The story follows Suzume, a 17-year-old girl from a quiet Kyushu town who meets a young man looking
for a door. They find a door within ruins in the mountain, and Suzume opens it. Soon, more doors begin
to open around Japan, bringing disasters from the other side. The film depicts Suzume's liberation and
growth, as she closes the doors that are causing disaster.
(Source: Anime News Network)
~~~img700(https://www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/suzumenotojimari-1280x600.jpg) ___ There's a few things i need to say before hand. First, i saw this movie in Japan theaters (which at the moment i think is the only place its out) so that means there are obviously no subtitles, the reason I'm here is to study Japanese so i do know some Japanese and i could understand about 85-90% of what was being said + the visuals i think i understood quite well, but I'm sure i missed a few things here and there. I am also a big fan of [Makoto Shinkai](https://anilist.co/staff/96117/Makoto-Shinkai) and the studio he directs so i might be a bit biased. This review will be mostly spoiler free meaning there will be slight spoiler like very general plot points and short characters descriptions but barely more than you get from the trailer if even any more. I think that's all to know before hand now for the review To me the enjoyment of the movie was split into 3 parts. The opening (20-30 minutes); early/middle (30-60 minutes); and the later middle/ending. I think the opening was very good and introduced things quite well but things did happen quite quickly compared to most of his previous films. There wasn't a ton of downtime in the begging of the the movie where as in [Weathering with you](https://anilist.co/anime/106286/Weathering-With-You/), for example, its a pretty relaxed movie until about 2/3 into it. This movie starts the action in the first 10-15 minutes and then slows down a bit in the middle. This is neither good or bad necessarily, just depends on what you prefer. __Story - 8.5/10__ The general idea of the story (as you see a bit in the trailer) is there are these doors that burst out with this red cloud looking things and the main characters have to close them. There is of course a bit more to it than that but keeping it spoiler free that's all you need to know. I think this is quite an interesting and unique idea so i don't have any problems with it. I also think there are some very good plot turns that make me prefer the seconds have of the movie more than the first (the first isn't bad by any means, i just felt like things were better in the second half). I also like how they travel to different parts of Japan in the film, i think it is cool to get different visuals, especially with how good the animation is. And as someone who is in Japan and plans to travel its cool to see. img350(https://media.timeout.com/images/105893888/image.jpg) __Animation/Visuals - 10 __ Of course being a Makoto Shinkai film the animation and visuals will be spectacular. And they are. The are just as good or better than the previous films and you can tell they didn't spare any expense and really did the best they could. There wasn't any scenes are parts that i thought looked weird or felt off, everything was very smooth and fluid. During the relaxed parts of the movie where you just see a mundane, everyday objects and scenery, everything still looks amazing, and when the beautiful scenery came into screen, things looks absolutely amazing. The way this studio does color and lighting makes every scene look super good. img350(https://i0.wp.com/erzat.blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Suzume-no-Tojimari-Featured-Image-2.png?fit=1699%2C713&ssl=1) __Music/Sound - 9.5-10__ Another obvious one. The music and sound are also always on point on these movies. With [RADWIMPS](https://anilist.co/staff/126955/RADWIMPS) doing the soundtrack again its a sure bet that its going to sound amazing. and sure enough it does. I think that the OST is amazing. The sound they make just fits so well into the world that Makoto Shinkai creates. I think it is just as good as the Your Name and Weathering with you soundtracks. img300(https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-zglpObX4k8f6xrSx-XhBaaA-t500x500.jpg) __Characters - 9__ The characters in this movie were very good. I really like the dynamic between the characters. I also think the way that the male lead get turned into a 3 legged chair makes for an interesting change in how the movie plays out. Without saying too much there is also a cat in the movie that plays and interesting role that i quite like. Seeing the characters and their relationships with each other change and grow throughout the movie is very satisfying by the end of it. img350(https://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire4/ffb860588db993477b422d13bc9102fc1652760983_main.jpg) __Final Thoughts__ Not sure if this review makes sense, i find it hard to explain whats good and bad about a series without spoiling it but i like to keep it spoiler free. But either way i recommend anyone who likes Your Name, Weathering with you or and other Makoto Shinkai movie to watch. Its hard to say which movie i think is best because they are all so good. i think it just comes down to what plot point you prefer, but i will say with confidence it doesn't fall behind his other films. That's all i have, Thank you for your time.~~~
__Suzume __is another film by [Makoto Shinkai ](https://anilist.co/staff/96117/Makoto-Shinkai)that emulates the motifs and themes of his previous works but this time has its fantasy elements taken to greater heights. The usual strengths of breathtaking aesthetics, surreal visual flares and stellar soundtracks by Radwimps are all found within this movie. Visually spectacular, Shinkai does what he always does best showing displaying beautiful animation and background art in larger-than-life settings. A film that seems to be created within the frames of a canvas by a master painter. Radwimp's usual contemporary rock soundtrack once again matches the fun adventurous energy that the protagonists go through in most of Shinkai's films. And this time they did an equally splendid job at matching the movie's heavier fantasy theme that really made it easy to immerse in its otherworldly setting. As I mentioned this film is not much different in its motifs and themes from Shinkai's other films, especially when comparing it with [Weathering with You ](https://anilist.co/anime/106286/Weathering-With-You/)and [Your Name](https://anilist.co/anime/21519/Your-Name/). Once again we experience Shinkai's artistic expression of the volatile, selfish, selfless, confusing and naive romance of youth intertwined with a disaster of a fantastical nature. Creating the dilemma of choosing between personal feelings between one versus preventing chaos and saving the lives of possibly millions. For the more studied viewer of Shinkai's works, they would recognize the fantasy depictions of disaster in Shinkai's films are rooted in the anxieties of Japan's frequent encounters with natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Which makes his works way more well-received by the Japanese audience. In this film, however, this metaphor of natural disaster can not be more blatant and obvious; having the fantasy element of destruction is directly related to earthquakes. What I love about Shinkai's work is how he incorporates these themes of romance and anxiety of natural disasters into a package of idealistic fantasy. From its art, motifs and plot they all speak more to the heart rather than the mind. And this plot of romance and heroism is nothing unique at all but Shinkai is the only director that I know that is able to deliver it in such a magical way that I really wish I can describe. If I have one criticism is that this magic is not as strong as I experienced when watching his previous films such as _Your Name_ and _Weathering with You_ which moved me to tears. This film however despite its failure to make me weep still manage to mesmerize me for the most part. __Suzume __ is a beautiful film that incorporates the same elements that make Shinkai's films so great. I as a Shinkai fan was definitely not blown away by anything new or groundbreaking but was still pleasantly treated with the same cinematic magic that Shinkai consistently incorporates into his works. Another beautiful and mesmerizing film that is definitely worth a watch, especially on the cinema screens.
Suzume is another rollercoaster from Director Makoto Shinkai, while I found it enjoyable and didn’t regret spending money to see it in cinemas. I did notice how similar the film was to its predecessors that being, Your Name and Weathering With You. But before we get to that I would like to talk about the other parts of what made this film really good. First, the animation is of course marvelous. Comix Wave never really had any issues with making some of the most beautiful set pieces and scenes, especially in this one with its more fantasy elements compared to Shinkai’s more grounded works. Character Designs still look the same, with it looking sorta out of place with the rest of the backgrounds but it has a charm to it in these films. The Music is great, that’s it. It’s RADWIMPS what do you expect? There are more instrumental pieces here and fewer vocals but that’s because the animation itself is already just that good. I think I’m gonna be listening to the Main Theme on repeat for the next coming months. Now the Story and Characters, the plot is about a girl and a chair going around Japan trying to prevent a crisis from occurring in Japan. Wait, I feel like I’ve heard this before hmm… welp anyways. The Story is simple when you look at it but it had a theme with closure like it's a film about closing doors which really gives some added meaning and context to the film. ~~totally didn't get this from a Reddit post.~~ There are some stakes with the action and plot that is thrilling at the least. It’s sort of a road-trip movie with the fact it ventures throughout Japan visiting landmarks and such. We even see some places from previous films shown off again, mostly Tokyo since that’s basically in every film Shinkai’s made. I think this is the most original concept Shinkai has had for a film involving doors, and it was very fun seeing what did it all mean throughout the story. The Characters are good enough vessels to guide us through the world, Suzume and the Chair dude are fun leading characters with some memorable supporting ones. Each serves some part in the story whether they’ll be taking the leads from location to location or just showing the world around them. (Serizawa is a candidate for best homie for a Shinkai film ngl) If there's one nitpick I have it's with the relationship between Suzume and the Souta and the subsequent ~!romance they had., it felt rushed since Suzume literally just met this person and then turned into a chair within an hour or so meeting them, and already decides he's the love of her life just a day later At least with Your Name and Tenki No Ko, you can understand it since they spent a lot of time with each other than the 2 - 3 days Suzume did.!~ Ok, time for what I said about it being similar to its predecessor films from Makoto Shinkai even though I have been mentioning it throughout the review but oh well. It basically follows the same formula or structure as those films except ~!the guy is the one in trouble now instead of previous ones where it was Mitsuha or Hina!~. I can’t go into further detail about how similar it is without spoiling the whole movie. So here is another spoiler section: The basic formula of Shinkai's films is basically, ~!a girl and guy meet, the girl and guy face some supernatural thing, and they get used to dealing with the supernatural thing until the midpoint in the movie one of them either dies or gets sacrificed to. And the rest of the movie is just the other lead trying to save them. It's not a bad formula per se since it has been used to make two of my favorite anime films from him but I would like things to get more mixed up than it the guy character being the one to be saved this time. !~ All in all, Suzume was an enjoyable film, with some of RADWIMPS' best works since Tenki No Ko. While I did notice similarities with the formula. It was a formula that served two and now three of the best Anime movies I’ve seen of this generation. So yeah it was good.
