Featured Mori Girl: Shizuru Shitonaka in Heavenly Forest

I just watched Heavenly Forest (ただ、君を愛してる ), a film that has received attention from the mori girl community for its protagonist, Shizuru Shitonaka. Aoi Miyazaki (宮崎あおい), who portrays Shizuru in the film, was also voted second on a poll identifying celebrity mori girls.

Heavenly Forest is very much a character-driven film. Its plot, like many films falling under the "pure love" sub-genre, is fairly formulaic. However, it has been well-received by critics and viewers alike thanks to its quirky and well-played lead characters. Aoi Miyazaki carries the movie, makes the eccentric character Shizuru her own and turns Heavenly Forest into a memorable, moving and quite special little film. The film also contains many gorgeous forest scenes that will surely inspire many a mori girl.

Shizuru is an eccentric university student from the French department whose life remains a mystery for much of the film. She is usually seen wearing long-sleeved, patterned tops under loose dresses and tops, matched with pants and booties. Her fringed bob is also a typical mori girl hairstyle.

A large part of the film's charm comes from Shizuru's quirks and the surprising things she says.

 

Shizuru is aware that others may consider her weird, and this resonates with the individualistic values of many mori girls.

Photography is a central motif in the film as it is what strengthens the bond between Shizuru and Makoto Segawa, played by a sweetly awkward Hiroshi Tamaki (玉木宏). The Canon analogue SLRs used by both characters will strike a chord with many mori girls.

One reason this film is so enjoyable is that Aoi Miyazaki is so darn cute.

I didn't have high expectations of the film but ended up finding it quite enchanting in its own way. A great way to spend a quiet night in. If you want to watch Heavenly Forest too, you may want to get it from my affiliate link.

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