After seeing Voices of a Distant Star, I eagerly awaited Makoto Shinkai's next work. This movie exceeded my expectations. It is as visually captivating as Voices, contains beautiful music, and is longer and more complex.
The plot (which twists and turns considerably) follows three high school kids through a period of war. There is a giant tower visible from where they live, a huge white structure that reaches up through the clouds. They all long to go to the tower one day. Over several years, they build a plane to fly to the tower, but certain complications prevent them from making their flight. The plot becomes slightly confusing in the middle, as it involves talk of parallel universes. But the movie ends triumphantly, with the three friends, separated for years, meeting again to fly to the tower. But, for reasons I will not reveal, their flight will have a deeper impact than they thought.
Overall, the movie is beautiful. It is a joy to look at. Every scene, from the lighting to the vivid colors, captures a certain place and mood perfectly. The animation alternates between standard anime and fluid, computer-generated eye candy. At times the film feels like a play, with characters delivering heartfelt soliloquies that evoke feelings of loneliness and sorrow. Many of the emotions in Voices of a Distant Star are carried over to The Place Promised to Us In Our Early Days. But here, with many characters and a longer, more involved plot, the emotions resonate more deeply.
Though Makoto Shinkai's style is different from most of today's anime directors, the quality of his work is comparable to Hayao Miyazaki.
The plot (which twists and turns considerably) follows three high school kids through a period of war. There is a giant tower visible from where they live, a huge white structure that reaches up through the clouds. They all long to go to the tower one day. Over several years, they build a plane to fly to the tower, but certain complications prevent them from making their flight. The plot becomes slightly confusing in the middle, as it involves talk of parallel universes. But the movie ends triumphantly, with the three friends, separated for years, meeting again to fly to the tower. But, for reasons I will not reveal, their flight will have a deeper impact than they thought.
Overall, the movie is beautiful. It is a joy to look at. Every scene, from the lighting to the vivid colors, captures a certain place and mood perfectly. The animation alternates between standard anime and fluid, computer-generated eye candy. At times the film feels like a play, with characters delivering heartfelt soliloquies that evoke feelings of loneliness and sorrow. Many of the emotions in Voices of a Distant Star are carried over to The Place Promised to Us In Our Early Days. But here, with many characters and a longer, more involved plot, the emotions resonate more deeply.
Though Makoto Shinkai's style is different from most of today's anime directors, the quality of his work is comparable to Hayao Miyazaki.