>>60312360it's because of the juxtaposition between Mumei being happy and the sad context of her being a lonely little owl impotently waving a tiny lantern in a desolate world after finding no one.
The contrast makes you think 'how could this little owl possibly still smile?" and the gravity of her will and optimism in such an apparently hopeless situation hits you and is emotional because of how inspiring it is
and also heart-breaking that such an optimistic person is not being rewarded by the universe
the real kicker, if you pay attention at the end is how, right after finding people and deciding to be 'Mumei' the story ends with the lantern flickering out, the imagery of the flopping dying fish and Mumei falling back into darkness again implying that her time with the humans will be very brief. People seem to have missed that it actually ends in such a tragic way like this because those last few moments happen so quicklyIt's a fucking god-tier MV, narrative wise.
