Visual Empathy: ‘The Colors Within’ Director Naoko Yamada Illustrates the Aura of Her Acclaimed Movie

This article was written for the December '24 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 345).

The nuns at the Catholic girls’ school in Nagasaki, Japan that Totsuko Higurashi attends in Naoko Yamada’s feature The Colors Within might well sing, “How do you solve a problem like Totsuko?” She spends a lot of time in chapel reciting the serenity prayer. She tries to follow the rigid rules, but she keeps stumbling into behavior the church considers improper — and even sinful.

Part of the trouble lies in her ability to see “colors,” a sort of polychrome aura that people radiate, revealing their true essence. Totsuko relies on those perceptions for guidance, rather than on theology or lessons. The gentle blue of classmate Kimi Sakunaga causes her to maintain their friendship even after Kimi drops out of school. On a trip north together, they meet Rui Kagehira, a repressed boy who plays the theremin. They start jamming in an abandoned church and form the band White Cat Hall.

There are no real villains in The Colors Within — the characters struggle with others’ expectations rather than external foes. Totsuko strives to balance the dictatress of conventional religiosity against the very real understanding the visions of color bring her. Although he loves music, Rui’s mother expects him to become a doctor; Kimi feels crushed by her grandmother’s expectations. Friendship and music provide the characters with a much-needed outlet.

Yamada talked about The Colors Within, which opened in Japan in August and will be getting a wide U.S. release in January via GKIDS, in a recent interview conducted via email:

Animation Magazine: Can you tell us about the source of the idea for the film?

Naoko Yamada: I wanted to create something that would stimulate the imagination of the people watching, making full use of the special qualities of animation, a medium built from multiple elements — movement, color, sound, speech and time. I made sound and color the pillars of the project and tried to create a film that would allow the viewer to enjoy the sensory experience, along with the rhythm of the animation.

You have described the characters as “children who have yet to realize what their feeling are.” Could you please expand on that thought?

This film depicts children who can’t express their worries and secrets, and who prioritize others over themselves. I came to realize that the “villains” in this story existed inside of them. Peering into their inner psyches was quite interesting, and I barely felt any need to prepare external obstacles for the sake of the story. I think it’s quite wonderful to be able to just feel, to feel moved or to feel sad without having to put a name on those feelings. But Totsuko has been hurt by how others reacted to the very intuitive way she sees things and worried about it. Totsuko, Kimi and Rui all bottle up their worries inside themselves and can’t bring themselves to blame others when things don’t go well.

Why did you set the story in a Catholic school?

Buddhism, Shinto and irreligion are the most common religions in Japan; Christians are said to make up only 1% of the population. Even at mission schools, only around 10% of the students are believers. I really like the broad-mindedness of Japanese people, where differences in belief are accepted and mutually acknowledged, allowing for coexistence. I wanted to create relationships like that in the film.

Nagasaki has a long history with Christianity — the religion was first introduced to Japan there. I went to Nagasaki for location scouting, and I felt the kindness and strong wills of the people, which matched the themes I wanted to depict in The Colors Within. It’s not that I wanted to make a film that focused on religion, but rather that Totsuko’s spiritual support naturally came from those teachings and ways of thinking.

The theremin is an arcane instrument — what drew you to it?

I was very interested in the instrument, because I felt that the beautiful, expressive hand movements used in theremin performances would work well in animation. And I felt that if Totsuko, who lives her life sensing invisible colors, met Rui, who plays music using invisible sounds, perhaps her burden would get a bit lighter. Maybe she feels he’s complicit in matters of the invisible. Rui has always had an interest in electronic music, and so the theremin, which can be plugged into headphones, would allow him to keep his music a secret from his mother.

How did you and composer Kensuke Ushio collaborate on the songs in the film?

Colors Within marked my fourth time working with Kensuke Ushio, so we knew what working to make a project better looked like. The biggest challenge was creating the songs Totsuko and the band play in the film. I wanted viewers to like the three members of White Cat Hall. The songs needed to sound like something the characters could have believably written and played. So Ushio and I stepped into Totsuko, Kimi and Rui’s shoes, with Ushio composing the music and me writing the lyrics. We took ideas from our own pasts as students who loved music. We were very serious when we were working, but looking back on it now it was all quite fun.

When you were making the film, did you have a Japanese or an international audience in mind?

I kept both audiences in mind. I hope that film can be something borderless and free, something that transcends nationality and race. I hoped to realize that goal by creating a film that captures a universal feeling.

The Colors Within was produced by Science Saru (Japan). GKIDS will release the film in U.S. theaters on January 24, 2025, following an Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles in December.