Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho

I really enjoyed this one... I've even made it my favorite anime on my list. I was blown away by the artwork and detail in this movie. The sound was very well done even in the Dub (The Version I Watched) The story was confusing, but that's what made it great. It gave you the same kind of mind-twist that Paranoia Agent gave off... It wasn't till towards the end that you actually know what's going on (And what's real... lol.) And the end kinda is... Well you'll just have to see... Though there was great character development, I gave it a 9 because they didn't go as deep as some of the anime I've seen (But they did a good job of it...) Overall I give it a 10 for the sheer brilliance of it and the enjoyment it brought to me (It's one of the few anime that was good enough to make me cry. -.-)

A slice of life with a dose of fiction and a somewhat epic ending. It shows us a truncated romance and the story of three friends whose friendship has a peculiar connection with that tower. The animation I really liked, beautifully designed landscapes giving a magical atmosphere to certain parts of the story. The characters are fine, Hiroki and Takuya are two friends with a dream that together with Sayuri (who looks like Akari of 5 Centimeters per Second) form a friendship based on a promise that time, distance and the tower can not separate. Tenmon and Ai Kawashima give us an incredible Soundtrack offering one of the best musical settings I've seen, giving a nostalgic feel to the movie. As someone who really likes Slice of Life pretty much I think this is a movie that you will surely enjoy as much as I do. That surely will leave you assimilating the end of the film by a good time.

Another anime movie and surprisingly for me when I checked the details later by same person Makoto Shinkai. Promise. Its just a word for us but when feelings and honesty is attached to it then it turns into something which you will experience watching this anime movie. A nice anime movie to watch as the story build is slow but heavy and ends up pretty strong with feelings and emotions. I liked this anime because it has a build from friendship to un explainable relationship to love to void of feelings but deep affection. The way story begins to where it meets to where it concludes and ends is definitely some really creative writing.

Your Name is the only Shinkai film that I like. I adore that film, it had good characters, good relationships, and a refreshing fantastical charm, and unfortunately, all of his other films fail to deliver on any of those. The only positive thing going on with this film is its art style and animation, but that too sometimes feels clunky and underutilized. Some of the shots are just bad on a camera placement level. The editing is also meh. Let us see and absorb some of these frames and not cut away so quickly. I liked the idea and concept of the story -- the sci-fi element is interesting. But it is underdeveloped and rushed. Everything else, the character works, and the relationships are just plot devices. Characters are shallow, especially Sawatari. She seems to be in the story to dream and do nothing else. I didn't even feel the trio's bond and friendship. If you want us to care for them, then pls develop some chemistry. There was a bit of chemistry between the boys, but it was kind of tropey. Mikito Shinkai has certainly matured as a storyteller. This movie did showcase his grander-than-life ideas mixed in with the slice-of-life drama. But I could feel that he needed more runtime to explore those ideas. Overall, it's a bad movie. Would've given it a 5, but some parts really annoyed me, maybe because I was actually excited before watching the movie.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days Review (4/10) This review contains minor spoilers The first half of the film was heartwarming as we see the connection between three friends with the same dream. But on the other hand, the second half felt extremely boring. The sci-fi genre felt like it completely took over the film, and if you're someone like me, all the talk about parallel worlds were dissapointing. The "parallel world" theme isn't exactly boring but the anime failed to execute it in an interesting way. It almost seemed like it was just there to add a reason to Sayuri's coma. I felt no excitement halfway through film except certain scenes like the reunion between Hiroki and Takuya. The anime also didn't clearly explain what the point of the tower was and why it was constructed in the first place, the same goes for the war as every time it tries to go in deeper into these topics, it goes on to a different scene and ends up being unexplained. The whole plot arrangement was all over the place. The conflict in the film seemed like it was never there as the war, although imminent, never really showed it's presence and in the end it became a completely useless factor. As for the characters, I never understood why Hiroki and Takuya stopped building the plane just because of Sayura's disapearance, especially since they were building it in the first place before they were even close to her. Their own goals also had no meanings as it never told us why they wanted to go to the tower in the first place.....except because they just felt like it.? No motiviation. Each characters had poor development and in the end, forgettable. The film went down when it started to talk about parallel worlds and when the three friends split up. The idea was wasted, turning it into a boring story in the end even if it had a great start. If only they executed things clearly and had more excitement and conflict., The Place Promised in Our Early Days would be one of the top anime films out there.