~~~ __This review is for people who haven't watched this film and who have. If you don't want to be spoiled, please refrain from clicking the spoiler text boxes.__~~~ ~~~ >"Beyond all ideas of right and wrong there is a field, I will be meeting you there." ~~~ ~!Albeit this film doesn't portray the above sentiment/Rumi quote, I felt this quote is most associated with the overarching narrative of this giant bulk of two-hour runtime. Suzume is selfish, blinded with love for some [Howl](https://anilist.co/character/507/Howl) doppelganger meeting him again in a 'field'ish landscape in the afterlife. It may feel out of place for you, but to me, after watching to that The Voidz music video, that particular quote holds something dear to me, a quantity so much, but I can't quite really define this feeling, and that feeling was unlocked after watching this film in full. Maybe it's something I have forgotten, but whatever...!~ _For those who want to jump in directly to my critique instead of reading the introductory monologue, please scroll down until you see the bolded word, '__McDonald's__'. Why, you may ask? That's to be told for another day, but for now, it remains unshut behind one particular door, to be unlocked for another time..._ ____ img(https://cineverse.id/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/5-fakta-menarik-dari-film-suzume-no-tojimari-2.jpg) # __Suzume: A Rickroller84 Review__ From the late 1980s to the 1990s, anime, manga, and novels were heavily exposed in Japan, blooming in popularity, style and substance, most of which influenced the Japanese medium of art and literature collectively we know and see today. One individual, in particular, was certainly impacted by this surge of mania, tracing his influences back to Miyazaki's fantasy adventure '[Castle in the Sky](https://anilist.co/anime/513/Castle-in-the-Sky/)', Anno's surreal philosophical sci-fi '[End of Evangelion'](https://anilist.co/review/20206) and Oshii's politically-charged '[Patlabor 2](https://anilist.co/anime/1096/Mobile-Police-Patlabor-2-The-Movie/).' With his newfound passion in mind, after graduating from university, he enrolled in a video game company that further enhanced his craft of picturing animation and also story, eventually leading him to create several OVAs into fully-fledged films. Then, when 2016 came along, his biggest feature film yet was released, which amassed critical and financial success, and thus he debuted from nothing, to something. That film was ['Your Name'.](https://anilist.co/anime/21519/Your-Name/) That man is Makoto Shinkai. For those who haven't heard of the dazzling prosperous body-swap fantasy of 'Your Name', you must be living under a rock. Like many others, I consider 'Your Name' as simply exquisite, its narrative, its animation and soaring and surprisingly memorable soundtrack with pumping rock to emotional piano, that still sticks with me to this day. Although I can't quite call it perfect, it's amazingly done, and that made me can't wait for Shinkai's next project, soon unveiled as ['Weathering With You.'](https://anilist.co/anime/106286/Weathering-With-You/) But as much as I loved his previous work, 'Weathering With You' was something I couldn't swallow. It wasn't entirely bad. Sure, the animation was glorious, basking in realism and delicate beauty, but the narrative and characterisation fell flat. I felt it was simply a rehash of 'Your Name', with an almost identical plot formula to the former, and the similarities built up to an utterly predictable ride. All you need to know every post-Garden of Words film (so far) is practically: some mysterious event happens, romance gradually builds up and twists and turns to keep the story going (and to make you burst into tears). And even, take a look at what my exact thoughts were that day after I've finished it. Literally. >Weathering with you ain't bad but it lacks the emotional depth of characters. Sometimes it felt boring, and even the story was hard to be kept tracked of. The only thing I enjoyed were the cameos, but yeah, that's about it. Might be biased with the 'cameo' part I mentioned, but you'd probably get the idea the film felt uninventive, tedious and an overall bore. At least, to me. I was starting to overestimate Shinkai's ability, and I was anxious if his next movie after that would be the same, possibly tethering to a rabbit hole similar to Robert Zemeckis's filmography. So when the initial reviews came out, I was skeptical of its positiveness. I mean, a positive rating doesn't guarantee a positive experience. Ultimately, it comes down from person to person. So when 'Suzume' hit the theatres in my region, I had very low expectations that this would stand up, or even surpass, 'Your Name' at the very least. It couldn't, right? But surprisingly, that isn't the case for this one. Not entirely. This one is much more cohesive and fluid, but before we'll touch on that, I would like to introduce the sponsor of this review: __McDonalds!__ ~~~youtube(https://youtu.be/cON1-yyNXzw)~~~ _See what I mean now?_ ____ img(https://images5.alphacoders.com/119/thumb-1920-1198137.jpg) # __Suzume: The Actual Review__ Let’s start off with the elephant in the room, its animation. Comix Wave Studios and Shinkai outdid themselves with ‘Suzume.’ Every Shinkai film’s animation quality gets crispier and more lifelike by the next, which terrifies me and yet amazes me. I mean, what can I really say? The alluring visual palette at hand with vibrant lighting and colour alongside the level of detail they paint from one frame to another, even exemplified by the background designs, top-notch. And the cinematography was superb. The slow change in frame from the right to the left, before stretching out to a wide shot, and the close-up shots of buzzing arthropods and a tap dropping water. If you’ve watched [3.0+1.0 ](https://anilist.co/anime/3786/Evangelion-3010-Thrice-Upon-a-Time/)before, that’s the closest anime film in mind with a comparable state of quality as ‘Suzume’, and like 3.0+1.0, there are some CGI in the midst of it all, but I gotta say it wasn’t too distracting nor noticeable, almost seamless. A minor nitpick of mine I would say one of the character’s faces looked bizzare, if you’ve watched it, then you know which one that was. And some of the walking scenes felt lazy to animate, but I suppose it was passable at the very least, 'cause I'll end up shifting to view the mind-numbling detailed backgrounds because that background is absolutely mind-blowingly detailed. But to take into account of everything Suzume offers in terms of animation, it has superb visual quality alongside near-perfect crisp animation, it’s well done. Well done. Now, what follows the animation is the sound. Music-wise, RADWIMPS gave a decent accompanying OST to carry the weight of this film. However, it doesn’t come close to the memorability of the ‘Your Name’ OST unfortunately, lacking the flavour and rock-pounding style RADWIMPS had back in 2016. At its best, it was passable, ~!reoccurring leitmotifs of Suzume’s theme!~And at it’s worst, it felt like a cop-out generic accompanying sound to follow what’s occurring on screen. Still, personally, I find this an improvement over the 'Weathering' OST, so props for RADWIMPS singling out a decent soundtrack to follow. Regarding the VA performances, I'll admit they were well-suited for their roles, but nothing too remarkable. They did what they were told to do, and they just did that. ~!Poor Suzume's VA, her constant screaming, especially in the second half was ear-numbing!~ The only one thing in the audio department that I greatly enjoyed were the audio design (VFX), and it necessarily delivered. Those intimate, moments of nature pouring into the view packs the realism forward, and grounds it to a believable degree. But enough said with the sound design, let's move on with the premise. 'Suzume' follows a teenage girl named Suzume who randomly stumbles upon a random mysterious dude one day, and earthquakes and natural disasters erupt because of these primordial doors stapled across Japan. So, they go on a treasure hunt to stop the cause, and the story goes on from there. So to recap, basically a whole lotta disasters taking place, a hint of romance crawling slowly and the twist and turns that tugs your heartstrings, just like ol' Shinkai. So one might prompt that this is ultimately an unoriginal experience basically utilising the formula of Shinkai's previous films _again,_ right? Even the similarities doesn't stop there though; the film surprisingly pays homage to a variety of Japanese anime. A lot of other references and similarities popped out that I could catch were Kiki's Delivery Service, A Whisper of a Heart and even Evangelion. No, I'm not kidding with the latter. ~! (with the weird tentacled Elden Ring worm showing up and at that gigantic OPM spaceship dynamic form of its)!~ But let's get back on track, basically one might prompt that this is ultimately an unoriginal experience simply utilising the formula of Shinkai's previous films (and some other references scattered throughout) _again,_ right? Still, dear reader, do you remember I said this a few paragraphs ago? >But surprisingly, that isn't the case for this one. Not entirely. This one is much more cohesive and fluid, ~~but before we'll touch on that, I would like to introduce the sponsor of this review: __McDonalds!__~~ I do admit it does retain its predecessors' charm and elements and also references. Certain sequences and events feel like a call-back to 'em, whether for fanservice or nostalgia. But it's presented more subtly (except for the third act), which is very unlike Weathering. And there's one thing that settles this slightly apart from the former, and that's the thematic message of the narrative. No more body-swapping, no more silly extravaganzas. This one is quite serious, to be frank. Like the former two Shinkai films, Shinkai toys around with supernatural elements to scrap the one-dimensionality with events of catastrophe, and disaster, with a slight subtext of love creeping within to make the overall adventure satisfying/rewarding. The catastrophe in this film is presented as more upfront than in the former two and a reoccurring staple that exactly personifies the iconic line, "Ah shit, here we go again." I won't go into details here about what the catastrophe presents, but although, simultaneously, its intensity and threat feel cliched in delivery and a way to advance the overall narrative, what it leads up to is simply a poignant commentary on the destroyed landscapes of Japan, prominently the region of Tohoku after the infamous earthquake back in 2011. The film straight up shows this in Shinkai trademark, with jaw-dropping imagery of nature and audio design that embodies the empty and grassy-enveloped surroundings of what used to be something but is now a fading memory of what that something was. The many swift shots framing the imprint of insects buzzing around, a run-down building, and the subtle moments before the unforeseeable sealed fate of impending annihilation, cutting to the abandoned grass-flooded pavement of land. Those, albeit faint and short in length, those ample but short sequences expertly solidify the sheer message Shinkai permeates. It is a surprising but mature advancement of Shinkai's direction, promoting a pro-environmental stance of preservation and the need to rebuild previously damaged infrastructure. But right after the praise I've given to its thematic sentiment, pacing-wise the plot is split into two distinct halves. The first being a treasure hunt buildup, and the second a road movie. The first section of the two proves central for the buildup and unpacks a damn amount of crushing explosions (not literally). And just like other Shinkai films, it may get tedious in watching certain parts in its buildup, but that's merely a minor nitpick of mine - it's just the buildup, and ultimately, it's fine if it feels boring. Then the story somehow grinds to a halt and turns into the second half, which honestly felt like nearing the end, but at the same time, there's like forty minutes left in the runtime. And then, the story detours into a minimalist 'road movie', which feels like the aftermath of a storm. It's unfathomably relaxing and comfortable and settles you, the watcher, in for shots of the road, inviting you on. Not to mention, I also felt it could perhaps serve as a brief look to expose Japan in the limelight and its beauty to the foreign audience it's rapidly building up on, almost like a welcoming tourist vista. Then, the story boggles down back to its 'explosive'' roots (again, not literal) and closes it off with a very abrupt ending, if I'd say so. I can't say much because of spoilers, but the ending felt really cheesy to excuse itself from the prior sequences that occurred earlier. ~!So after the "oh i'm you 12 years later' reveal, and escaping from the afterlife, they just say goodbye and let the romance built up down the drain, with the credits playing in the backdrop, and then 'welcome back'. It felt very unsatisfying, at least maybe hug or doing something similar to Your-Name with a fast forward in the future portraying Shinkai's pro-environmental message or just daily life in general, and then cap it off with the 'Welcome Back'. It feels like another Shinkai ending, but I think it would hit harder if it took that route. Anyhow, that's just my thoughts concerning it, no hard feelings.!~ The characterisation of 'Suzume' is pretty straightforward. Although Suzume acts pretty erratic and unlikeable, she soon recedes to an understandable and bearable character we might find ourselves to relate to. The Howl in this story is pretty withdrawn and his screentime is unfathomably short in length, and in the film there's an event that drastically changes his appearance in the story, which at first felt like a worthwhile comedic stick-up endeavour to portray him as this something, it feels Shinkai glosses over his arc that we the audience may find hard to resonate to. He just appears, vanishes, and appears again. So much for the emotional resonance... The rest of the background characters are ultimately to play a goofy role, or get forgotten in an instant merely to assist Suzume in her treasure hunt journey, hurrah. As for two specific characters, one feels like a snarky rehash of Loki, while the other just gets introduced so abruptly which is ironic considering their role in the film is significant, but they are played off as insignificant in the end. And the very antagonist is just a stale natural force, which I do understand its purpose isn't to ellict 'big bad' vibes, but to further enhance the sentiment on the very 'preservation' I meant earlier. Lastly, nderstanding Suzume's plot isn't always tricky to thread a line to, but some bits and pieces of exposition may find themselves in a bitter place lodged up in one's mind watching. If you have seen Your Name, similarities might align and you should get a good conceptual understanding of what's to come, but like I mentioned before, Suzume isn't a total replica of the formulaic structure of the former movie, so still you may get surprised as I did. ____ img(https://w0.peakpx.com/wallpaper/128/827/HD-wallpaper-anime-suzume-no-tojimari.jpg) # __Suzume: A Conclusion__ I liked Suzume, which I consider a far definite improvement over Weathering With You. It not only polishes its predecessor’s jaw-dropping animation and visual flair but approaches its subject matter with thought-provoking social commentary and realism to account over the supernatural mania Shinkai always offers. Its narrative still has its shortcomings, and a passable soundtrack at best, but overall, Suzume gets the job done with some stumbles along the way. And lo and behold, it might be the funniest Shinkai film just yet, you'll see what I mean. I'll give this one __a solid seventy-five.__ Still, I would recommend 'Suzume' if you're an avid watcher/enthusiast of Shinkai, but personally, I feel it 'Suzume' works best with someone not knowing Shinkai's works beforehand. Go in there blind, and let the door Shinkai constructs open, and there, I think you'll enjoy this one. Thanks for reading. ~!And... img21800(https://media.tenor.com/bcqLdYBLOhUAAAAC/suzume-no-tojimari.gif) !~ ____ ~~~[ `Just...`](https://anilist.co/anime/2167/Clannad/)~~~~~~~~~
This review contains spoilers Suzume, Makoto Shinkai's new movie seems to take place in the same universe as his previous two movies Your Name and Weathering with you but presents itself in a different manner. Suzume contains many more fantasy elements than Makoto Shinkai's previous works, the use of doors to traverse into the land of the dead, the presence of deities and the use of some sort of spiritual powers reminiscent of Onmyōdō. Suzume uses this fantasy setting to tell us two intertwined stories, one is the struggle between man and god, and the other, the reconciliation of the self and path of grief. Why the struggle between man and deity you may ask? In Japanese mythology, earthquakes, tsunami's and other natural disasters were said to originate from a giant catfish living deep in the earth called Namazu or Ōnamazu 'the Earthquake fish'. Quite a stretch to associate the giant worm in Suzume to a giant catfish but there's more. Associated to this catfish is Takemikazuchi, a japanese deity which is known for its subduing of Namazu thanks to the kaname-ishi, the 'pinning rock'. The myth explains that when Takemikazuchi loses his guard, Namazu, trapped under the Kaname-ishi, tries to break free and in doing so generates these natural disasters. Now this starts to resemble the apparition of the Worm, Souta and these keystones, often translated from the japanese kaname-ishi which can symbolise something that can not or should not be moved. ~~~img220(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Takemikazuchi-pins-Namazu-with-Kaname-ishi-spirit-stone-1855.png/220px-Takemikazuchi-pins-Namazu-with-Kaname-ishi-spirit-stone-1855.png) _Representation of Takemikazuchi subduing Namazu with the Kaname-ishi_~~~ Suzume travels throughout Japan, starting from Miyazaki on Kyushu island, a ferry ride to Ehime, then Kobe, Tokyo and Miyagi to end up in Tōhoku, her birth place. This journey lets her experience different parts of Japan as well as meet a variety of different people eager to help her on her journey. Souta, the handsome guy she meets near her home accompanies her on her journey although he is now a chair, Suzume's childhood chair and only remaining memory of her mother. Souta's presence as an animated three legged chair allows this anime to focus more on comedic elements as we follow her on her youthful and emotional voyage creating an experience very different from Shinkai's previous work. Suzume's lean towards fantasy allows Kenichi Tsuchiya, this movie's animation director to truly shine. Bright, colourful and beautiful scenes are commonplace, the movie feels alive, every kind and loving character willing to help Suzume on her journey feel like actual people and one can only imagine their daily life ripe with adventures. As Suzume continues her journey, chasing gods and locking doors. She finds herself confronted by her past and locks it away alongside these natural disasters. The doors reopen and the worm threatens the world as her grief threatens her. Determined to bring back Satou, she sets on her final journey back to her childhood to reconcile with her child self. The path of grief and the apparition of the worm are two sides of the same coin. The apparition of the worm spreads destruction across the land in a similar fashion to how grief spells destruction for the heart. Places that represent joy such as the school and the theme park are left in a sorry state. Suzume's home town, Tōhoku, birthplace of Suzume's grief, is reduced to rubble. Suzume must acknowledge and come to terms with the loss of her mother, only then will she have the strength to save the world. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takemikazuchi https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/namazu/#:~:text=Namazu%20(%E9%AF%B0)%2C%20or%20%C5%8Cnamazu,tsunamis%20by%20thrashing%20his%20tail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami#Scientific_and_research_response
