I wasn't aware of how much I was expecting this movie to just be a feel-good film of a man's minimalist lifestyle. And my reaction to the ending pretty much told me I was.

I loved watching Hirayama's daily life take place. His strict routine grounded me to something familiar, but I was also looking forward to new events to spice things up. There are still moments of everyday life, there are moments of quiet sorrow from the past, and there are incredibly beautiful moments between characters.

This film represented a life, with the good and bad overlapping like the sunlight and leaves in the concept of Komorebi.

It left me feeling bitter with Hirayama crying and smiling. But it was a realistic end; it included the incredibly human experience of feeling the gravity of the past with the peace of the present.