The place promised in our early days is film that feels fantastically out of touch with reality almost the whole way through. The animation and music direction are at a peak throughout the work, and are the primary achievement of the movie. While the storyline itself is only somewhat interesting, it's delivery is handily executed. The atmosphere mentally detaches the viewer in a way that is difficult to describe, holding a sense of emotional ambiguity until the end. The speech of the few relevant characters is simple, but very well written. Portions of the movie are paced with the same tenacity as good poetry, with music and visuals that seem to match the words well. I do think that the film felt a bit slow a lot of the time, and I could see this being a major criticism of it, but the dreamlike quality of the picture may not have been attainable any other way. All in all, my only major complaint was that the storyline itself felt unfinished, as though there was a great deal of potential that was shelved for the sake of showing off the movie's artwork. More focus early on towards the history of the nation would have been beneficial in order to establish the setting more firmly, and such an addition would also have kept the beginning of the movie from feeling like such a chore. It would have also provided an interesting and needed comparison between the situations of the main characters early in the plot, and the growing conflict in the country at that time. #edit: upon re-watching this, there's also a significant lack of unique expressiveness characters themselves. Insight into the characters' personalities or thought process must be assumed by the viewer based on the situations and actions of the characters, and even then, a few of them are merely placeholders or supporting 'non-roles' for the leads.

Let me explain why this is my favorite movie. Now, this may just be me personally, but I love everything about it. I've seen it twice and I still love every second of it. I even convinced my parents to watch it and they enjoy it. This is my favorite of Makoto Shinkai's works that I have seen so far (which includes 5 cm/s). The story is brilliant and develops smoothly over the full hour and a half while keeping a bit of mystery in order to keep the audience interested. I love scenery porn. The art is unmatched in terms of detail, style, and animation. They go above and beyond what is necessary and it might even induce a sort of sensory overload at some points. If you have seen his other works, then you will understand. The sound is always wonderful and their are a few pieces with the violin that just melt my heart. The characters are realistic usually and very well developed. If I met people like this in reality, I'd probably want to be their friends because they are really cool and likable. Tons of enjoyment. More so on the second time through. So, that's my review. Let me know what you think. Maybe something like "OMG how dare u give 5 Cm/S an average score while loving this so much. You hypocritical monster!?!"

I don't usually comment but I feel this film is being judged too harshly, especially by those who compare it to the directors newer and more popular work your name. While the animation isn't as good and it isn't quite as emotionally intense as your name it still offers a bittersweets storyline that portrays a beautiful friendship and loyalty. The animation is beautiful especially towards the end, the backgrounds help to capture delicate moments and the music used throughout helps to set the mood perfectly. For anyone up late at night looking for something to make them feel deeply whether that’s a little cry, a quiet ache, or just something in the same spirit as Your Name I’d definitely recommend this. 8/10

I've recently been checking out all of Shinkai's older flicks (and I suspect I'm not alone there) after seeing Kimi no Na wa. I feel like you can really see the evolution of a great artist by following the chronology of these movies. The early ones show a lot of potential, but there's something lacking in the execution, while the later ones build on that experience to deliver fulfilling films. STORY - 7/10: I wanted to like this story more, but I feel like it's really what's holding this movie back. It feels almost like we're being told half a story. We're tossed into a fairly fantastical sci-fi setting where none of the sci-fi really gets full billing. Apparently there are parallel universes, but they're almost an afterthought - just a plot device to explain away why Sayuri is in a coma. Apparently her grandfather built the weird tower. There are a lot of cool things just sort of brought up in passing that never get expanded on at all. I don't need to have all the questions answered, but when the questions are so potentially interesting, it would be nice to have a little more emphasis on them. At its core this is simply the story of three young friends, and their journey both away from one another, and back to one another. The plot is touching and emotional when it needs to be, I just felt like there was a lot more there to explore that gets avoided. The narrative surrounding the three friends does work nicely, though. ART - 9/10: I enjoy Shinkai's style, and you can really see the origins of his later works here. The art is beautiful. And while the animation isn't as good as it could be, the stunning visual quality of the art makes up for it. SOUND - 8/10: The music is nice, and the song over the closing credits is appropriately emotional. Overall, nothing amazing, but the music and voice acting are solid. CHARACTER - 9/10: I feel like the character work is really where this story shines. While I found the plot lacking in detail, the character development and motivations are subtle and nuanced. As the viewer, I think we're really supposed to identify with Hiroki, and it's easy to sympathize with him. He expresses very human qualities and emotions, unlike Takuya, who seems a bit more closed off (of course, as we realize later, he's just as human in his own way). It's often easy to miss the realistic qualities of characters, in certain anime, when they're presented as geniuses (these kids are building missiles and airplanes in middle school, and Takuya works in some government lab by high school). But the two boys work together very nicely - they're contrasts in how to handle human grief and overwhelming emotion. Sayuri's character is a bit harder to nail down, given that she's living in a dream world for most of the movie, but she's a very endearing character in her own right. It's easy to see why Hiroki loves her, and that relationship is handled very delicately. Given that it's only a 90 minute flick, there's not much room for developing minor characters, but the ones that are present work as well as they can. Again, this is really a story about three friends, and the focus is on those three characters throughout. I was very impressed with the overall handling of the subtle relationships and character interactions. ENJOYMENT - 8/10: This is a very nicely written human story. Again, I'm just not sure why it's thrust into some wild sci-fi world with secret government labs and parallel universes and a civil war in an alternate-reality Japan. All that stuff seems superfluous and unnecessary to the overall story. The core story works very well, but everything around the periphery falls a bit flat. So my enjoyment wasn't quite as high as it might otherwise have been, but this is a solid effort from Shinkai. It's definitely worth checking out if you like his other works.