this is Shinkai at his most Ghibli, and i mean that in the best way possible. from the first five minutes you know that this will be a different Shinkai movie. there's no brooding male protagonists pining over potential/lost loves, barely any Radwimps needledrops, but instead it's brimming with a sense of whimsy and adventure, with Shinkai going full tilt with its fantastical elements. everything from its surface conceit of a girl hopping across Japan in chase of a magical cat to its symphonic and swooning fantasy scoring (the best one in a Shinkai film yet), has very clear and overt Ghibli influence. but what makes this movie so special is that Shinkai isn't channeling only the great master found in Miyazaki, but also more importantly, the quiet masters of Takahata and Kondo. it really feels like Shinkai is trying to push himself as a filmmaker here, drawing upon influences and wearing them on his sleeve, remixing and implementing elements of past masterpieces to create something wholly unto its own. in doing so, Shinkai creates a world of magical realism; not quite an isekai like Spirited Away but more of an urban fairy tale a la Whisper of the Heart (which gets a namedrop!) and Kiki's Delivery Service (which gets a needledrop!!). Shinkai's stylistic inclinations shine in this regard, due to how beautifully these worlds of his contrasts the magical and arcane. it never feels like Shinkai is veering AWAY from the style he's cultivated, instead he BUILDS UPON it: the rendered spaces and minutiae of Shinkai's candy-colored hyper realism feel more lived in than ever, not just high definition backgrounds or clips to put in a tiktok compilation, but spaces where people have lived, where every crack and layer of rust isn't just there to look aesthetic but to evoke entire lives, whispers of past occupants and users bound to the inanimate. it's even more impressive then, that not only is Shinkai able to weave his signature romantic tropes with the more brisk pacing and fantasy elements of a Ghibli location-trotting adventure, he's also able to seamlessly ground the film by incorporating central themes of grief and collective trauma. Shinkai is not one for subtext, this is clear in his monster hit Your Name and probably why a lot of people hate that movie lol. so of course in Suzume he states his main goal of the film outright: this is a movie about 3/11. from the beginning, you could already tell where things are going, but it was still flooring to watch how Shinkai so tastefully highlights the effect this event had on Japan and how its youth is still haunted by it though they would prefer to just forget about it. Your Name resonated so much with Japanese audiences not only because of its core romance, but because it was an escapist fantasy that evoked 3/11 imagery, a saccharine "what if love erased disaster? what if love can make us all forget?". Suzume is a rejection of that. instead it asks Japan to NEVER forget, and instead to remember TOGETHER, using that collective trauma as a way to connect with others to heal, but to also forge a new future. it could have been so easy for a film dealing with such heavy subject matter to come off as hokey, as hamfisted. the way Suzume addresses such things explicitly and still manages to feel like it's not forcing anything is really masterful work. Shinkai accomplishes this by focusing on the BONDS made through collective trauma instead of the trauma itself; it felt like a healing film. i can't imagine how it'd feel for the Japanese audiences. aside from its themes, Shinkai succeeds in translating that catharsis on a universal level through the way he structures his narrative, but more specifically, how he focuses on the characters. one of the main problems i have with Shinkai even though i love his work is that a lot of the time his female characters just don't have agency or depth. they're always damsels (even if they have superpowers) and they always feel like some sort of goal to be attained by the titular protagonist. this translates well when it comes to his films about longing and male ideation of women, but it gets trite and exhausting when its done straight-faced over and over. flipping the dynamic here to have a female lead was the best decision he could have possibly made. i love the how much focus was put into the feminine perspective in this entire film. the first half is such a comfy road trip movie where you get to meet an ensemble cast of colorful characters (predominantly female) across Japan. that time spent with the plot put on vibe mode breathes so much life into this world, and really brings home the theme of connectivity, of ghosts in our midst, of collective trauma as a cohesive whole made up of millions of remembered fragments of lives past. it's astounding how perfectly Shinkai balances his tendency to linger on beautiful landscapes and rendered backgrounds with the need to give context to them, filling them with a soul that makes them feel more than just eye candy. Suzume herself is a wonderful protagonist. her empathy and her spunky attitude has you really root for her from the beginning, and her chemistry with the male lead doesn't feel anywhere near as contrived or one-sided as his previous films. sure, the male lead doesn't have much depth or much to do, but it serves to highlight all the other characters we meet along the way, and also serves to give Suzume more screentime to flesh her out. but yeah i've been a Shinkai defender for the longest but Suzume is what truly feels like a graduation for him as an auteur. the last time i got this feeling was Peele with Nope: all of their influences are crystallized and distilled, all their auteurisms and stylistic flourishes are refined and more potent than ever. it doesn't try to reinvent the wheel by any means, but when you succeed Gen Z spiritual successor to Whisper of the Heart then you're nothing short of a master director in my eyes.
~~~I am going to be straight up honest from the start, I did not like this movie. Spoiler + ramble Warning With just over a 2 hour run time, Suzume feels like a boring mess of a movie. There is nothing of substance here, no really, I could not believe how badly written this movie was. Watching Suzume and Souta (in human and chair form) close doors multiple times was boring. Watching these two chase after a cat and then Suzume chasing after Souta was boring. This movie legit is just closing doors, chasing something, and some eating scenes thrown in. Is it normal writing to put a 17 year old girl in a position to put her life on the line just to save some college student she found attractive? Like seriously at the start of the movie she found him attractive, he tells her about some ruins and then she continues off to school just for her to turn back around and chase after him. Towards the end of the movie Suzume was going to turn into the keystone just so Souta could live again. With all these ideas youd think the characters have a good dynamic but no they really dont. Souta is gone for a good chunk of the movie because he becomes the main keystone in place of the cat so hes out of the picture, and with the amount of time spent with Suzume and Souta together theres no feeling of a real relationship between them to justify any plot points that happen with the movie. The movie goes by so fast that when the lights turned on at the end i was left thinking "is that it?" because this movie just breezes by but feels so slow because of its terrible plot. You have this cat that really doesn't add much to the movie and then later on another cat shows up and that cat turns massive and fights the giant natural disaster worm at the end..... like what??? The side characters added nothing of value, there was a weird part where the aunt of Suzume lashes out at her then the new cat takes over her or something??? I have no clue. I mean its just a complete fever dream of a movie. There are some parts of the movie that i can tip my hat to, Suzume meeting young Suzume and some parts of getting Souta back. The voice acting is fine, the visuals are a little bit worse than some of the other Shinkai movies ive watched but thats not the biggest issue, If you are a fan of Makotos work, I'd say go see it still despite my complaints. If this would be your first Makoto Shinkai film, i'd recommend starting off with some of his other works (5 centimeters per second is his best work in my opinion). This movie was just a complete odd ball, a weird mix of supernatural and adventure with the tiniest dash of romance that all came together a plopped out this boring ass movie. Thank you for reading my review and I hope you have a great rest of your day~~~
Suzume was good! It's a very weird film in a lot of ways, and has a lot going on. But it's also super entertaining and a delight to watch. It's hard to recommend. But I'll probably be seeing it again, so take that as you will! I'm happy that it improved on all the things I thought were bad about Weathering With You. The best parts of Weathering With You were some of the best I had ever seen, but the worst parts were some of the worst I'd ever seen. It felt like a bad Hollywood blockbuster. By contrast, Suzume is much more balanced. It never hits those highs from something like Your Name, but also never fumbles, and sticks its landing in style. It's a little long. It feels like the film gets caught up in trying to say too much at once. But it communicates well too. I also love the themes the film explores. It touches on a lot of topics: loss, grief, and acceptance of the past; finding friends and loved ones wherever you go; natural disasters and the immense loss they cause; forging your own path; selflessness vs selfishness. That was a lot of themes, you might say. But the film seems to explore them all sufficiently throughout. The film feels cluttered with themes, in that way. But again, it only struggles with the quantity of things it's trying to do and say; the quality is on point, the whole way. That's important, because this film is very focused on theme. Like many of Shinkai's films, it's aesthetic first, storytelling second. But their narrative team was able to weave a story that is meaningful throughout, even when it's getting distracted. It's wonderful to see Suzume making friends everywhere she goes in a world that doesn't seem like it should care; in the face of extremely difficult jobs, it always felt like there was support in the larger community. Additionally, it's wonderful to see the explorations of loss and grief. As this is one of the central themes, they really needed to nail it. And what's nice about the way it was constructed is that it never relies on a "sob story" that's trying to "get you." The grief of the situation feels rough and earned, and the characters trying to tackle that grief through their own agency also felt very empowering and nice. I could ramble about the absolutely stunning animation and art from the Comix Wave films. But let's be honest, these films are ALWAYS going to be the leaders in absolutely stunning animation, visual effects, sakuga, and absolutely enthralling presentation. A+, no notes whatsoever, basically perfect. The same can be said about RADWIMPS. It's always nice to hear them again, and all their compositions are great. They capture these awesome orchestral highs, while their pop-rock songs capture that distinct style that Shinkai is clearly obsessed with. The main theme is beautiful and a tiny bit haunting. Also, there's this emphasis on classic city-pop featured throughout the film, and honestly, I'm here for it. Again, no notes, A+. My favorite part was a neat exchange between the main characters. "My family has upheld this job for many generations. I'll continue that. But it's not a profitable job." "But it's still an important job, even if it doesn't pay?" "Most people don't see the important job." TRUE BESTIE. To sum up, Suzume is just neat. Is it good? I think so. It's memorable, entertaining, and enheartening. Is it as stunning as Shinkai's other work? Maybe not, but that's holding him up to unfair expectations. Suzume is its own thing, and that's okay, because it's a good thing. While Shinkai is a fantastic director, one who really made something truly special that basically none of us will forget, it's important to watch him change and develop his craft with the teams he puts together as time goes forward. And Suzume is well crafted.
_I can already tell this review will not be appreciated by many so I'm going to try to explain in as much detail as possible the reason behind this (relatively) weak score._ Shinkai is not someone I've ever felt strong emotions about, be they negative or positive. In fact, for all I don't understand why he's so appreciated, I still recognize his movies have some level of merit and a certain style to them, on top of being very beautiful. Which is why I'm never going in his movies with particular expectations: I just wait and see. To me, Suzume no Tojimari felt different from what I know of the dude. Samey but different. By choosing to focus on action and drama first and relegating his characters to the background, Shinkai tries to call upon his inner Miyazaki to emulate the fantastic and whimsical Ghibli movies, and you cannot miss it: using recurring plot points as allegories for real-life aspects that may affect us all (but especially the Japanese), displaying a strong sense of adventure and side-characters hopping left and right and at times bending over backwards to help the protagonist, weaving supernatural plot points throughout his movie, it definitely felt like Shinkai was attempting something else, which is very commendable because not every artist is able to attempt a different take and keep their personal touch, which is the case here. Let's skip the fluff and whatever compliment one could make about the visuals (it's a Shinkai movie, what do you expect?) and immediately start by mentioning the best parts of the work: the message. It's a particularly strong message, not exactly about grief this time around, but about hope, humility, will to survive, relationships, gratitude, love, acknowledgement of our weakness, and so on. We are transient beings, and we are nothing compared to what our planet can do, which is why we must respect it and fear it. Continuity is one of the greatest illusions of life, and we must stay humble and acknowledge that _tomorrow is a hope, never a promise_. __As an illustration of that, the stunning imagery of the normal, buzzing metropolitan city where people just live their everyday lives, unknowing of the invisible threat of a terrible disaster about to strike, was certainly THE highlight of this movie and was a grim reminder that it may all go to hell at a moment's notice.__ This movie makes it seem like the Worm is the main threat, but what REALLY is the threat is the byproduct of the Worm: the earthquake. In that regards, the movie will probably resonate more with a Japanese audience as they are very familiar with those natural phenomena, but what you need to keep in mind is that the earthquake could have been replaced by basically any other disaster: the most important idea is that the Worm is an allegory for a force that humans must fear and which could strike mercilessly at any moment, which is a very Miyazaki-esque concept. Opposing the aspect of fear and humbleness, there's the idea of love and strength. _Bonds create strength, strength allows people to overcome hardships, hardships favor the creation of bonds._ It's a virtuous circle that lets the group grow stronger in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds and not give in to despair. By calling upon the remnants of those bonds between people in those abandoned places and asking animistic gods to grant them power, our protagonists manage to delay the catastrophe. And the allegory for that bond is the door. The door is what people open and cross all the time, many times a day. It's a symbol not of division here, but of habit, a link between people and their next destination, where more people await them. It's a symbol of wonder and adventure too, as opening the door means breaking the safety of the room, letting the unknown flow into it, but it's also a symbol of repeating those same gestures that effectively make our world safer. To show this, there's a clear emphasis on using keys during the whole movie, even beyond the tool of the Closer, but with such a simple act as Suzume opening/closing her bike lock. If the themes of the movie are particularly powerful and intemporal, the same cannot be said of the execution however, which is bringing me to my first critic: most of the rest of the movie was sadly of questionable quality, be it the side characters, Suzume's grief about her dead mother, or the romance side plot, it all felt rushed or badly touched upon. In fact, I would have given this movie 30 more minutes in order to develop all this properly to avoid the “last minute” rush that was displayed at the end, especially with the montage of doors being opened and closed, and hands touching. This was very hamfisted and it felt like the director saying “wait, you STILL didn't get the message? Lemme spell it for you.” I am also conflicted about the side characters in this story, who somehow understand things without getting so much as a single clue initially, and do their best to help the protagonist despite not knowing what's at hand. Maybe this is just my perception as a Westerner living in a Western society, where people aren't exactly ready to do several hundreds of kilometers on a whim to help a total stranger, but there's such a thing as plot convenience. And regarding Daijin, I'm full of incomprehension on that part: did he really think that by getting rid of the man that Suzume fell in love with and would go above and beyond for, he'd get Suzume to like him? Now that's hard to understand. I was thinking about complaining about the romance, which is terribly unneeded here although it does play into the “relationships” theme of the movie, but instead, in order to end this already long review, I'll touch upon what is, in my view, the weakest part of the entire movie: the script. If it was nothing particularly offensive at first, halfway through the movie, the characters just start saying things for the sake of saying things, which are often not interesting nor relevant, and try needlessly to lighten the mood despite the movie heading towards its serious climax. And once the story's dramatic part becomes engaged, it becomes a chain of cries and shouts which really wore thin. By the end of the movie, I swear I had enough of hearing _“OKAA-SAAAN!”_ or “_SOUTA-SAAAN!”_ for the rest of my life. Talk about hamfisted... The rushed aspects of the movie which I mentioned earlier, also don't help as it prevented me from emphasizing with the main character, which in turn made the script even harder to swallow when the movie went full circle. As a conclusion, I'd say that Suzume is wasted potential in my view. It has __an amazing message__ with very apt metaphors and allegories about life, about relationships, about humility, but the __execution__ was lackluster and sometimes rushed. If you liked it, __more power to you__, I can't blame you. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't call this a bad movie at all: it's beautiful, it has a good musical score, the thematics are amazing, and it does have a certain feeling of adventure, hence the rating, but had the plot been trimmed of its load of side characters and had the script been reworked a bit, I'm sure it could have been so much better.
