“Drawing Closer” is a Japanese romantic drama directed by Takahiro Miki (“Pale Moon”). This emotional and touching movie stars Ren Nagase as a shy young high school boy and Natsuki Deguchi as a lively girl who only has 6 months to live. Both characters are facing serious illnesses and share a love for art. “Drawing Closer” is a tearjerker that shows how to find joy, hope and connection during tough times. This movie is available to stream on Netflix!
Cast with Characters
- Akito Hayasaka (Ren Nagase): The protagonist, a teenager suffering from a complicated heart tumor.
- Haruna Sakurai (Natsuki Deguchi): A girl suffering from a rare terminal illness who forms a close bond with Akito.
- Haruna’s Father (Hayasaka Kazuki): An outdoor enthusiast who died in a car crash while taking Haruna on a trip.
- Haruna’s Mother (Yasuko Matsuyuki): The head nurse at Kinki Medical University Hospital, where Haruna is treated.
- Ayaka (Mayu Yokota): Haruna’s estranged best friend from school, who later reconciles with her.
Plot Summary
Akito is a teenager who suffers from a tumor in his heart. He often thinks about committing suicide. One day he meets Haruna, who is a happy girl with a peculiar disease and only has six months to live. Despite their limited lifespans, they bond deeply through a love for art. Although Haruna always maintains her upbeat attitude towards life’s end, Akito finds it difficult to deal with his feelings and hides his condition as a way of not wanting others to feel pity for him. The relationship between them, which is marked by visits, flowers, and unuttered emotions, examines the ideas of love, connection, and bittersweet beauty in life.
How Does Akito meet Haruna?
“Drawing Closer” starts with Akito Hayasaka finding himself standing on top of a hospital building, desperate and ready to end his life after an anonymous online forum has given him some advice. Just as he is about to jump, though, he is startled by a sound in the distance and sees a girl, Haruna Sakurai, who is sketching something down. Intrigued, Akito walks over to her and sees that she has drawn heaven in various colors. Haruna says she will soon know if her drawing was right or wrong, hinting at her fatal sickness.
For several years now, Haruna has been struggling with a rare disease confined within Kinki Medical University Hospital. She has six months left to live, according to doctors’ predictions. In a similar boat, Akito too is suffering from a complex heart tumor and has been given just twelve more months of life. Once chosen for the prestigious Nika Newcomer’s contest as one of the best artists among many young people, his picturesque dreams were shattered by his diagnosis.
Haruna’s bravery and determination inspire Akito, who decides not to let any moment of his remaining time pass unutilized. He brings her five differently coloured gerberas (symbolizing ‘hope’) as he goes ro visit her for the second time and meets her mother, who tells him to come again. With this new perspective comes renewed strength, even in the face of despair. As fast confidantes, they support each other through thick and thin along their paths of terminal illness progressions, which are full of happiness and sorrow
What Does Akito Learn About Haruna?
Akito’s visits to Haruna in the hospital provide him with more insights into her difficult life. During their conversations, Haruna herself mentions wanting to say sorry to her father, who has not visited her for a long time. Akito gets sad when he gets to know her and promises himself to learn more about her parentage and why they were so apart. The head nurse, who happens to be Haruna’s mother, tells him that her husband, Haruna’s father, died in a fatal accident many years ago and that Haruna was involved in it.
Ever since she was diagnosed with an illness at birth, Haruna has been under constant medical surveillance. Her parents loved to take her out. Her father would plan trips and adventures aimed at giving her a semblance of normalcy, as he was very much into outdoor activities. When Haruna was younger, doctors allowed him one short outing with his daughter. However, as they were on their way, Haruna was struck with immense pain, and tragedy struck. Distracted by Haruna’s discomfort, the man lost control of the vehicle, resulting in his death and sparing Haruna’s life.
This must have been a very traumatic moment for Haruna, who already felt vulnerable because of her sickness. She convinced herself that she was responsible for her father’s death, as the accident was caused by her father getting distracted from her pain. Though her mother tried her best to convince this girl otherwise, she thinks she killed her dad on purpose. Therefore, her desire to apologize to her father goes beyond missing outdoor trips. She wants to atone for what she perceives as her role in his tragic death.
