I Want to Eat Your Pancreas is an animated film that follows the final moments of a girl, Sakura, with pancreatic cancer. Sakura is doomed to die from the very start, given only a short number of weeks to live. Strangely, this looming deadline does little to dampen Sakura’s cheerful disposition; she continues to laugh, live, and love. During her visit to the hospital, she meets the gloomy and introverted protagonist of the film, Haruki, whom she immediately grows interested in due to his aloof attitude toward her despite knowing of her impending death. Sakura seeks and desires “normalcy” in her life. Ever since she was diagnosed, her family acts as if her life has been turned upside down, constantly faking over-cheerfulness in an attempt to cheer her up. However, Haruki barely reacts at all—surprising Sakura and sparking a blooming interest that eventually leads to Haruki undergoing an emotional catharsis and Sakura forming a relationship that goes beyond death and can only be described by the title of the movie: I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the film is how the audience can truly feel the intimacy of the two characters grow as the movie progresses. The animation rarely captures scenes without Sakura and Haruki together, enforcing the plot’s basis on the chemistry between the two leads. The amount of screen time spent on the couple is not wasted as well; every minute is spent developing both characters (especially Sakura) and their relationship. Sakura, at first, seems too strange a character to relate to. She’s too cheerful, too bubbly, too silly, despite the end of her life approaching. However, as the movie progresses, Sakura’s inner turmoil and anguish are revealed as she admits to Haruki that she is afraid to die. She’s scared every moment being discharged in bed will be her last. She’s scared every last meeting with Haruki will be her last. And most of all, she’s scared that the normalcy and daily routines of her life will be stolen from her due to her illness. These moments of weakness in Sakura break her out of the stereotypical “overly cheerful girl” and make her incredibly relatable. She suffers. She hurts. She cries. She’s human. 

Haruki’s catharsis in accepting Sakura and forging a genuine relationship is also exceptionally rewarding to see. The emotionless, unrelatable Haruki begins to smile when he sees Sakura and enjoys his time with her, so much so that his final message to her is wanting to preserve her soul. He starts to abandon his philosophy of not forming relationships to avoid being hurt and instead starts to befriend other classmates, as well besides Sakura. And most of all, he cries when Sakura passes away. The movie turns two seemingly unrelatable, stereotypical characters into two humans through the gentle and warm animation, drawing on intimacy and love.

Sakura, even on the verge of death, does not live her life as if she will die tomorrow. Instead, she cherishes the everyday routines of her life and craves the normalcy that Haruki gives her. She doesn’t spend her remaining moments doing anything exceptional. In fact, she chooses to spend them with Haruki, doing normal activities such as bowling, karaoke, and playing card games.

People are always worried about the future. Some truly live as if they could die any second, constantly chasing an extraordinary dream or grinding away for a successful future. People forget the importance of normalcy. The blessing to be able to live—just live and be normal—is overlooked and underappreciated. To wake up and go to school or work. To eat with their coworkers or classmates. To love and cherish the ones around them. The future is apparently too grand, too important, for the little routines in present life to matter.

But that’s not true. Sakura’s story shows the non-negotiable significance of normality in life. Sakura, in the final chapter of her life, is not found chasing an extraordinary dream or an extravagant future. She is found appreciating the normal routines in life and loving Haruki. People often look too far into the future—so far in fact that they forget what is lying right in front of them. If the future is important and determines the fate of your life, then the present is the only thing that makes life worth living. Love people and cherish the ordinary tasks that don’t seem important. That is the only way to find beauty in life’s brevity.