__The Good__ I want to begin this review by emphasizing how happy I am that Shinkai took a creative risk with _Suzume_. Following the massive success of _Your Name._, the most disappointing realization while watching his next film, _Weathering with You_, is that the plot structures between the two films were nearly identical. Masterpieces are never created from formulas - they're almost always a creative risk, just as _Your Name._ was. Although _Suzume_ reuses some of the same Shinkai themes as always - that is, changing your destiny and love separated by the elements - I think Shinkai is on the right track to make his next masterpiece. The film shares many similarities to one of his previous works, _Children who Chase Lost Voices_, and considering the poor reception of that film, I'm glad _Suzume_ is an improvement in every aspect. I'd like to commend the visuals, which continue to showcase CoMix Wave's breathtaking scenery abilities. The sound design was also outstanding. While _Your Name._'s soundtrack is iconic, this film could easily take second place under Shinkai's best sounding films. One thing I highly enjoyed was the comedic aspect of this film. If anything, Shinkai should consider incorporating more humor in his next project. The comedy in _Suzume_ far exceeded any other type of character interaction in increasing the audience's character attachment. In a cast full of cookie-cutter characters, the humor saves the day. __The Bad__ If _Weathering with You_ took a small step into the supernatural category, _Suzume_ dove right in. While the possibilities for a story set in a supernatural setting are endless, such stories demand a strong exposition - something that is lacking in _Suzume_. Purely based on the trailer, I could already tell it would be challenging to execute a story with so many elements. Two hours sounds like a lot, but there's only so much content you can fit. At a certain point, valuable exposition time is sacrificed for more action, and while this doesn't automatically make a story bad, it limits the story to a surface-level adventure at best. There were too many unexplained plot points, leaving the story full of holes and confusing at critical moments. While the lack of exposition may be due to the story's roots in Japanese folklore, international audiences account for around 50% of CoMix Wave film viewership, so it shouldn't be an expectation for target audiences to have this background knowledge. Another major issue was the character motivations, which felt unbelievable at times. A story full of emotions falls flat when the character's decision-making skills are nonsensical. This could perhaps be attributed to Shinkai's little experience with female main leads. Especially when emotion is such a critical aspect of the story, Shinkai leaves very little room for attachment to characters and their wellbeing. The first thirty minutes of the story were wasted on a highly subpar relationship development between the two main characters. As a final nitpick, I would say that _Suzume_ is not Shinkai's most visually stunning work. With the supernatural aspect at play, the film relies moderately on CGI, which is not CoMix Wave's strong suit. While they did a decent job, it feels out of place, like it was done by a completely independent team. _Suzume_ doesn't have something to match the iconic comet in "Your Name" - a beloved backdrop for anime fans - leaving the film lacking in standout visuals. Despite CoMix Wave's reputation for going all out with their animation during climactic moments, I felt somewhat underwhelmed during these moments. __Conclusion__ All in all, _Suzume_ is an experience I'd recommend to any anime fan. In this day and age, an anime film which gets everything right except the story is as common as it gets, but _Suzume_ gets those non-story elements __very__ right. If you enjoyed _Your Name._ and perhaps _Weathering with You_ not as much, this film will be a breath of fresh air. Hopefully next time, Shinkai will take an even greater creative risk and deviate even more from his usual themes. With his talent and the incredible team at CoMix Wave, I look forward to the creation of his next masterpiece.
~~~webm(https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/9abe2388a485f2d75f92d03aefe65503.mp4)~~~ I was still very young when my family told me that portions of my Armenian family tree were murdered in the Armenian genocide. I understood that it was a terrible thing, but it was only when I was older and I heard my grandmother and grandfather talk more about who these people were that it dawned on me that there was an entire element of my ancestral life that I would never know. It dawned on me that it wasn’t just names of people, or the desert that they were forced to march through to their deaths from heat or into early concentration camps; there was a distance that time had created, and given my young age, it would only grow more pronounced with each passing day. It is forever in the past, regardless of how present it is for my own ancestral story. In my youth, I just couldn’t understand, and even well into my adulthood, there’s a part of me that still cannot. But I never stop trying. Trying to understand or comprehend tragedy in the wake of disaster is integral to *Suzume no Tojimari,* but in a way that is not so readily obvious. If you take the film purely at its most non-allegorical visual level, there is no large-scale on-screen disaster or death that we really see aside from the first door-emergent worm that causes some moderate damage. Disaster tends to be framed as something that happens on a profoundly devastating scale, either for the individual person or the larger societal whole. Without this visual aid, one can cynically ask how we’re supposed to grasp the significance of a disaster that either happened or is about to, but never does? An answer lies in the film’s sense of landscape. Art director Tanji Takumi, with Shinkai as storyboarder, took pains to make the numerous abandoned places where the doors are kept feel like fully-realized three-dimensional spaces, with the doors adding a touch of ethereal air. And they need to be that way. Decrepit piles of stone, wood, metal, and overgrow were all, at one point or another, visited and populated, and if you’ve ever explored an abandoned location before, there always seems to be something surrounding you that feels unfamiliar and you can’t quite pinpoint. It’s as if the ghosts of the past are still there. There is indeed tragedy in that; these places, once teeming with life, now do not. When Sōta asks Suzume to remember those who used to reside in the spaces in order to close the doors, she sees flashes of a past that is unknowable to her, but one she still glimpses. Creating the doors between the past and the present is how any disaster, regardless of its form, is remembered. In relying upon the 2011 Tōhaku earthquake and tsunami, Shinkai as director and scriptwriter is deliberately calling upon an event just recent enough that Japanese youth live in its aftermath, even though some of the film’s audience haven’t even become teenagers yet. Unlike *your name* or *Weathering With You* using metaphor for their disasters (and it’s debatable the extent to which they worked), he aimed to have the event itself become too integral to the text to separate it. We see fingerprints of this intent sprinkled throughout the movie – it occurs in textual alerts of earthquakes, an iconography commonplace in Japan such that the background characters don’t pay them much heed most of the time, to list just one example that is perhaps most-relevant to our modern world. But most significantly, it occurs in the various people that Suzume and Sōta meet in their journey to close the doors. Most of the cast in the film either reside near, or have memories connected to, abandoned locations. Yet each has, in their own way, accepted that what has happened has happened, and actively strives to live a more-hospitable life and live on one happier, caring moment longer (if not in an overly saccharine manner). Suzume gradually begins to shed her old wardrobe as it gets increasingly dirty and disheveled, as the ensemble cast helps her by feeding her meals and having a cordial communication that Suzume had, perhaps, taken for granted given her less-than-glamorous remarks about her aunt. And it therefore comes as no surprise that, as they travel together, Suzume and Sōta themselves gradually become closer as disaster, both beyond the Ever-After and in the immediate reality, looms over them. In traveling and preventing disasters, Suzume and Sōta are treated by the mischievous Daijin as objects—literally in the case of Sōta, which is a funny inversion of how it’s female anime characters that tend to be objectified by the viewer—of play. It’s not long until the darker undercurrent of what’s happening makes itself known to them. But as the journey enters its final climax and their own personalized disasters come to the fore, they take all the lessons of abandonment, tragedy, and remembrance and make one final bid to lock the ultimate door. In character, landscape, allegory, and affect, *Suzume no Tojimari* is thus a film that pleads with its audience to not forget the past in terms of the places it once held, the people who once lived in it, and the things (lovely and terrible) that once happened there. This is not a “those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it” narrative, but rather a narrative that encourages an exploration of our own personal, geographical, and societal doors to witness an Ever-After that we can only glimpse, but not actually reach. There is always time to mourn, and likewise, there is always time to discover or rediscover. Even if you cannot understand disaster and its fallout fully, it is better to understand a little than to not understand at all. Ironically, in its characters closing doors, the film asks its audience to open theirs. In that spirit, it is perhaps Shinkai’s most life-affirming and cohesive work, and one that fits most snugly at home in his growing comfortability telling quasi-[sekaikei](https://www.e-ir.info/2013/02/01/apocalyptic-imagination-sekaikei-fiction-in-contemporary-japan/#:~:text=Sekaikei%2C%20roughly%20meaning%20%E2%80%9Cthe%20motif,the%20animation%20Neon%20Genesis%20Evangelion%2C) apocalypticism and romance. ~~~img550(https://i.imgur.com/DOtwylP.png)~~~
~~~ This is gonna be a short review, I just wanted to write down how I felt about this movie, not gonna go in-depth or anything. When I saw the trailer for this movie over a year ago I was already thinking that it looked too similar to Shinkai's previous movies. From the character design, to the plot premise it wasn't really anything new, yet I still gave it a chance and watched it yesterday. From start to finish the movie played out pretty much exactly as I expected it to. There were no surprises, no interesting plot twists nor any real character development. --- The main character Suzume lives in a small town and encounters a man who is looking for ruins in the area. After a while she finds out that he's on a mission to close certain magical doors all across the country to prevent earthquakes and decides to go with him. For some reason the guy gets turned into a chair (??) so the entire movie is pretty much them going from one door to another and closing them so the Elden Beast (it literally looks the same) cant come out and cause more earthquakes. img400(https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Elden-Ring/elden-beast-boss-elden-ring-wiki-guide.jpg) After a while the movie starts to feel pretty repetitive, especially because there are no real stakes whatsoever up until a certain point pretty far towards the end of the movie, which means that none of the scenes where I'm supposed to feel anxious about what might happens next really work. The character interactions also fall flat most of the time, probably because one of the main characters is literally a chair, but also because none of them are that interesting in the first place. Suzume decides to follow Souta across the entire country, which is still understandable because she probably feels like it's her responsibility that all these doors are opening, yet she also risks her life for him and says that she can't imagine a world without him even though she's only known him for maybe a week and he was (once again) literally a chair for majority of the time?... Doesn't really makes sense to me. Design-wise it feels like a lot of the characters are straight up copy-pasted from Shinkai's previous movies, they're really unoriginal and I probably wouldn't be able to tell which side characters belong to which movie had I not just watched Suzume. Credit where credit is due, the art and animation is absolutely beautiful from start to finish, as expected from a Shinkai movie. The world really feels alive due to all the small details and incredible animation. From the way the characters move around, to traffic being visible from miles away, the attention to detail is really impressive. I've also never seen a time-lapse in anime that was pretty neat. When it comes to sound-design I'd say it was pretty good, but there was nothing that really stood out to me, the music in particular was pretty forgettable. --- All in all Suzume is an alright movie that often feels dragged out and doesn't try anything new, but is still somewhat enjoyable due to its incredible visuals. #6/10~~~
___Mild Spoilers_ __ First thing's first let me get this out the way: The animation and soundtrack are absolutely stunning and amazing, I would recommend you watch it for these reasons alone - especially the track "Sky Over Tokyo" that plays during the Tokyo climax scene in the middle of the movie (literal chills). The atmospheric nature of this soundtrack as well as the ghostly voices used as the lead is great sound design, especially if you watch this in the cinema or proper surround sound as all the panning in the audio mix places you literally and figuratively in the center of the action. The animation is purely top tier. I'm talking your name, demon slayer se2, violet evergarden levels of pure beauty that makes this an incredible experience. However, the characters and the plot fall very short. As mentioned by other reviewers, the main character suffers from the anime trope of meeting a character for less then a day then instantly decides that they'll sacrifice their life for said person which makes the development of the relationship between the two main characters feel forced rather than a natural progression. It feels like the romance aspect was shoved into the film just so the film could be a romance. At least with other works by the author like Your Name the romance is a centrifugal part of the plot. Also with the cats, I wanted more from them. One of the reasons I wanted to watch this film was the idea of having a cute evil cat be the antagonist, but this falls short on a lot of different levels. I can't go into too much depth on this point as this review is only mild spoilers, but if you're going into this wanting an awesome cat villain then you'll be disappointed. (Note: I will say the final scene with the cat was done very well and I loved that aspect, however all the moments with the cat leading up to that left something to be desired). Another point is the relationship between the main character and her guardian. At a certain point 3/4 of the way through there was a point where the film showed real potential to add a twist and some type of real character building for both of these characters, however it's simply brushed off like nothing happened. I was so disappointed by this aspect and many others. I left the cinema with one resounding thought: "Well that was good, but it could have been so much more". In conclusion, if you love good visuals and music then you'll love this. If you're wanting a film that has an awesome cat villain, character relationships with a unique and dynamic plot then you'll be left disappointed at what it could have been. Music: 9/10 Visuals: 9/10 Plot: 4/10 Characters: 6.5/10 Relationships between characters: 7/10 Enjoyment: 8/10 Overall: 7/10
I was 12 at the time of the [Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tōhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami). It, along with the following Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, happened to take over every TV station during the anniversary of Spain's own 21st century tragedy. It took over my mind, too. I was too young to understand the [11M attack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Madrid_train_bombings) when it happened, catching just a glimpse of the afterimage as it rippled through the soft power apparatus--vague memories of names and buzzwords, propaganda related to the war on terror--so it felt like history in its most detached sense. I've learnt about it since then, but its forever past tense will never have the effect of the live footage I saw, years later, of cities I had never set foot in washed away by the waves. *Suzume no Tojimari* is, among other things, an attempt to [bridge the gap](https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14775547) between the memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake and a younger generation that is detached from it in the way I'm detached from the 2004 bombing. ___ ~~~img620(https://imgur.com/NxKBENA.png)~~~ ___ For that reason, despite the looming shadow of the apocalypse, it's anything but a disaster film. Rather than recreating the source of collective trauma, it gently talks through the aftermath by having the titular Suzume, a teenager who lived through the incident at a young age and has blocked the memory of it, interact with different forms of abandon by way of lives past and present; remembering who used to live there and living with those who remember. It's a road movie in structure, one that sees her and Souta (the chairperson) travel across Japan and meet people who are also related to the disaster--a reverse *On the Road* where all the cynicism is nowhere to be found. Brushes with the adult world are superficial and everyone is some degree of kind, showing Suzume forms of love she usually takes for granted--relevant to the dramatic backdrop of her relationship with her aunt, her legal guardian--and creating a trail of humanity in the beautifully decrepit ruins. Shinkai has had a fair share of brushes with tonal inconsistency. *Your Name* (an actual disaster film)'s comet and explosion are far too beautiful for their immediate tragedy to set in and the pop songs can narrow otherwise complex emotional landscapes. *Suzume*, as much a Shinkai film as the former, continues down the path of maximalist beauty and still feels a bit too clean for its subject matter (the main character is essentially what a Miyazaki girl would become in her teens, [not allowed actual ugliness](https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/05fb07e9dbd22f7d0c5afcead19eeb95.mp4), and while obvious, real world disasters are never given proper nouns) but it makes more sense, aesthetically, as a story about connecting with the ruins. The pristine background work and rich 4C-ish 3D environments, along with the story's boundless energy, avoid fetishistic nostalgia and engage with the past in the present tense--the movie's standard visual language. It's not necessarily my tone (I'm all for long, evocative images of decay and drier rendering), but it works, and it's easy to get swept up, laugh at the movie's actually really good jokes, enjoy the extremely one-sided romance, and take in the final stretch in the same heightened way you feel the end of a real journey, even if a lot of its nuance is lost in the bombast by then. To close a door to the other side (the story's supernatural core) one has to first imagine, as vividly as possible, the lives of the people who inhabited the ruins around it. It's as subtle a metaphor as everything else in the film, accompanied by pretty much every known Shinkai-ism in his usual iterative style (really, kind of amazing how much this dude can just do what he likes and be a commercial success), but it's also very effective. The film is all pathos, a field of memory; fragments of past hurt buried inside people and land alike becoming part of the soil on which new things can be built. Only [the target audience](https://letterboxd.com/booklyreads/film/suzume/) can judge how pointed it is in using the real language of natural disaster and lost decade abandon in Japan, but as far as my experience goes, know that I hadn't thought about 11M in a while and refer back to the intro paragraph. It must mean *something*. ___ ~~~img620(https://imgur.com/QoK07tj.png)~~~ ___ Thanks for reading! you can comment on the review [here](https://anilist.co/activity/549065901). This doesn't really cover how impressive the technical side of the film is (3d integration, chair animation and general rare cinematography, so I'll probably make a post about it at some point and link it here.
