Michelle Topham 
Late to the anime party as always (Come ON, there are a million anime out there — who could possibly watch them all), yesterday I stumbled across this absolute gem — the Boys’ Love anime film Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai: The Clouds Gather — aka Twittering Birds Never Fly.
The first in a planned 3-film series based on Kou Yoneda’s manga Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai (Twittering Birds Never Fly).
And a punch to the gut, not only in the heart-breaking telling of the story of Yashiro the Yakuza boss who isn’t quite as hard or as emotionally untouchable as he pretends, but also in that gorgeous Twittering Birds Never Fly ending theme song — ‘モラトリアム’ by Omoinotake. (Song title in English ‘Moratorium‘).
A song that hits even harder as it immediately follows the film’s last scene in which Yashiro, shot twice, is remembering his high school days when he was in love with Kageyama, and how much that forbidden and always lost-to-him love hurt.
RELATED: The Twittering Birds Never Fly soundtrack is incredibly beautiful
His last thought as he looks back on his sad life, “I’ve known more than enough…”.
The boy who never had a chance right from the start.
And then Omoinotake’s ‘モラトリアム’ begins to play:
People coming and going are reflected in rain puddles
With blurry red street lights
Like a broken speaker on a street light
That’s playing the same song filled with lies over and overA smile so lonely and a sweet breath
The thoughts hidden behind those distant eyes
Resemble droplets trickling down a window
And if that didn’t just break you heart, I don’t know what would.
Listen to Omoinotake’s ‘Moratorium‘ below, including in Omoinotake’s gorgeous official music video for the song, and, if you haven’t yet watched Twittering Birds Never Fly, and love a good Boys’ Love story, you are missing something spectacular.
Sentai Filmworks currently has it on Blu ray.
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Steven Reynolds 
