This anime movie will make you cry, but will it be out of sadness or terror? What's up with I Want to Eat Your Pancreas' title? Let's explore one of the most oddly titled anime films below.
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What Is I Want to Eat Your Pancreas All About?
The oddly-titled I Want to Eat Your Pancreas is a romance anime movie by Studio VOLN. It's based on Yoru Sumino's novel of the same name.
This heartwarming but sad story follows Haruki Shiga, an aloof bookworm who remains as detached from others as possible.
One day, he comes across a secret diary written by his classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, who is terminally ill with pancreatic disease.
At first, Haruki remains impassive and doesn't want much to do with her. Sakura's insistence that he accompanies her during her last days changes both of them, urging Haruki to consider the meaning of life.
Is I Want to Eat Your Pancreas a Horror Movie?
Don't worry, I Want to Eat Your Pancreas doesn't hide cannibalistic horrors behind its bittersweet colorful palette, nor will it turn into a Puella Magi Madoka Magika situation.
If anything, it's a sad anime movie that's guaranteed to make you cry. So, why is its title so strange?
The True Meaning Behind I Want to Eat Your Pancreas' Title
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas is a symbolic, eye-catching title that serves the themes of the film without implying violence or cannibalism.
The title carries multiple layers of meaning, and viewers are free to decide what resonates with them the most.
A Desire for Healing
Ironic as it may seem, the title, I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, can be interpreted as a wish for a cure, rather than the other way around.
As some fans have pointed out, it is not uncommon for parents in Japan and other East Asian cultures to say that they want to "eat" their child's illness to make them well.
Living without a pancreas is possible, but it seems that such an operation wasn't available to Sakura, likely because her cancer had progressed too much for it to make a difference.
Regardless, Haruki, and possibly even Sakura herself, may have thought that, if the organ had been removed on time, her disease wouldn't have progressed.
Old Folklore
At some points, Sakura tells Haruki about some of the folkloric tidbits she learned about while living with cancer.
Specifically, she's heard that, in the past, people suffering from a disease in a particular body part would believe that eating an animal's corresponding part would cure them.
Sakura doesn't share these folk beliefs, but she resolves to live out her remaining days with enthusiasm.
Keeping a Loved One Forever
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas isn't about cannibalism, nor does it feature cannibalism in any way.
However, Sakura has learned that some old cultures believed in eating the flesh of deceased loved ones so that their souls would always live within them.
For the movie's two protagonists, I Want to Eat Your Pancreas becomes a catchphrase of sorts.
Rather than an actual wish to eat each other's flesh, it expresses their deep care for each other and a reassurance that their spirits will always be connected.
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