__*Some disclaimers and context.__ The score 75/100 means that this anime is something noteworthy to me; one that would be worth remembering. That being said, it ____just____ meets the mark for that status as it needs some work. Another thing I would like to mention is that Suzume is the first anifilm cinema experience ever for me, and I thought to commemorate the occasion I would write my first ever anime review as well. ____The Review____ I'll get straight to the point with the other criteria first, besides story, direction, and themes. I thought the animation overall has improved compared to Shinkai's previous films, especially in the detail and fidelity of the characters. They look a lot more fluid and distinguished now, instead of slightly different facial features and different hairdos. Even with the supposed "appalling" 3D animation that some others have pointed out, I thought it looked fine in the grand scheme of things. Sure it may seem unfitting at first with the always ever so high 2D animation quality of Comix Wave Films, but it's just the normal effect of seeing something different from the usual that may stick out. The animation and design is not bad in anyway, and I like how they are experimenting with 3D animation to perhaps make it as seamless as 2D animation one day. I also got to commend the sound design, it is more bombastic and complex this time around. Appropriate for an anifilm that is more focused on fantasy elements rather than just romance. The soundtrack being more cinematic in its themes, is more fitting in my opinion. Personally I think it's better than just inserting j-pop songs. Now that we got those aspects down... ____Story, Direction, and Themes____ Overall I thought the anime is a good film in its own right, even when compared to Shinkai's other works. Perhaps at worst, a viewing experience that is not bad. I like the new direction Shinkai is trying to take with this film, focusing more on other themes such as family matters, individual acceptance, priorities in life, etc., rather than just romance. That being said, it is a great idea that however, needs work on its execution. If you haven't seen the film yet, I highly recommend to watch this documentary first to get some better understanding from the story. You'll understand once you've watched Suzume. youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UHZugCNKA4&t) # ____SPOILERS AHEAD, READ AT YOUR RISK____# For instance in the beginning of the film, Suzume invites Souta into her room to treat his wound after their first worm encounter. Souta then used the seemingly unusual three-legged wooden chair to sit on, as Suzume treats his wound. Throughout this entire scene until the start of the chase for Daijin, no character bothered to be concerned about the chair. Hell, even Suzume herself didn't say anything about it, even if Souta used the chair without permission. It is almost as if the scene played out putting the chair in a dismissive position. Which is ironic, as this chair proved to be an object of importance to Suzume. I don't know if the storywriters or Shinkai himself decided to keep the sequence as it was, but I thought this scene could've been done better for the overall story. Instead of the movie opening with young Suzume running in the snow to intrigue the audience with a mystery vibe, it could've started as an obscure memory-dream of Suzume's mother. A brief showing of Suzume's heart-to-heart moment with her mother when they were constructing the chair could've provided so much needed context for the movie's story. If they would keep Suzume's room scene as it is, it wouldn't feel like something was missing or weird about Suzume chasing a God in the form of a cat with a wooden chair all around Japan. Often times the movie somewhat confused me on what are the true motives of the characters. Except for Daijin, because deities or beings with godly powers can be random pricks at times so I let that one slide (recent case on point, Odin and Heimdall from GOW Ragnarok). Anyway, it was like the film is telling me that Suzume has the hots for a stranger guy she just met despite his chair form. It was not until later in the movie, when we see the flashback of Suzume and her mother that it cleared things up for me. Then it made me realize that the chair had another important meaning to Suzume. Hence why she goes around Japan with Souta in this seemingly outlandish adventure, whilst being "too comfortable" with a guy possessing a chair. Though her other motif about saving Japan from another disastrous earthquake like the one that caused her mother's death is worth mentioning. However, I only recognized this with the help of additional context outside the film which can be seen in this [YT video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UHZugCNKA4&t) youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UHZugCNKA4&t) The brief scene when Suzume & Co. passed through lands covered with black garbage bags, is actually a neat reference to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Those black bags are filled contaminated with topsoil from the radiation the nuclear power plants released. It then struck me that Suzume's mother died as a direct result of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster. Couple that with the scene of Suzume's recalling of ocean wave sounds crashing as she goes through the ruins along the coastline, I came to realize that the heavy burden of that disaster acts as a subplot for this film. In case you haven't, you have to watch the YT video I posted, it provides some insightful context trust me. This in of itself however, is another problem for this film. In order to gain further appreciation for the movie's story, you need some additional context from external sources to understand it first. To the average film or even anime viewer, this hidden meaning may be lost as just another casually scenic view. Back to what I have mentioned earlier about my issues with the film's sequential order of important context, it is about this time in the film where they show Suzume's flashback with her mother. This is where they should put Suzume's hinting dream of the Ever-After, it would especially make sense since she has been constantly exposed to the worm and the doors to the Ever-After. This should then give further reason for Suzume to close on something reminiscent of her troubled past, along with the audience better understanding what that sequence of young Suzume out in the snow meant in the end. This would have been a much better use for it, instead of using it as cheap intrigue at the start. Thankfully that's where most of my critiques end. The rest of the subplots and themes were handled nicely, especially with Suzume and her auntie. That is indeed a heartwarming bonding moment for the two of them, and they have finally resolved their tense relationship. As for Shinkai's intentions for this film to go away from the romance tropes, I would say he somewhat failed. Although I'm not complaining as this time around, it is not overdone like some of his previous works. The wrap things up, I would say I still enjoyed Your Name more than Suzume. Because Your Name is a prime example of a consistent and cohesive package. It may have the cheesy idea that is "romance wins", but the execution of that film is what made it click even for me. Unfortunately for Suzume it is vice versa, it has interesting concepts and ideas that fall somewhat short. Some ended up half-baked with execution, and story sequencing issues like what I have mentioned. But it is promising to see Shinkai try to veer away from typical romance tropes, as it is beginning to get stale on its own like what we've seen with Weathering With You. I'd recommend watching this anifilm. A thoughtful experience that may tug the heartstrings in different ways, just don't go into this expecting it to be anything strongly romantic.
_No spoilers_ Watching Suzume in cinemas was a good idea. Do that if you can. ~~~img600(https://asetto.nawalakarsa.id/imeji/20230315231107/Review-Suzume-03.jpg)~~~ __The Good__ This film definitely does feel like an evolution of Makoto Shinkai as a filmmaker in a way that his last movie didn't. Clearly he has found his trademark style and colour palette. Shinkai has developed a set of trademark shots, too: long time-lapses, tracking shots of birds wheeling overhead, and the famous "Shinkai pan" we saw in, among others [this scene](https://youtu.be/OJAvgHSeIhI?t=16]). Live-action style camera movement is usually reserved for action scenes in anime and it's always really gratifying to see Shinkai innovate with this kind of cinematic language. He's moved away from montages scored by catchy RADWIMPS insert songs even if Masayoshi Tanaka returns to do the character design. And the choice of a female lead is good - _Your Name_'s Mitsuha was essentially a man for most of the runtime. Makoto Shinkai has also, unexpectedly, become one of the best comedy anime directors working today. He's always been funny but there are some fantastic jokes (perhaps the localisers deserve a hat tip here) as well as very clever visual comedy. This is comforting, and like I say, it's an indicator of a director who has found his feel for storyboarding and wants to start taking risk. The action is also considerably better than early attempts, although sometimes the CGI isn't quite seamlessly blended in and CoMix Wave would probably benefit from bringing in a studio like ufotable in (God knows they've contracted in pretty much every other studio in the industry at this point). The chair is hilarious and beautifully animated. The plot in general is well-paced and logical, and although the film is longer than Shinkai's previous work it never drags noticeably and the action is parcelled out in a way that will keep most viewers entertained. __The Less Good__ ~~~~~img600(https://images.gmanews.tv/webpics/2022/09/makoto_shinkai_2022_09_29_14_44_29.png)~~ ~~~ Shinkai has always thrived on setting rather than characters. Usually this works quite well given his favourite themes of setting overpowering character. In past works the rather thin characters don't matter so much since their motivations are relatively unimportant. Unfortunately in this case the mistakes are too big to ignore. While some side characters work fine, the central romance at the core of this story just does not work. More importantly, I have always felt the reason Shinkai's best work is so effective is because it conveys a sense of feeling and loss, even if unsubtle and melodramatic at times. This time around the movie seems to want to overwhelm rather than touch, cramming its resolution into a (gorgeous) climactic scene. This isn't the understatement of Your Name's final act or Masayoshi Yamazaki's _One more time, one more chance_ montage in _5cm_, it's full-bore, and seeing this kind of sledgehammer subtlety from a director usually better is a little frustrating. Visually, some of the CGI is a bit rough although I am willing to write it off as a stylistic choice. More problematic is the fact that I'm not sure there is a mental image which sticks from this film. Sure, some of the magical realism of the Ever-After is striking, but I don't think it's as stunning as _Your Name's comet, or _5cm_'s rocket launch, or, for that matter, _Weathering With You_'s sky island. Finally, the music is less brilliant than the past - merely passable, whereas past work has elevated it. While it's well known that Shinkai and RADWIMPS do collaboratively write the movie together, surely this could happen without them needing to score the whole thing (it appears this happened to some degree already, with Kazuma Jinnouchi getting a music credit). Time to move on, perhaps. Makoto Shinkai has always been a filmmaker where his films awe visually and yet have a soul beyond that. Yes, there are theatrics, but his films seem to elevate themselves beyond lesser melodramas (which anime is unfortunately rich with). The upshot of all of these complaints I have is that the film seems to leave no lasting memory behind, unlike much of his previous work. Makoto Shinkai makes films - made films - that haunt you. This one, you just enjoy. The charge against Shinkai has always been that he is all style and no substance. Regarding his past work, I disagree. I've always felt that Shinkai is the master of style as substance, feeling as much as fact, emotion as much as action. Not so much this time. Fortunately, the style is damn good. __Summary__ ~~~~~img600(https://republicasiamedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/suzume-banner.png)~~ ~~~ I'm not sure the mix of road movie, anime fantasy, comedic slapstick, psychological drama and romance all quite hangs together, and there is certainly a sense of tonal whiplash in places. The ending especially does feel a bit tacked on. Despite all that, anime is a visual medium, and it's impossible to say that a film that is this simply stunning is bad in any meaningful sense. I was never bored by this film. There is in my mind still the lingering dissatisfaction of not seeing something life-changing like _Your Name_ or _5 centimeters per second_ but _Suzume_ was a wonderful time. History will treat it kindly. See you in 3 years, Shinkai-san.
