“Hidamari ga Kikoeru” (ひだまりが聴こえる) – I Hear the Sunspot (2024)

I Hear The Sunspot is one of my favorite Japanese mangas. When I heard they were doing an live adaptation of this manga that was a series and not a movie, anticipation coursed through me. Previously, I tried to watch the 2017 movie based on the manga with the English title of Silhouette of Your Voice – I say tried to watch because it didn’t do the source material justice. The actors didn’t fit my imagining of Kohei and Taichi. Also as a movie, the run time was too short to give justice to the complexities involved in this story.

The plot revolves around Taichi and Kohei, two college students who are polar opposites. 

Let me tell you about Taichi – a loud, gregarious person who makes friends easily. He also has a big heart filled with kindness. Taichi is not the least bit shy and will always say what he is thinking, which causes him issues in keeping a job at times. He’s not one to shy away from fighting someone for what he believes is right. If someone does something he thinks is wrong, he will scold them. He grew up with his grandfather after his parents fought to push him off on each other during their divorce. As a child raised by his grandpa, they didn’t have much money, but they are happy. Taichi works hard to pay for college and expenses. He loves good food but doesn’t get it very often because neither he or his grandpa can cook well.  Taichi is small in stature but has a big presence.

On the other hand, we have Kohei, a tall, reserved and quiet college student. Kohei is hearing-impaired, but not totally deaf. He straddles the world of hearing and deafness, not quite fitting in either group. He keeps to himself most of the time to avoid being misunderstood or hurt. His mom runs a cooking school and fortunately always makes delicious bentos for Kohei every day. His kindness includes being the giving type. He never expects anything in return for being considerate.  He is handsome without knowing it, and shy.

Their worlds collide when Taichi falls down a hill, literally landing at Kohei’s feet.  Kohei is sitting on a building rooftop alone, eating his bento. Taichi is the thunderstorm that rolls into the soft gray clouds. Kohei has no problem hearing Taichi, and generously offers Taichi his other bento lunch (his Mom always makes him two) in compensation for the soda that Taichi lost in the chase that brought him to where he is. The two form a quick bond as Taichi treats Kohei as he would a normal friend. They soon strike up an arrangement, in taking notes for Kohei, he will be paid with a delicious bento every day. As the two grow closer, feelings begin to change from friendship to something more. How will they handle challenges that test their friendship and budding romance?

Cast

Nakazawa Motoki is Sugihara Kohei

Kobayashi Toranosuke is Sagawa Taichi

Shiraishi Yua is Okami Maya

Usa Takuma is Yokoyama Tomoki / “Yoko”

Natsuki Omi is Yasuda Satoshi / “Yasu” 

Thoughts:

I will say once again I’m biased towards the original source material, and to be sure, this series has yet to disappoint me. It is a slow burn, so if you want fast paced story without some depth, this isn’t that type of series and you might get bored. At the same time I love how they took something that could be heavy material and mixed in lighthearted and heartwarming moments that make you smile.

Kohei has a foot in each world, neither fully deaf or being able to hear completely. Consequently, this fact leads him to be a lonely figure. He’s not depressed; he just keeps to himself to avoid situations where he could be misunderstood. On the other hand, he doesn’t feel sorry for himself. However, when Taichi pulls Kohei into his world, Kohei begins to smile more, and enjoying the company of others. Taichi’s straightforward nature is refreshing to see onscreen. He doesn’t pity Kohei; on the contrary, he enjoys Kohei’s company. He also gets angry on Kohei’s behalf when others pity or misunderstand Kohei. He will fight for something he believes in, and also fight to protect someone who is being bullied or mistreated. 

If you were not a fan of the ‘fix everything, oh it’s all ok now’ nature of Last Twilight, I’m here to tell you not to worry about I Hear the Sunspot repeating the same mistake. The show runners go to great pains to show you many viewpoints from people with varying degrees of hearing loss and different attitudes & viewpoints from these individuals.

For instance, there is Maya, a girl who is also hard of hearing, but she has a completely different attitude towards those who have normal hearing. She feels it’s tiresome to try so hard to be around them. She would rather avoid the stress that comes from trying too hard to understand what others are saying. 

There is also a company that teaches sign language to corporations. Taichi feels frustrated that people like Kohei and Maya, who have some degree of hearing, don’t have the support that deaf people do. Maya and Kohei decide to try out the sign club, but they don’t feel quite at home there either.

This BTS video of the actors for I Hear the Sunspot will give you an idea of how they prepared for their characters. The actors brought the characters off the page and onto the screen. They’ve done a really good job of matching their characters, Kohei and Taichi’s mannerisms, energy, and even the way of walking and talking. 

Here is a 6 panel sample gallery from the manga from Amazon Kindle.  If you’ve watched the series, you can see the similarities.

I’ve watched 10 episodes and I’m going to rate it as if its complete. I know where the story is going.  If something changes with the last episode I will update my review. If you’ve watched it, please give me your thoughts.  If not, give it a watch. You will enjoy it.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars. [See our Review Guide]