This was director Makoto Shinkai’s first big feature film. Together with Studio CoMix Wave Inc, they have produced some of the most visually and heartwarming anime films to date. Similar to Shinkai’s previous work, Voices of a Distant Star, this film is very reminiscent of it and better. It was created by Shinkai telling a wonderful story about following childhood dreams. The tale is about three junior high students, Hiroki, Takuya, and Sayuri who all made a promise to fly across the land to see the top of this massive tower in the distance. This tower was built by another nation to the north which makes this adventure a task of crossing borders. Both Hiroki and Takuya are child geniuses and both have romantic crushes towards Sayuri. She ends up joining them in their dream to rebuild this drone they found into a plane so the three of them could reach their goal. The two boys work at a military facility to fund their project, but before they can finish, Sayuri suddenly vanishes. The story takes a couple turns with connections to the tower and Sayuri’s disappearance explained. Even the time skip is handled quite well with how both Hiroki and Takuya handle Sayuri leaving and how their lives changed after that day. The narration and inner monologue is handled with care and a melancholy to it so the viewer can somehow relate and be emotionally invested in the story unraveling. It goes without saying that the animation, art, and just everything visual about The Place Promised in Our Early Days is like a euphoric experience. Even the music by Tenmon fits so well from start to finish, without it, the film would be missing a crucial emotional trigger and unable to properly set the mood. Speaking of emotions, all feelings the characters go through seem realistic and relatable despite knowing the story takes place in an alternate reality. The only real complaint in the movie is the pacing. For some, due to the artistic element that it has, some could see it boring and a drag at times. Plus, there seems to be a lack of explanation about the story once the time skip happens over the character’s lives. However, Shinkai was here to create a drama, not a full on science fiction story. The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a truly wonderful heartwarming tale about following your dreams and the struggle that could happen along the way. There are not too many other anime films that can reach the level this film has reached other than Ghibli movies.

"The Place Promised in our Early Days" is yet another masterpiece from Makoto Shinaki. It offers a sci-fi set in an alternative history, where Japan has been split to two - Hokkaido (in this movie, Ezo) is controlled by the Soviet Union, and the rest of Japan is controlled by the US. The best parts of the movie were the animation (obvious, this is a Makoto Shinaki film...) and the story itself, which is very interesting and emotional. However, it has some plot-holes, and its background is not explained well, and these are the main drawbacks of the film. The story is about two teenagers, Fujishiwa and Shiakawa, who are fascinated by the huge tower the Soviet Union built in Hokkaido. They rebuild a former fighter jet, and intend to fly in it to the tower. Their friend, Sawatari, is also very interested in flying to the tower, and they promise her that they will take her with them. However... Things change... Many people complain about the movie's story, calling it boring. If you ask me, the story is not boring at all, however the relatively slow pacing and the dark atmoshere cause some people to call it boring. Be prepared, because it is not an easy movie to watch. The sci-fi idea is very good (I will not spoil and write what it is). However, many things are just left unexplained. Why did the Union built such an enormous tower? Just for research? As a weapon? Why was it so uncontrollable? Didn't they realize how dangerous it could be also for themselves? What happened to Hokkaido in the end of the film? Those questions are very important to the understanding of the film, however the film does not (as far as I could see) answer them. The characters are very well built. Fujisawa, the optimist, Shirakawa, the cold realist and Sawatari, who never loses hope. The music is... good. The ending song was beautiful and memorable and the violin tune was aso very good, but the rest of the soundtrack was not so remarkable. Tenmon made better soundtracks for other films. Overall, this movie is very special. The story is captivating, interesting and emotional, not to mention the beautiful animation. I suggest that you give it a try.