~~~_Shinkai sensei knows how to pull audiences, and he has achieved it again with Suzume_.~~~ ~~~img220(https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/599/0e0/605eb94b6d47fea1d1bc3c18eb0dccf73d-Suzume-Iwato-1.jpg)~~~ ~~~ The movie is about Suzume, who teams up with Souta in order to prevent disasters across Japan, by locking up the doors through which the calamity emerges (in the form of a gigantic worm). This is not even close to Makoto Shinkai's third-best work (5 Centimetres Per Second), but DAMN! The experience of watching it on a big screen with a packed audience was IMMACULATE! Although flawed, Suzume never fails to engage the viewers with its compelling storytelling and painstakingly gorgeous visuals.~~~ ~~~__What I Loved:__~~~ - First off, the soundtrack composed by RADWIMPS is stupendous; it gives a haunting feeling in certain scenes and also it fills you with hope and assurance that everything will be alright by the end. I did miss the vocalized version of the Suzume title track tho, but never mind..the rest of it slapped. - The animation quality is orgasmic. At this point, them delivering normal animation is out of the equation. Each and every frame can be turned into a painting. Even the smallest of scenes were beautifully crafted and gave the magnum-opus feels. The scenes involving the Ever-After have to be my favorite coz bruh, they looked really gorgeous. - The characters were very well written, and everyone seemed to have some purpose. The characters gave off a very wholesome vibe which I really loved. Serizawa is the GOAT without a doubt. ~~~img220(https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/thumbnails/crop1200x630gW0/cms/news.5/191203/suzume-tomoya-serizawa.jpg)~~~ - The humor worked really well for me; it was present in the right amount and was very subtle and natural. - The themes that the film explores were dealt with beautifully! When Suzume tells her younger self not to worry about the past, and embrace the goodness that's about to come tomorrow, mann it was very heartfelt and inspiring. ~~~__What Didn't Work For Me:__~~~ - The movie lacks the emotional punch that Shinkai's previous works had. - The 'locking the doors" stuff got repetitive after a point, which caused the stakes to die down a bit. - Feel bad for Minoru cause he didn't get to share his true feelings with Tamaki-san : ( ~~~Overall, I still enjoyed watching the movie, and it got intense in certain moments too where I genuinely was on the edge of my seat. I'll have to rewatch this after knowing more about the 3/11 incident, in order to get a deeper insight into what Shinkai actually had in mind while writing the storyboards. PS: Need Serizawa'a playlist badly! Someone please upload it ffs.?~~~
~~~**This review contains spoilers for Suzume and Weathering With You**~~~ ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/jurURyE.jpg)~~~ I have a predilection for anime movies. Shocker, I know. But they’re different beasts than anime shows, rife not just for analysis of the work itself, but of how that work exists in the larger culture of both fandom and popular culture itself. Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli as a whole were the kings of feature anime films. Though the influence of John Lasseter as both an executive producer and distributor cannot be ignored, it's undeniable that the quality of Studio Ghibli’s films in and of themselves helped them break into the mainstream and leave the Anime Ghetto in a way that something like, say, *Akira* could not. Yet, if you’ve been following anime for the past ten years, you’ve noticed that the king’s castle has long stood abandoned, the bricks beginning to crumble. Yeah, yeah, Miyazaki’s new film premieres *this very summer* and I’m sure it’ll be amazing, but that very quality will surely be the final nail in Studio Ghibli’s coffin, [as I alluded to before](https://anilist.co/review/12505). Naturally, the question becomes who will fill Ghibli/Miyazaki’s shoes. Ponoc was the likeliest candidate, what with it being compromised of several Studio Ghibli alums. It had a decent enough proof-of-concept in 2017’s *Mary and the Witch’s Flower*, but not much since then. ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/6giOzER.jpg)~~~ In looking for what’s the most likely to simply *be* Ghibli, I, and others, I suspect, may have ignored the most likely candidate for the person or studio that’s done the best job of holding up its legacy: Makoto Shinkai. Now, before you smash that dislike button, hear me out. Shinkai isn’t the same as Miyazaki. No one is, nor will anyone be. Shinkai isn’t literally making Ghibli movies and as such, cannot fulfill their same niche. Yet he’s the biggest new name in the anime movie scene and his prominence is what earns him the comparison. Ignoring movies attached to television shows/manga and the juggernaut that’s *Doraemon*, Shinkai’s works are [the only members of the top ten highest-grossing Japanese films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_Japanese_films) that share the spot with Miyazaki’s. *Your Name* was massive, but it could have been a fluke. *[Weathering With You](https://anilist.co/review/5835)* showed that Shinkai could play with the big boys, and if *Suzume’s* money printing is any indication, it codifies him as *the* big boy. ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/LwzFeEm.jpg)~~~ *Suzume* is an easy movie to love. *Suzume*, like its two predecessors spares few expenses when it comes to visual fidelity. It’s an absolute beaut to look at. I went in thinking I’d say that the ground is Ghibli’s domain, with its rolling, green hills, while Shinkai takes to the air, depicting the sky with beautiful meteors, sunsets, and raindrops. *Suzume* is no slouch in this regard — its marketing knows as much: you’ve likely already seen the Ever After’s violet sunset, dotted with stars and a spiral arm of the milky way. If the film’s supernatural antagonist, “The Worm” is supposed to be frightening, it fails only insofar is that it’s hard not to be mesmerized by its dark tendrils snaking across the sky. That said, I was surprised to see that *Suzume* landscapes give Ghibli a run for its money. Out the gate, we’re treated to some truly breathtaking establishing shots of the titular Suzume’s Kyushu home. It reminds me a bit of *My Neighbor Totoro* and the sparking blue water of the ocean looks so good that you’re liable to break the screen you’re watching the movie on to try and jump in. *Suzume* has “early summer vacation” vibes. The movie feels very cozy, which services its themes of showcasing places where normal people live their lives before disaster. You really get attached to these places; you want to see them saved and you really feel the losses of past disasters. There’s as much beauty and respect placed on “lonely places” as there are populated ones. It’s a movie more visually striking than *Whisper of the Heart*, which is saying something considering I couldn’t stop gushing about how beautiful Tama City was while watching, much to my friends’ chagrin. ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/Wh4NV09.png)~~~ *Speaking* of *Whisper of the Heart*, it’s referenced in this movie by name. It was a cute shoutout that was after my heart. What was even *more* after my heart was the reference to **[Penguin's Memory](https://anilist.co/review/2947)**. Remember that? Of course you don’t, but *I* do and I had the stupidest grin on my face when I spotted its cover as one of the characters sings its song. There are references and product placements all over the place — McDonald’s, Twitter, Instagram, Nissan. To some, this might reek of shallowness; to me, it brings to attention how Shinkai’s movies are more down-to-Earth and real than most Ghibli movies. Ghibli movies are fairy tales while these feel a lot more interested in being perceived as being contemporary in time and place. In a way, that makes them feel more approachable. *Suzume* is also indicative of the difference between Shinkai and Miyazaki’s cohort’s intended audience. Ghibli movies were generally family-oriented affairs. Not necessarily in terms of content (as something like *Princess Mononoke attests), but in tone. Even if they weren’t necessarily aimed at kids, it was something that kids, as well as other age groups, could get something out of. Shinkai’s films meanwhile feel more aimed at teenagers — you feel it in the dialogue, in the jokes, and its preoccupations. You also see it in the prevalence of romance. And its in the romance where you see *Suzume* start to stumble. *Suzume’s* romance, quite bluntly, didn’t need to be there. It probably subtracts more than it adds in that the ages (Sōta’s ill-defined “graduate school,” at the very least, places him older than 21 while Suzume is firmly established as being 16) make the endeavor a bit gross. Sure, you can read it as being a friendship, but there’s enough teases there that you can tell that it was intended to be a romantic pairing. Because that’s kind of Shinkai’s thing. ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/wzU5fXE.png)~~~ *Suzume* has more interest in being an adventure than Shinkai’s other breakout hits. The characters travel Japan in search of doors to stop the catalysmic “Worm” from escaping and wreaking havoc on the populace. We’re treated to two chase sequences and while Shinkai’s previous affairs aren’t what I’d call “gritty,” *Suzume’s* talking cat and lead-cursed-to-become-a-walking-and-talking-chair make the movie feel whimsical in a way that its predecessors aren’t. It’s not full-on adventure ala *Castle in the Sky*, but it certainly is more energetic than what came before. But Shinkai isn’t content to just have his chases, his supernatural escapades. No, he needs his slow moments, the moments that contribute to the movie being cozy. Yet they’re implemented oddly. *Suzume* has a bit of a weird pace — the movie itself seems to progress really quickly during its first two acts but its third feels slower to the point of whiplash; the end of the second act felt like a climax. Even *during* the first two acts, the action is much shorter than the “down time.” I like both elements but they don’t blend in that well. ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/9ZhwiVU.jpg)~~~ This is also reflected in the more character-focused narrative not really sharing screen time with the supernatural elements. It’s a “never shall the two halves meet” situation and it’s very stark in just *how* separated they are. The first two-thirds, while having slower moments, doesn’t have many slow moments that further our understanding of the *characters* or what’s at stake emotionally. As a result, I thought it to be shallower than its predecessors. But then the third act hits and the movie becomes surprisingly deep and somber. No longer do I care about the antagonist’s seeming lack of motivation because I realize the movie isn’t really meant to be about them. The third act, more bereft of supernatural elements, shotguns the emotional gut punches. It certainly works, but in a way that doesn’t feel as satisfying as it could be. The narrative really would have been stronger if Suzume’s struggles with both her aunt and the memory of her mother were spread throughout the movie. One of the movie’s themes seems to be about accepting that death is a part of life and not chasing those who’ve gone. Sōta is sacrificed in order to save Tokyo; Suzume chooses duty over love. But he’s eventually revived without much repercussion — *Suzume* essentially gets to eat its cake and have it too. After the backlash of *Suzume’s* direct predecessor *[Weathering With You](https://anilist.co/review/5835)* — in which its protagonist essentially damns the citizens of Tokyo, if not the entire planet, by choosing love over duty — the decision certainly makes sense, though I can’t help but feel it hurts the narrative. For a movie whose central theme is about letting go, it really decides to politely decline the easiest slam-dunk. ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/6mc3IoM.jpg)~~~ Oh, right the third act involves the protagonist trying to save their love interest, just like the previous two Shinkai movies. Whether you consider this a mark of an auteur or a hack with one idea that he cosplays as unique stories is ultimately up to personal opinion. I err more towards the former, but I can’t deny that the samey-ness of Shinkai’s movies is beginning to wear thin. There’s enough different here that it doesn’t feel like a complete retread, but Shinkai’s next movie will really need to break his mold lest he be fully shackled with the “one trick pony” weight that’s been wrapping around his ankle since *Weathering With You*. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that *Suzume* is an easy movie to hate, but it’s an easy movie to find fault with. It’s a messy movie — messier than *Your Name*, messier than *Weathering With You. Messier than pretty much any given *Ghibli* movie. Yet I love it anyway. Because despite its fault, there’s a lot of genuine heart in it. ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/Fj8yPsR.jpg)~~~ Again, I love how cozy it is, how tender it is towards the people Suzume meets in her travels, how the movie finds just as much beauty in the bustling city as it does in the countryside. I love how the “lonely places” are revealed to be the sites of disasters. It hit hard when we figure out Suzume’s mother died as a result of the 2011 Earthquake and as a young girl she blacks out her diary following those days. It hits even harder hearing people say “goodbye” to their loved ones, not knowing they’ll never see them again, yet perhaps knowing that the possibility is always there and cherishing the moments that they have. I love the cat, as creepy as it is, I love the music. I love the whimsy, which I feel expands the demographic in a way its predecessors couldn’t. This might not be as *good* as most Ghibli movies, but it’s certainly as enjoyable. Shinkai isn’t a perfect director and *Suzume* is the perfect movie to encapsulate this fact. Even if he’s this generation’s Miyazaki, he’ll never *be* a Miyazaki. There won’t ever be an animation director like Miyazaki again. And maybe that’s a good thing. Because it’s always fun to root for an underdog, to analyze what shortcomings he needs to vault over in order to beat the odds. Shinkai has a lot of heart; a drive to press on despite his shortcomings and make something beautiful with those imperfections. And *Suzume* encapsulates this fact, too. ~~~img200(https://i.imgur.com/fN6vTRm.png)~~~ ~~~img520(https://i.imgur.com/LU96x12.jpg)~~~
In the year 2023, it is widely acknowledged that Makoto Shinkai is the most successful anime film director of the past decade. With the golden age of Studio Ghibli having come to an end, titles such as Your Name, Weathering With You, and now Suzume have come close to breaking all of Japan's box office records. Therefore, each time Shinkai releases a new film in theaters, the audience sets the bar high. They are right to do so, as Suzume is a stunning film that is full of substance, allegories, and emotions. Following his favorite motifs, Shinkai creates another work with a detailed art style and animation, a romance created from scratch, a theme song by RADWIMPS, natural disasters, and supernatural/psychic powers. At first glance, one might conclude that the director is repeating himself and has no new ideas. However, despite the clear inspiration, Suzume is a distinct film that stands out on many levels. Let us start with the basics: this time, the romance is secondary, and the real substance lies in the psychological and emotional damage caused by a natural disaster on a person. The protagonist is a teenage girl who must battle the traumas of her past and the harsh reality she has endured following the loss of her mother in the well-known 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. In the real world, Suzume now lives with her aunt and meets a mysterious young adult who catches her interest. Following him, she embarks on a magical journey to close "doors" that connect reality to a fantasy world, from which a giant entity that causes earthquakes on the earth is trying to escape. As Shinkai said in an interview, he tries to raise awareness through the girl's story, connect the new generation with the previous one, and poetically demonstrate how earthquakes traumatize millions of people. During this journey, Suzume visits areas such as Ehime and Kobe, where significant earthquakes have occurred in the past. The director shows viewers the harsh reality of abandoned amusement parks and schools. The young woman's final destination is Tohoku, the home where she lived during her childhood years until her traumatic experience, and the place where she will come into contact with her deliberately forgotten past and try to accept it. The pop culture references are more abundant than ever. Shinkai plays with his fans by showing scenes similar to his previous films, such as the railroad crossing at the beginning of the movie reminiscent of "5 Centimeters Per Second." Additionally, we see references to Miyazaki's movies, such as "Kiki's Delivery Service," through the Spotify playlist of a secondary character who played songs from older anime such as "KareKano" and "Galaxy Express 999". Many viewers may consider the cat-like creature Daijin a reference to Kyuubey from "Madoka Magica", or Souta and his relationship with Suzume a reference to "Howl's Moving Castle". However, Shinkai does not just allow us to imagine his references or influences. He leaves many things "up in the air" for the viewer to interpret. Events that occur in the movie lack a clear explanation, and while this can often be a positive thing, other times it can leave too many question marks that shouldn't exist. It is up to the viewer to decide when there are limits to creating an allegorical film. Special attention was given to the soundtrack, which always blended perfectly with the mood of each scene. The voice actors did an excellent job, and the colors, animation, and art style were all stunning, almost on par with the fan-favorite Your Name. The combination of all these factors contributed to the creation of an exceptional atmosphere. To sum up, I would like to emphasize that Suzume is a work that manages to sensitize the viewer in every way. The balanced mixture of comedy, drama, fantasy, and adventure is enough to entertain the audience, keeping them glued to the cinema screen from beginning to end. However, to me, apart from the aforementioned balance, the film's greater success is the unique embodiment of a psychologically traumatized person who has experienced destruction in their childhood. Far from perfection, Suzume is a pleasant and meaningful film for all audiences.