What Happened Between Haruna and Ayaka?
When Akito often comes to the sick Haruna in the hospital, he discovers that she has been closely associated with a certain girl. The absence of this friend strikes Akito as a mystery and he notices her presence in many of Haruna’s drawings. When he asks his classmate about her, he admits that the girl named Ayaka was friends with Haruna. They were once inseparable but are now estranged. Believing that it can bring some joy into Haruna’s life, Akito determines to bring back this old friend by convincing Ayaka.
As Ayaka and Haruna went to the same school before Haruna got sick and was confined to the hospital for good, Akito sets out on a search for Ayaka among their mutual friends. Finally, he finds Ayaka, who reveals that she has not been seeing Haruna due to a serious fight between them. Ayaka says that since childhood, she has always supported Haruna despite the illness, which prevented her own participation in activities like other normal kids. Their bond grew stronger, but Haruna became increasingly isolated due to her condition. She started harboring feelings of jealousy and resentment towards Ayaka, her freedom, and the fact that she could have normal life experiences.
The breaking point of their friendship was graduation day. Ayaka came to see Haruna in a hospital bed with a handmade graduation certificate, knowing that the latter could not attend the ceremony. This differently-aimed action caused Haruna’s jealousy and anger. In response to this, Haruna lashed out and said that Ayaka had been boasting of her progress while ridiculing Haruna due to her incapacities. She tells Ayaka that they should end their friendship. The friends exchanged harsh and hurtful words and ended their relationship.
Akito, who sympathized with Haruna and believed in the healing potential of reconciliation, convinced Ayaka that she should go back to see Haruna once again. After hesitating at first, Ayaka agrees, and the two reconcile with each other, admitting their faults for whatever they did wrong in the past. After their reconciliation, Ayaka has started coming back more often. She started visiting Haruna regularly. Akito and Haruna attended school festivals where Akito and Ayaka supported Haruna through the ups and downs so she could have brief periods of normalcy and happiness again. Akito even took her to the beach as she wanted to go therethere but didn’t think she would be able to do so. The pair share a deep moment where Haruna confesses that she has a dream of falling in love and Akito too, confesses that he’s been keeping a secret from her. He is not able to confess the secret of his illness.
“Drawing Closer” (2024) Ending Explained: What Secret Is Revealed After Haruna’s Death?
In the end of “Drawing Closer,” as Akito and Haruna’s bond increases, so do their illnesses. Haruna confessed she wanted to live now, since Akito and Ayaka were in her life. Akito, too, tells his parents that he wants to take the risky operation that could prolong his life. During this time, Akito is absent from Haruna’s life, and sadly, she dies from her sickness at last. The only time she was conscious, she called out Akito’s name but he wasn’t there, as accused by Ayaka. Akito’s health had declined right when Haruna’s condition got worse, resulting in his hospitalization and a complicated surgery to increase his chances of survival.
It is after she has died that Akito and Ayaka, who have still been good friends, get hold of one social media page that Haruna created before passing on. Within her public posts of art work and photographs, there exists a password-protected post among them that reveals her feelings toward him. From the beginning itself, Haruna had liked Akito and slowly started to fall in love with him.
Haruna said that she had discovered Akito’s terminal illness but did not tell him out of love. Similarly, Akito had also never disclosed his illness to Haruna. Apart from their unspoken fears, however, Haruna had fallen for Akito deeply, as shown by the three gerbera flowers painted by her—an image symbolizing love. The death of Haruna makes Akito start pursuing his own dreams, as well as those that he knew were dear to the deceased girl. He passes the art university exam well and finishes the painting they both started together. The painting becomes an important representation of their love at an art exhibition.
In the end, Akito succumbs to his illness exactly one year after Haruna’s death. As Ayaka sees Haruna’s post, she discovers a reply from Akito where he tells Haruna that he’s going to join her soon. He thanks her for giving him a friend like Ayaka, who drew 3 gerberas on his nails. He tells her that she probably doesn’t know the meaning but in reality Ayaka knew. That hints that she probably had feelings for Akito too. She lost two beloved friends she had loved so dearly in different ways, and she honored them with a kind gesture but bringing them two bouquets of 3 gerberas each.