My rating for this anime is really off compared to most... Unlike many other anime, this anime was quite confusing at times and the plot was just too confusing, but in the end, this anime was really beautiful. Story ~ 7.2 At first, I could follow this anime clearly since it has this very normal typical childhood friend, girl meets boy + promise of a lifetime. What got me confused was how the time progress and how chaotic it got even though nothing really happened in the time. I am not completely sure, but I am guessing the plot was to generate how war can be something unexpected... Art ~ 9.8 Lets be honest, for an anime made near the end of 2004, this art was definitely amazing. I mean look at code geass art >.> Not much to explain but to watch the anime and see for yourself. Sound ~ 10 The soundtrack throughout this anime was just amazing. Although the songs were simply sad with some long sighs of solitude, they really describe each scene of this anime perfectly. I really appreciate the soundtrack and I can personally relate to these songs. Character ~ 7 I mean like I really loved the characters since they had this special feeling to it, but they have no unique traits. There was nothing special about them and they didn't spice up the anime at all!! Personally, the characters really did a fulfilling job to the plot development, but literally, you can get bored quite easily. Enjoyment ~ 10 Loved it!! I just simply enjoy a simple romantic story of a guy and a girl falling for each other and willing to do anything to be with each other, even if it means tearing apart a country, or the universe... I mean, it was boring watching the anime, but sime parts were so relatable for me personally that it counteracts with the boredom!!! Overall ~ 10 Personal opinion, I loved the anime!! It just fitted what I needed right now in my life. Something not to strong, but also not to cheesy!! Wish I could say more, but this rating was completely bias but I loved it so deal with it?

This was one of the best anime movies I've ever seen. I love the story in this anime because I've never seen anything like it before; at first you see these three high school kids talking about their dream and you think the whole movie is going to be about them reaching that dream, but all of a sudden the movie jumps to three years in the future and the three kids have all given up on their dream and they've changed so much as people too. Also, this whole movie is based around this mysterious tower, and even after they've all forgotten about their dream the tower is still guiding their lives. Furthermore, I'm a huge fan of Science Fiction, but I never can find good Sci-fi dramas because Sci-fi movies are usually about just the world where the movie takes place and all the over the top special effects which doesn't really leave much room for the characters. However, this movie focuses intensely on the characters and gives less time to the Sci-fi elements which only makes this movie better, there was a point this movie actually had me crying. I can understand why some people would get confused by this movie, but if you don't focus so much on the tower and focus more on the characters you can see how great the characters in this movie are.

From beginning to end, The Place Promised in Our Early Days seemed to ache of longing and loss. With a tint of slice-of-life coupled with stellar animation,this Shinkai production is truly a masterpiece. Set in a divided Japan, the animators paid detailed attention to the setting which drives the emotional aspects of the story. Slow paced, the story lends itself to reflection in its peaceful silence. Due to the movie's shorter time length, there is not a significant amount of development. At times some of the specifics (scientific etc.) are skimmed over. But it never feels too rushed, and what confusion viewers may feel is overcome by the irresistible lull of its undefinable beauty. After it's end, there's no aspect of the story that really stood out, but the powerful storytelling makes this movie truly unforgettable.

Story: The story plot was very good. Although there was bits and pieces that could of been explained a bit more (or should of happened), it was still written very well. Art: If the artwork in this movie doesn't amaze you, I don't think any other movie will. Artwork is amazing and will sure to blow you away. Sound: Other than the fact the BGM was flawless, voice acting was very well done (I listened to the English dubbed one, so i have no comments for Japanese.). Character: Great character. Even those side characters were well done. But the way they were introduced was rather bad. Enjoyment: I found it a well used 1.5 hours of my life. Heck, I might even watch it again in the near future. Overall: As of Shinkai's works, i give it a 10.

The plot of this movie is very unique, original and interesting; it's a slow-paced anime, but with a very good storyline. It explains in details the situation the characters are undergoing and the actions they take. The only downside to the story is the ending. I won't explain why, but I just felt it leaves the viewer hanging. The characters are introduced immediately, and some insight is given about who they are and why they are that way. There were some characters, that were somewhat important, that didn't get much background story, though. Voice acting and music selection is good, helping set the mood in the movie. The art was very good as well: highly detailed, simple, very colorful, great animations. I enjoyed watching this movie; it actually surpassed my expectations on this film. I would recommend it.

