NOTE: This article is for Umi Matsuzaki from the 2011 anime adaption of the manga, as the original manga version was not voted Pure Good.
“
Is some places, you can tell what time of year it is by which flowers are in bloom. In Yokohama, it's which boats you see passing through the harbor. Only, there are more and more of them now, since Tokyo was awarded the 64th summer olympics. We have a great view of the boats, from my house on Poppy Hill. Actually, it's my grandmothers house. But with my father gone and my mother studying in America, it's my job to cook and do laundry for our boarders, and look after my little brother and sister. Ever since the wars, it seems the whole country is eager to get rid of the old and make way for the new. But some of us aren't so ready to let go of the past. And sometimes the past is not ready to let go of us either.
„
~ Umi's narration in the opening of the English dub.
“
He said they helped him find his way back to us. So I raised them everyday. I'd raise them from the balcony until his ship docked again. I never missed a day. Then his ship sank in the Korean War. And that was that. But I never stopped raising those flags.
„
~ Umi telling Shun that she raises the same two flags everyday in remembrance of her father. - Her most well known quote.
“
Umi: "I'm in love with you, Shun." Shun: "Umi..." Umi: "Even if we're related, even if you're my brother... my feelings will never change." Shun: "I feel the same about you."
„
~ Umi and Shun declaring love for each other.
Umi Matsuzaki (松崎海 Matsuzaki Umi) is the main protagonist of the 2011 animated Studio Ghibli film, From Up On Poppy Hill. She is the eldest child of sailor Yuichiro Sawamura and Professor Ryoko Matsuzaki, the sister of Riku and Sora Matsuzaki, a student at Konan Academy High School, she inspires the members of The Latin Quarter to renovate the clubhouse. And is the love interest of the deuteragonist Shun Kazama.
Before the events of the film, she would raise her father's flags to represent safe voyages when he was in the Korean War.
Although when she moved, she made her grandfather build a flagpole. It was only because she was still mourning her father's death.
She still continued to raise her father's two flags after he died when his ship hit a mine in the Korean War. While she mainly raises them offscreen, it still has an impact on the plot because:
Shun Kazama takes an interest towards her for raising her flags everyday, even raising his own flags in response.
Her grandmother, Shun, and her classmates all talk about how she raises her flags everyday.
She cooks breakfast and dinner for her boarders, her younger sister and brother, and her grandmother everyday.
She attempts to save Shun Kazama when he jumps into a pool of water at the school cafeteria. Although she lets him go halfway, it was because she was embarrassed when the two were being called the perfect couple, the fact that he could swim, and because she saw it as inappropriate behavior.
When her sister; Sora, buys a 30 yen picture of Shun jumping into a pool she said: “What a waste of money”. However, this was only in the English dub, and in any case, she still went into the Latin Quarter with Sora, when Sora asked to get her picture signed by Shun Kazama.
She helps Shun Kazama with his newspapers at least twice in the film.
When Shun told her that his home was far away, she stated: "That's far", showing that she cares for him.
She tells Shun that they should rebuild the Latin Quarter with the other members after the school debate.
She later invites Shun and the class president Shiro Mizunuma to Dr. Hokuto's farewell party. This has two major effects on the plot:
The state of the house which was decades old, inspired Shun to tell Mizunuma to renovate the Latin Quarter.
Shun, after being showed a picture by Umi, gets curious enough to investigate to find out who his biological father was. Eventually finding solace, because of the picture Umi showed him.
She actively helped the Latin Quarter members with the renovation as shown in a montage. She even asked Sora to cover for her over their shared goal.
When the school board votes to demolish the Latin Quarter, Umi goes with Shun and Mizunuma to convince the chairman not to. The scene clearly shows that she convinced Chairman Tokumaru to visit the Latin Quarter.
She sings Side by Side or The Indigo Waves(depending on whether you watch the English or Japanese versions) with the Latin Quarter members to further convince Tokumaru to let the clubhouse stay. After the song he is so impressed with the students, that he states he will find a new building for the Olympics to take place in.
Even though it was her who saved the Latin Quarter, she didn't take any pride in it.
She accompanied Shun when he found out that there was someone who knew of his father. She even asks a favor from one of her friends to get them to the harbor.
She and Shun pleased Yoshio Onodera when he got to see the children of his two best friends.
While in other settings she would not stand out due to her heroism being too generic, Umi lives in a setting with very little crime with no lives to save. Thus the admirable standard in the film is low enough for her to qualify. Especially since she is the most realistic Studio Ghibli Pure Good, considering she has no supernatural assistance or futuristic technology.
One of the film's major themes is the preservation of the old, while moving to the future. Umi represents this by:
Raising her flags in remembrance of her father. She also hugs him in her dream.
Helping the Latin Quarter members preserve the clubhouse which is very old.
Trivia[]
She is the only From Up on Poppy Hill hero to be Pure Good.
At 16, she is the third oldest human Ghibli Pure Good, only being younger than Prince Ashitaka and Nausicaa, who are both 17.
Umi is the only Ghibli Pure Good not to rescue anyone from danger or save any lives.
If she shared a universe with any other Ghibli Pure Goods, it's debatable whether she would qualify as Pure Good, since she's admirable enough to qualify within her own separate universe, but compared to other characters in other movies, her actions and "heroism" are rather mundane.
While only her film version is currently approved, there's a chance this might change in the future. However, it is unlikely as the original manga has never been translated to English, thus it is unclear to most westerners what she does.
The Latin Quarter is an addition to the film that wasn't in the manga, meaning in the original she doesn't save it, which brings the question of what could cause her to cross the Goodness Zone. However, she still raises her signal flags in remembrance of her father, so despite the massive amount of differences, her original version may qualify.
She is the final Studio Ghibli character to have more than one version of herself, after Nausicaa and Kiki.
However, like Kiki, her original version is not voted as Pure Good and is from an adaptation of a character not approved as Pure Good.
She states that when she graduates, she may become a doctor. Had this been confirmed and she was shown taking care of patients, it would make her more admirable.
To date, she is the final Studio Ghibli hero to be Pure Good.
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Pure Goods
