title of the movie and the discussion about whether fireworks are round or flat seem also to point to the same theme.
For a movie like this, nothing can be taken at face value. The genre of the movie states that it is sci-fi, but the main theme of the movie is romance – the fireworks of young love.
The movie contains alternate dimensions, fantasy, and dreams – all depending on how you view the movie.
If you believe the movie is sci-fi, you can believe in the time travel that the magical orb offers, the different timelines, and the fact that reality is actually altered as Norimichi pleases.
If you believe that the movie is fantasy or magical realism, you don’t really have to worry about questioning anything – be it the actual or perceived shape of the fireworks, Norimichi’s dreams, the jumps in perspectives, and the various mysteries – like Nazuna’s dad who drowned at sea holding the magical orb.
In such movies, it’s not about brainstorming what happened in the movie, but appreciating how it happened and why it was shown in such a way.
This can be infuriating for most people. But such a kind of storytelling really helps the viewer immerse in the emotion of the story without worrying about the logic behind what’s actually happening.
Was the ending of Fireworks good?
Not a lot of people liked the ending of the Fireworks movie. In fact, they thought that were it not for the ending, the movie would actually have been good.
The climax was abrupt and much too open-ended and confusing to satisfy the average viewer. That being said, weebs and veteran anime viewers found the ending quite pleasing precisely because it threw the viewer into a flux.
People who liked Fireworks thought the ending gave perfect meaning to the crux of the movie: “if.” At the same time, imagining and reimagining the world with different possibilities can cause it to conclude without any resolution; this meant a bad ending for some viewers.
About Fireworks
Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? is a 2017 anime movie based on Shunji Iwai’s live-action television film, released in 1995.
Two high-school boys, Norimichi and Yusuke, are in love with the same girl – Nazuna. Nazuna chooses Norimichi, who has found a magical orb or ball that can manipulate time.
When Nazuna is forced to move away, the two decide to elope, but are faced with multiple obstacles. With the ability to explore timelines, can Norimichi’s wishes and choices overcome fate? Will he be able to give love a second chance?
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