Shinkai should consider making a TV series. But it wouldn't fit the large budget he's used to working with. Suzume no Tojimari is proof that Shinkai's work is getting a little stale. The plot really dwindles here. Characters are introduced as plot devices and aren't seen again. I believe Suzume was a good female main character but is overshadowed by the overwhelming amount of characters that are introduced in two hours. Shinkai does this thing where he introduces an subplot and it is never completed. In tenki no ko, this was alleviated but he's returned to it. In your name, everything was done so masterfully. The supernatural element of musubi, the red string of fate and how it drew them together. the parallel trains. So it wasn't as bad when it was left on a cliffhanger, the characters were better then. When the film ended, my heart was racing. I wanted to know whether they ended up together or not. What happened? What is the message? I was that attached to the film, the plot twist in the middle was great as well. I feel as though the attention to detail that was exhibited in the garden of words, 5 cm per second, your name, it's starting to dwindle. The voice acting is brilliant, nanoka hara proved how she beat so many people in auditions for the role of suzume. As a first time Voice actor, shinkai found a masterpiece. The rest of the characters barely stay on the screen except souta who is also good. Overall great voice acting. I will never rate an Shinkai movie below 8. I had the pleasure of watching in an theatre as it came to the United States. The soundtrack and animation are brilliant. The art is so careful, the way japan is depicted in all of it's beauty. Shinkai viewers know what im talking about. Kobe, tokyo, and many other towns and cities, rural and urban, are masterfully seen and it is great to watch. Shinkai also does the slice-of-life really well, as always. Whether it's playing with kids, jumping into sports cars, cleaning a bath, the dialogue is always brilliant, it's one of his greatest strengths. The dialogue is great. I wish he would do more humor, he is good at it. One review I read said that the soundtrack felt a little "off", and I couldn't agree more. there was no "it" moment, like when grand escape plays in tenki no ko, or sparkle in your name. I also wanted more vocal RADWIMPS soundtracks as the only one is in the end credits, they could have added a lot more to the film like in your name and weathering with you. I can't lie, suzume is a great piece but the ost felt off in terms of timing apart from one scene towards the end where it is played in a slower, sadder way. There are too many loose ends hanging here, the romance is really frustrating, which I think is fair given the age gap between souta and suzume, I guess he didn't want a repeat of the garden of words. I have a commitment to be spoiler-free in reviews, otherwise im just ranting to people who have already seen the movie. Characters are so and so, first off, there are too many of them. Some had lots of potential but let me get to the main point of my review. Shinkai IS TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. It was really bad in this movie, and why it's not getting above an 8. He is pulling things out of his ass and then chooses to resolve ABSOLUTELY NONE of it at the very end. not even the central theme of why they are locking doors in the first place is made clear at the end. Fuck, we don't even know why it is starting which makes absolutely no sense. At least some effort is made to explain the supernatural element in his past works. Shinkai's works are a little slice of life, a little romance, and an supernatural element. He screwed up the plot and the supernatural part. I liked the premise of how they need to hear what was once there in said location. Even if he is pulling things out of his ass, the ending message was nice as it was the only thing that was really resolved. Suzume reconciles with her younger self as she teaches us and tells the nation of japan, which seems to hit disaster after disaster (it must be noted that suzume's hometown of kyushu, was it by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake in real life 6 weeks before the film was relased) to accept the trauma of the past and look forward. Similar to tenki no ko, the plot resolves with the premise that preventing disaster and resolving the disaster completely is secondary to making bonds with others and helping others when they need it. Just like in tenki no ko where hodaka chooses to accept endless rain so long as hina is in that world with him. I think that is a great message to end the plot with, especially for the japanese audience. Because they won't be able to prevent future natural disasters, that's impossible. But what they can do is continue to power through it and move forward. Regardless, in conclusion, Shinkai fails to tie up loose ends with all of the characters he introduces and the plot is stale and has too many holes. Overall disappointed and expected more plot-wise out of Shinkai who is a brilliant storyteller, his works seem to be declining in that aspect. Im sure he is aware that he is bullshitting the plot but he must think it makes a better film. As shown by the high MAL rating, he might not be wrong. But as someone who knows his game, it is disappointing. You need to go see it for yourself however, as the art, animation, dialogue, and ost are the best in the business (it helped that I was in a theatre). It was even better in-person. Characters- 6/10, soundtrack- 9/10, art- 9.75/10, animation- 10/10, plot- 6/10, voice acting- 10/10. Overall 8.45/10
Shinkai is an extremely talented filmmaker, and "Garden of the Words," his sole successful film, is evidence of this. This film had very little dialogue and there was no overarching plot that needed to be resolved. Shinkai put all of his efforts into creating something where he is really strong, a visually appealing mood poem chock full of visual communications. But it's sad aside from this film, Shinkai never really embraced his area of strength despite spending more than 20 years working in the field. I really hope he will eventually put down his pen and let someone else write the script and put himself fully focusing on direction. Because at the end of this decade, I want to remember the name Makoto Shinkai not some shadow of Hayao Miyazaki. img1000(https://media.tenor.com/Tno79fpc9lYAAAAd/suzume-no-tojimari.gif) "Suzume" is exactly what you expect from Makoto Shinkai's narrative, with characters having shallow personalities and poor character development resulting from the non-existence of dimensional depth. Anything they do feels sudden and forced, lacking proper motivation. Because of this, it plagues itself with melodramatic scenes in climactic acts. And like every other Shinkai film Suzume has a bucket load of irritating plotholes. The problems aside Suzume is admireable for what is it, It is Shinkai's most masterful film to date. This film is full of gorgeous frames, artistic visuals, creative camera pans and ingeniously done animated sequences. It has engaging camera composition, tasteful music and skillfully done cinematography. Suzume is the token of Shinkai's trademark direction which he has slowly perfected over the years. As I said earlier, I always bealieved Shinkai is very good at creating moments and Suzume just strengthened my belief more. It has these narratively and emotionally rich detours involving various side characters and stylised road trip scenes. Getting enhanced by these moments' chemistry between the characters works despite them having zero-dimensional depth. img700(https://i.imgur.com/h1OXXnc.jpg) Anyway, Did I enjoy Suzume? the answer is yes. But it's sad. Suzume had many emotionally compelling moments, yet it falls short of evoking my emotions when it really needed to. It really made me sad that despite loving about many things I did not care about the moments this film wanted me to care most about. But I think we are getting there, It's not so far for Shinkai to write something really amazing and Suzume is the first step of that, its the first where Shinkai found the balance between overeaching narrative and asthetic junctures . Or as I said I before he could simply put down his pen and paper, I am waiting for either of the day to come. img700(https://i.imgur.com/kGAKI3r.jpg)
Makoto Shinkai, an anime director famous for the fantasy romance genre, also makes disaster an important story device, at least in his last three films. He presented Suzume as a tribute to the victims of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011. The film will indeed be heartwarming from how Makoto writes about his character's struggle not only to stop the earthquake but to come to terms with the sense of loss that has continued to overwhelm him since the unfortunate tragedy.
Suzume Iwato, the main character, was still a child when the disaster struck. In the opening scene, we see her little figure looking around for her mother, somewhere cold. The experience must have been traumatic for Suzume to have such a dream. Suzume herself, now 17 years old, is a pretty bubbly high school girl. We'll see her say goodbye to her aunt. We see her going to school by bicycle, and we see her dumbfounded looking at the young man with long hair on the street. The young man's name was Souta Munakata and asked Suzume for directions to the city ruins on the mountain. Suzume, who is curious, skips school and arrives first at the ruins of Souta’s destination. Suzume saw the door Souta was looking for, and the moment Suzume opened that door was the moment the story's fantasy adventure began.
Another feature of Shinkai is that instead of bringing us and the characters into a fantasy world, he brings that fantasy to us. Bringing that fantasy to the world of stories that he always makes grounded and based directly on the real world. Suzume's film immediately became intense because of this. From the door that Suzume opened appeared a giant red worm. The creature that only Souta and Suzume can see is floating above the city and is about to throw itself away. The giant worm is what causes the earthquake disaster. Suzume and Sota have to travel around Japan, closing the doors where the worm comes out so that a terrible earthquake doesn't occur.
The film's imaginative creations contribute to its fun and magical atmosphere. Suzume's ability to think outside the box adds to the out-of-the-ordinary experiences in her everyday life. Alongside the worm, there is a transformative keystone that can turn into a cat, and even Souta himself is cursed to become a kindergarten chair. These elements are intentionally included to give the film a fresh and entertaining feel. The contemporary world of Suzume, where chairs chase cats, further enhances the sense of familiarity.
In addition to the delightful and unique characters, the film showcases extraordinary hand-drawn animation. Shinkai's preference for drawing real locations as story settings is evident, and the backgrounds burst with vibrant colors, even in the gloomiest of places. The animation is enhanced with sparkling visual effects, and the use of perspective shots adds to the dynamic storytelling. Suzume takes on the form of a travel movie, with an action-oriented adventure that sets it apart from Shinkai's previous works. While the stories of these three films are not connected, they share distinct elements that define Shinkai's style.
Together with Souta, Suzume embarks on a journey across Japan, following the trail of the cat suspected of intentionally opening worm doors in various ruined cities to cause earthquakes. The ever-changing atmospheres in each location prevent their mission, which may seem repetitive, from becoming dull. It becomes more exciting as Suzume and Souta encounter new people in every area they visit. The film effectively portrays Suzume's interactions with these individuals, creating a genuine sense of friendship, even within the limited screen time. The story goes beyond a simple romance between two young people, incorporating various elements that enrich Suzume's overall narrative.
What Suzume is doing here is probably the hardest thing a survivor has to do: close the door. Seeing what was behind the door, reminiscing about events before the disaster, only to have it shut and locked tightly. However, the film doesn't think of it as Suzume's actions to forget her tragedy or trauma. Closing the door mentioned in the film is an act of respect, which also strengthens survivors to move on with life. The film wants Suzume to remember that time so that this girl is aware. To see the sacrifice and love behind it all. Another key element in the film is the relationship between Suzume and her aunt who has been raising her. Her Aunt who until now has not married. Her aunt, who at one point exploded, said she had sacrificed her youth for Suzume. Suzume herself didn't see her aunt as a mother figure that she respected at that time. She can't, because deep inside is still looking for her real mother.
The film is more exciting, and the pictures are also really beautiful. Factors that make the anime more urgent, even from Shinkai’s two previous works which were more superior. The decision can finally be locked. It seems that Suzume is a film that is enjoyable for those looking for a coming-of-age story with a focus on emotional growth. The film has great characters and animation, but may not offer much beyond that for some viewers. The story is laser-targeted to make us laugh and cry but may fall short of expectations for some.
