I keep wanting to call this movie Love Bubbles Up Like Soda Pop. Maybe I should—it’s an accurate description of what happens in it!
What’s it about?
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a coming of age romance anime about two teenagers, Cherry and Smile. They meet at their hometown mall where their chance encounter kicks off an unforgettable summer.
Cherry is anxious about talking to people to the point that he wears headphones to avoid conversation, but he is very comfortable communicating through haiku. Smile is obsessed with all things cute, but is struggling to find that in herself because of her buck teeth and the braces she’s wearing to alter them. She is so self conscious she covers her face with a mask. Together, Cherry and Smile bring out the best in each other. When they combine forces to solve a mystery in their friend’s life, they wind up falling in love. Unfortunately, Cherry must move at the end of the summer. He doesn’t tell Smile that he’s moving, much less how he feels about her, until it’s almost too late.
This movie is pure joy
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a celebration of summer. The neon color palette never stops being fun to look at, and it suits the exuberance of the animation and the characters. It’s as bright as a day at the beach and as satisfying as a leap into a pool on a hot afternoon. Though the film is full of color, wacky hijinks, and bubbly personalities, it also allows space for quieter moments. Some of the movie’s most powerful scenes take place in near-empty bedrooms, at desks at night, or on a walk home from the mall.
The movie is full of coincidences and strokes of luck that would never happen in real life but that absolutely work for this story. For example, Cherry moves his bookshelf and discovers the haiku magazine with the definition of “yamazakura” shortly after meeting Smile, whose appearance is connected to the word. Moving the bookcase later prompts Cherry to move a file cabinet to help Mr. Fujiyama, an elderly man that he cares for, on his quest to find a lost record— titled Yamazakura. These coincidences always feel charming and earned, as if the world of Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a little bit kinder and luckier than ours.
Speaking of kind…
Everyone in this movie cares about each other so damn much. I want to hug all of them. Beyond Cherry and Smile, we see a whole group of people rally around Mr. Fujiyama and his missing record. We learn that the reason Cherry works at a day center for elderly folks is because his mom used to work there but can’t do so any longer after a back injury. When Smile breaks something precious to Mr. Fujiyama, she stays up all night trying to fix it, and her tears of frustration are met with huge hugs from her sisters. These kindnesses never feel saccharine; they’re authentic gestures of love.
Technology as matchmaker
Everything between Cherry and Smile, from the meet-cute to the finale, happens because of tech. They accidentally swap phones. They reconnect through a video call. They share their lives with others through social media. Even their search for Mr. Fujiyama’s missing record is aided by technology.
This movie could have made the case that Cherry hides behind his haiku account or that Smile is just seeking attention through her livestream channel. Instead, we get to see watch Cherry express his true feelings for Smile in poems he writes online and eventually shares out loud. We get to watch Smile accept attention and affection from someone who loves her because of her unique appearance, not in spite of it. We even learn that Mr. Fujiyama met his wife at a record printing studio—the technology of his time!
In one split-screen scene, Cherry and Smile go about their lives while liking each other’s posts online. “Likes” have a reputation for being effortless and therefore meaningless, but you can tell from watching Cherry and Smile’s small smiles that the gesture means the world to them.
A quick spoiler warning for the ending…
Though Cherry and Smile get together at the end, the audience also knows that whatever relationship they have will be long-distance. The presence of tech as a force for connection and emotion in this movie convinces me that they’ll manage that distance well.
A finale worthy of fireworks
Nothing about Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop’s romance is particularly original, but it doesn’t need to be. The structure of the finale is predictable and familiar, and that is precisely what makes it so rewarding. As soon as Cherry starts watching Smile’s livestream of the festival and hears Mr. Fujiyama’s record playing, it’s obvious that he’s going to get himself to that festival. It’s obvious that he’s going to finally confess his feelings. It’s obvious that Smile returns them. This is a finale that will have the audience saying finally, and not with an eye roll. With a smile.
Perhaps one unique thing about Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is that Cherry’s big romantic gesture doesn’t end with a kiss. Instead, Smile rips off her mask and smiles at him with tears in her eyes. I always admire a love story that can make me feel fuzzy inside without relying on the kiss.
Although, spoiler alert, you can see a shadow of them kissing in the end credits.
The verdict
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a sweet story about two kids falling in love. It made me cry. At 90 minutes, it is a perfectly sized dose of summer romance.
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