My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (2020) Review: Touches Your Heart

My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy or Kudakechiru Tokoro o Misete Ageru is a 2020 drama film directed by SABU starring Taishi Nakagawa, Anna Ishii, Kai Inowaki, and Kaya Kiyohara, along with other cast members.

The Netflix description reads:

Kiyosumi’s affection for his schoolmate Hari grows after he saves her from bullying, but a dark secret she’s unwilling to share threatens their bond.

– My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy review does not contain spoilers –

Kiyosumi is a regular high-school student, except, he’s very much into the idea of heroes. In the first moments when we get familiar with him, we see how obsessed he is to see righteousness and justice prevailing – he wants to be a hero and help others.

Well, that all comes to a head when he sees a schoolmate getting bullied at school. The girl, a first-year student named Hari, is a little odd, true. She screams at Kiyosumi who’s trying to help her, but the suffering she goes through is horrifying. PTSD is the least of anyone’s worries in her situation.

However, is the bullying normal high-school kids being mean, or is there something more to Hari that meets the eye? More importantly, what’s going on with Hari?

My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy does not give you a moment to breathe. From the first moment the movie starts, you are bombarded with people just being overall horrible to each other. Bullying is a sensitive topic that has (thankfully) gotten seriously looked at nowadays. However, what Hari goes through at the hands of her peers is nothing short of horrifying.

On the other hand, Kiyosumi’s character is interesting as well. After losing his father and hearing stories about his death, he, too, wants to do someone important and worthwhile for others – help people so that his father would be proud. He wants to be a hero. Meanwhile, his friends around him are looking at a life beyond school, normal teenage stuff.

My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy is a slow drama, at least the first half. So if that’s something that you don’t like, I’d advise against watching it. There are long discussions between the two protagonists about mundane stuff like mochi and instant noodles. It’s quite heartwarming to see the characters get to know each other and Hari opening up after her gruelling ordeal. However, they still are pretty long. So, fair warning.

There’s a certain amount of dread throughout My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy, especially when we go deeper into the hole. Although there are moments that are sweet, you can’t help but feel like something is wrong, that something is going to go really bad at any moment. And, oof. When it does, it’s really bad. It starts off with Kiyosumi figuring out small things here and there and then going on to very dark alleys.

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I won’t get into what here, to keep it spoiler-free, but My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy is an interesting and horrifying movie. The second half, especially, picks up so much pace that I could hardly breathe. Really, the bullying isn’t even the larger danger in this scenario. When it becomes apparent after a while, you don’t know where you want to run or who you want to protect.

Around the last 40 minutes is where My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy becomes totally deranged and horrifying. I can’t describe the fear I felt. Moreover, the film doesn’t deliver jumpscares or come up with background noises that do nothing but annoy – it’s eerily still, except for the actions of the people on-screen. There are various themes that the movie tackles like isolation, loneliness, violence and bullying. The story meshes them together so well, that by the time you understand what’s happening on-screen, you’re knee-deep.

Taishi Nakagawa and Anna Ishii are absolutely amazing. They are vulnerable, relatable and extremely wonderful in their portrayal of the two leads. Kiyosumi and Hari understand each other, maybe are even meant for each other. And Nakagawa and Ishii bring that to the forefront so beautifully.

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Summing up: My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy

My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy is beautiful and extremely scary. I suggest you hold on and go through the first half because I promise, it’ll be worth it.

My Blood and Bones in a Flowing Galaxy is streaming on Netflix.

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