_*Para a review em português, desça a página._ __~~~Suzume: Beyond the Magical Doors - A Journey of Acceptance and Redemption~~~__ When it comes to the technical aspects of the film, there are no negative comments to be made. The storyline, soundtrack, and animation are all beautifully crafted, resulting in a masterpiece of audiovisual art. Makoto Shinkai's direction once again brings us an excellent story, with captivating characters and immersive settings that make it feel as though we are stepping through one of the magical doors right from the beginning of the film. Now, delving into the thematic analysis of the movie, "Suzume" is a work dedicated to making us reflect on the acceptance of grief and the resolution of unresolved emotions. Our protagonist, Suzume, is a high school teenager living in a small town in Japan, raised by her aunt since the passing of her mother. Despite her mother's absence, Suzume maintains a strong bond with her aunt. Suzume's first encounter with the second protagonist, the young Souta, takes place when he is searching for a door in some nearby ruins. Intrigued by Souta's sudden appearance and mysterious objective, Suzume decides to investigate the ruins and inadvertently becomes involved in his mission to close magical doors that emerge at sites of major disasters. These doors serve as portals to supernatural creatures called "Vermes," and their release leads to new calamities. ~!After watching the film, I concluded that Suzume blames herself for her mother's loss in a past major disaster. She also carries the burden of feeling like a burden to her aunt, believing that she deprived her aunt of her best youthful years by being a child in need of care after her mother's passing. In the film's climax, Suzume must return to a specific magical door that was present in her past, lingering in vague memories. She believed she could see her mother inside that door. However, the resolution of the film reveals that she actually encounters her younger self, a version of Suzume with the experiences and emotions she discovered throughout her journey. This meeting between the older Suzume, who possesses wisdom acquired over time, and the younger Suzume, still a child and insecure after her mother's loss, allows the older Suzume to encourage her younger self to move forward. She guides her in dealing with the current pain, no matter how intense it may be, and overcoming fear, as she will meet new people in the future. The pain she feels now is strong but temporary. Grief over losing someone and the pain of absence are experiences we will face throughout life. However, even in the face of tremendous pain, we must always close these cycles. We cannot leave doors open in our past, as they may lead to new disasters in our lives. The symbolic act of closing doors at disaster sites, as well as Suzume herself having to close the open doors of her past, parallels the internal process of overcoming the disasters we face. This allows us to embrace new experiences, meet new people, and dedicate ourselves to those we already know, who also suffer from loss. The reconciliation between Suzume and her aunt, which occurs shortly after the midpoint of the film, as well as the advice given by the younger Suzume to her child self, serve as examples of closing cycles, overcoming problems and fears, and character growth. These elements enable Suzume to build her own future, free from the open doors of the past, and open doors to new possibilities.!~ ~~~Review em português ~~~ __~~~Suzume: Além das Portas Mágicas, uma Jornada de Aceitação e Redenção~~~__ Quanto à parte técnica do filme, não há comentários negativos a serem feitos. Todo o enredo, trilha sonora e animação são magnificamente arranjados, resultando em uma obra de arte do audiovisual. A direção de Makoto Shinkai traz mais uma vez uma excelente história, com personagens cativantes e cenários tão imersivos que é como se atravessássemos uma das portas mágicas logo no início do filme. Agora, adentrando a minha análise sobre a mensagem do filme, "Suzume" é uma obra dedicada a nos fazer refletir sobre a aceitação do luto e a resolução de sentimentos mal resolvidos. Nossa protagonista, Suzume, uma adolescente do ensino médio que vive em uma cidade pequena no Japão, é criada por sua tia desde o falecimento de sua mãe. Apesar da ausência materna, Suzume mantém uma boa convivência com sua tia. O primeiro encontro de Suzume com o nosso segundo protagonista, o jovem Souta, ocorre quando ele está em busca de uma porta em algumas ruínas próximas à cidade onde Suzume vive. A inquietação da jovem com o repentino aparecimento e o misterioso objetivo de Souta a leva a investigar as ruínas e acidentalmente se envolver com o propósito dele de fechar portas mágicas que surgem nos locais onde ocorreram grandes desastres. Essas portas funcionam como portais para criaturas sobrenaturais chamadas "Vermes", que, quando libertados, causam novas calamidades. ~!Após assistir ao filme, cheguei à conclusão de que Suzume se culpa pela perda de sua mãe em um grande desastre no passado. Ela também carrega a culpa por ser um fardo para sua tia, acreditando ter privado sua tia dos melhores anos de juventude, por ser uma criança necessitada de cuidados após a perda da mãe. No desfecho do filme, Suzume precisa retornar a uma porta mágica específica que esteve presente em seu passado, em vagas lembranças. Suzume acreditava ver sua mãe no interior dessa porta. No entanto, a resolução do filme revela que, na verdade, Suzume se encontra com ela mesma, uma versão mais jovem, com as experiências e emoções que descobriu durante sua jornada. Esse encontro entre a Suzume mais velha, que possui sabedoria adquirida ao longo do tempo, e a Suzume mais nova, ainda criança e insegura após a perda da mãe, faz com que a Suzume mais velha possa encorajar sua versão mais nova a seguir em frente. Ela a orienta a lidar com a dor atual, mesmo que seja intensa, e a superar o medo, pois no futuro ela conhecerá novas pessoas. A dor que ela sente agora é forte, mas temporária. O luto pela perda de alguém e a dor da ausência são experiências que enfrentaremos ao longo da vida. No entanto, mesmo diante dessa tremenda dor, devemos sempre encerrar esses ciclos. Não podemos deixar portas abertas em nosso passado, pois isso pode gerar a ocorrência de novos desastres em nossa vida. O ato simbólico de fechar as portas nos locais de desastres, assim como a própria Suzume tendo que fechar as portas abertas de seu passado, estabelece um bom paralelo com o processo interno de superar os desastres que enfrentamos. Isso nos permite viver novas experiências, conhecer novas pessoas e dedicar-nos àqueles que já conhecemos e também sofrem com perdas. A reconciliação de Suzume com sua tia, que ocorre logo após a metade do filme, assim como os conselhos da Suzume mais jovem para a Suzume criança, servem como exemplos desses encerramentos de ciclos, superação de problemas e medos, e crescimento da personagem. Esses elementos permitem que ela construa seu próprio futuro, sem as portas abertas do passado, abrindo espaço para novas possibilidades.!~
__This review contains spoilers for Your Name, Weathering with You and Suzume.__ A little backstory first. I watched Your Name few years ago after getting convinced by my friend, who praised it a lot, because I did not get onto the hype train around the time it was getting released. I thought it was pretty good, but nothing too crazy myself. Skip forward a few years and I completely skipped on Weathering with You, it released during a period when I stopped watching anime almost completely. I only started watching anime regularly again like one a half, maybe two years ago. One day not too long ago I noticed Suzume was getting released in cinemas where I live, which was a big surprise to me considering we rarely get anime movies here in Eastern Europe. I liked Your Name, so I decided to give Suzume a shot. I watched the trailer long ago and it seemed really bizzare to me (my friend group called this movie the "chair door" anime) so I was really curious how it would turn up. If you were observant enough to read the summary before clicking on this review, you may have correctly guessed I was not impressed. Few days after that I decided to give Weathering with You a chance as well, since the three movies I mentioned are grouped together because of their similar theme. Some people say that it's unfair to compare Suzume to other Shinkai's movies and that they should be judged separately. I disagree with that. The fact that they are made by the same guy and all have nearly identical theming makes it have more reason to compare them to each other. Though in Suzume's case, it wouldn't even make that big of a difference because its main issues don't make it a good movie even when judged on its own. To make a movie with nearly identical premise as the previous one you need to either improve on everything the first one did not do that well, and/or change enough things so that it stays fresh while maintaining its core. While WwY did succeed at that (opinions are split on this, I do think it is better myself), Suzume fails miserably. As previously mentioned the premise is a typical Shinkai thing: girl meets guy, they have an adventure, something goes wrong and they get separated, everything ends fine after a dramatic ending. This time the girl is a highschooler living with her aunt, the guy is some dude that wanders around the country and closes doors, the adventure is more door closing, something going wrong is guy turning into a chair and getting lost in the shadow realm, and everything ends fine after Suzume rescues the chair and the chair turns back into a guy. My first gripe is with the characters. Suzume has no real connection to Souta. That's the guy's name by the way, had to look it up because he's honestly really forgettable despite being the second main character as he spends most of his time being mad at the cat for turning him into a chair. Back to the main point, both characters just meet one day, have a very short chat and Suzume suddenly wants to risk her everything to follow the guy with the only reason for that is him being hot. In Your Name Taki and Mitsuha have a real connection with each other since they swap bodies regularly, and develop their relationship through each other's actions. In Weathering, Hodaka and Hina live together for months during which they develop feelings to each other... and Suzume meets the guy and on the same day goes on a grand adventure to save the world. Even after spending few days together, she still would not really have a reason to risk her life for this dude. I know teenagers are not the most reasonable, but come on. Other characters include Daijin - a magical cat that turns the guy into a chair on a whim and is the main bad guy for the most of the movie, but it turns out he's not actually a bad guy. He just likes turning people he doesn't like into chairs, apparently. There's also Souta's friend who doesn't really do much other than drive his car. There is a bunch of side characters that Suzume meets and they are not that relevant in the plot. And then there's Suzume's auntie. She gets mad that Suzume runs away from home and tracks her down to bring her back home. She then gets dragged into her niece's bizarre adventure, that is nearing it's completion at that point. This marks the start of the worst bit of the entire movie - the auntie plotline. Turns out, there is a deep hatred of Suzume from the auntie, because she had to sacrifice her best years to raise and provide for her niece. It all gets revealed on a gas station stop where the two get into an argument. But it turns out, there was a second cat that possesed the auntie and made her say these words!!! After that, they hate each other for the rest of the movie. Just kidding, they make up like 5 minutes later into the movie. It was meant to bring in more depth to the relationship between the characters. It ended up being incredibly shallow and laughable in execution. The monotony is also an issue. After Suzume and Souta's first encounter we see the main threat - a big worm-like monster threatening to destroy a city, that nobody can see other than our main characters. To stop it they have to close the door that's often in ruined, forgotten places. But it's not as easy as it sounds, because the areas near the affected doors are chaotic and dangerous. This is actually a fine premise, I did not mind it at first. What rubbed me the wrong way is the amount of times we're getting shown the same thing over and over. After the initial encounter the movie turns into a loop: cat runs away -> Suzume chases the cat -> door opens -> Suzume closes door -> repeat. Not much changes with each iteration. By the time anything that actually progresses the plot forward substantially over half of the movie has passed and I was about to fall asleep. Audiovisually the movie is alright. The voice acting is solid, the music and sound effects are good, basically the movie has the usual Shinkai qualities. There isn't much to complain for most of the movie, though I found the big climax to be underwhelming. All three movies have distinctively different settings for the endings, but YN and WwY actually manage to make their endings look beautiful and memorable, Suzume is rather forgettable. Don't get me wrong, it still looks good, it just really lacks the extra oomph. Also, even if they actually nailed the ending it still doesn't change the fact that the characters and the overall plot kinda suck. Speaking of the ending, it is also the least impactful out of all these movies. The characters have no deep connection with each other, so their reunion at the end really isn't that emotional. After the ending they are back together and that's it, there isn't anything else happening to them or the world around them to leave an impact on the viewer. If you've never watched a Shinkai movie before, Suzume may be rather enjoyable. But if you experience the other two movies first, you notice how underwhelming it really is. The utter disappointment I felt after watching this movie is hard to describe. And that was before I even gave WwY a chance, after watching which I realized how really poor Suzume is on every front. In a void, without the other movies existing it would maybe be okay-ish, but I find it hard to like it when the other two movies make this one look like a bootleg. The only reason I wrote this review was because I kept thinking about how much I disliked it even months after being in the cinema on that cursed day. Hopefully this will give me some rest at least for a while. If you read the entire review thank you, and i would appreciate if you let me know if it ended up too rambly or written in a weird way in some place, English is not my first language and I tend to change the phrasing often, sometimes turning sentences into abominations without realizing. I quite enjoyed writing this, even though it was about one of my most disliked pieces of media.
__~~~Not even words could explain this movie, such a beautiful movie made.~~~__ Wish I could give this a rating of 11/10~ The movie started off as any other anime, a fated meeting, then after an adventure, they become lovers~ But the thing is, this movie's romance is a whole unique & in a different point of view, At first they left so many holes in the story, vaguely talked about, then after some time you will realize. They told us everything about the story, it depends if you can take those clue & think the answers yourself. I thought this was gonna be a stupid anime since the trailer was all-that, but it's NOT! Makoto's movie are all magical, once in a decade, move-vibe-type. These movies make me feel something no-other anime can make me feel like!! The thing about doors were pretty amazing & him being a chair was so cute when he ran!! The cat was all fluff-tuff, it's all amazing, Her journey in which she made so many friends & met so many kind people, it was all nice & beautiful. The animation was just perfect, a dreamy-vibe no other anime can give me (except Makoto's other movies) __Then, the part in Tokyo, it was drawn so beautifully, I just wanted to rewatch it for no-reason!!__ Then, when she lost him, it was all sad & broken, I felt the emotions through the screen... Lets talk about the OSTs, they were pretty amazing, My head just focuses on that, it matches so well with this amazing movie, Then the fact that she only could see the worms was just popping in my head & later I realized why, then all these hidden meanings behind words is what makes these movies amazing~ The part when she slept with her-new friend, then you could see hints of him catching feelings! Also, the dream-thing was bugging me, I thought if Souta doesn't know he is sleeping, then what could he see during his time resting, the fact that it was an ice place, my mind just didn't want to think the fact which happens... That he becomes the keystone, also his grandfather was an amazing guy, he first made sure she's the right one to trust to save Souta, when he did, he helped & his grandfather was probably friends with the cat since he talked him & like they knew each other because he probably trapped him in his prime. Hehe, her aunt's relation was being hinted, Serizawa's the greatest friend you can ever make fr! Then, at the Ever-After, it was all so magnificent but later, it became majestic!! A very beautiful anime, not gonna lie, first experience was amazing, hoping to rewatch in the future~ Reviews doesn't matter, what you feel is what's most important here, Then at the end, ___they finally confess to each other___ &... the time loop thing just made me understand everything, That she's the reason she's here, Suzume would've gave up hope when she was young, but she didn't because her future-self told her not to & her tomorrow will be a beautiful day with pretty friends, & an amazing lover. Then... she's working hard to be a nurse while her aunt got married, Souta is a teacher... & as she's coming down the same hill, he's here, once again & their new adventure will be an amazing one~ (their future)~ <3< /p>