"Slow killer" It's just a freaking Masterpiece!!! I know a lot of people will not agree but. I know this is slow. but still.... You won't be dissatisfied when you watch this fabulous movie. I won't give any hints or so. But know that, at first you'll it's a non easy. but when the story commences, you'll see this is a heart warming story. I watched it two times straight and every time I was so HIGH, yes High with such emotions racing through my mind! In the end, have this movie for a trip of emotions. “Jarring and intriguing” is an appropriate way to describe the movie’s story as a whole. Plot progression was logical, but felt unevenly paced. Exposition takes up most of the film while rising action builds rather slowly in the background. It isn’t until the last twenty minutes that anything heavily dramatic occurs, and both climax and falling action are squished hurriedly together; in fact, denouement literally happens during the movie’s end credits.

(NOTE: This review contains a bunch of spoilers.) "The Placed Promised in Our Early Days" is Makoto Shinkai's first debut feature film back in 2004. It started with two young guys, Takuya and Hiroki, who had admiration to their classmate Sayuri and to a very tall Ezo Tower that stands across the Tsugaru Strait. Japan has suffered from a separation, having North Division occupied by the Soviet Union, and South controlled by America. Takuya and Hiroki started to construct a plane named Bella Ciela, to fulfill their dream one day to reach the sky and see the mysteries of Ezo Tower which was built by the Soviet Union. They were joined later on by Sayuri and they've made a promise to reach that place together. However, the sudden disappearance of Sayuri halted everything they've started and decided to go on their separate ways. Later on, Takuya and Hiroki learned that Sayuri suffered from a sleeping disorder, which led her to a comatose for the past three years. They also discovered that Sayuri's condition was strangely linked to the Ezo Tower. The film is filled with lots of symbolism and this is something that cannot entertain everyone. In the first place, I don't think that the purpose of the movie is to entertain, but to showcase the beauty of art in the appearance of an anime film with overwhelming content. Because of how rich the content is, I could not cover every little detail and meaning it tries to reach us. Despite of that, I strongly believe that whatever message reached us are things that we need to interpret and put into our lives the most, since each individual who sees art through that film has different walks of life. Here's my take and interpretations in some of them: The 3 Character's Role. I find the three main characters well-balanced in terms of bringing out the innermost potential of the movie. I have three "made-up" terms to describe each one of them. To know, to feel, and to see. Takuya Shirakawa is the "to know" of the story. I find his curiosity of knowledge a main factor of his development. He endlessly studied quantum physics to unveil the mysteries of the tall tower, until he came into a conclusion that Sayuri can be saved. Hiroki Fujisawa is the "to feel" of the story. Every actions were driven by his emotions. Because of his yearning, he unexpectedly got linked with Sayuri in a parallel world inside his dream. He was burdened by his emotions but along the way, feeling it was also the reason why he stood up again. Sayuri Sawatari is the "to see" of the story. She's the heart of the promise that has been made. Her sudden disappearance was also the cause of the shattered dream. But with her intangible presence inside the consciousness of the two male characters, they made that promise possible again. The tall tower gives off different emotions and interpretations to each individual. Some felt hatred, some were fascinated, and some see it unimportant at all. At first, Takuya and Hiroki wants to see the tower themselves because of curiosity alone. As time pass by, they get to know more things about that tower and that changes their perspective. They see Sayuri as the tower itself. They began to see those two things they admired the most connected as one. Because of it, they felt back the urge to reach their youthful dreams, but with a different matured purpose. Reaching something also means losing something. That certain thing could also be somewhat very important to you. When we try to work hard and make efforts to reach our desired goal, we feel that we've lost something very important along the way, and that's how life works. We make sacrifices because we decided to take on a long journey. We decided to believe that we can fly and reach the tower of our dreams. When Sayuri gained back her consciousness, she lost something very important, the love she felt towards Hiroki. That moment, Hiroki emphasizes that these meaningful things can be regain through starting a new beginning. The music and sound of the violin symbolizes the passing of time. With few years passed, the same piece was played through a violin, the same emotions was played in their heartstrings. To save the girl or to save the world. As Takuya stated this line in front of his best friend, Hiroki is'nt the one who was torn by this decision-making. It was Takuya himself. He's confused whether to fulfill his past desire with Hiroki or to fulfill the desire of others. Because of the conflict he's having with his best friend, he came up with a solution that can fulfill both. The two old guys, Okabe and Tomizawa, were able to empathize with those two young characters. The story revealed that they shared the same past back in their days. However, it was also a shattered dream and it forced them to go on their separate path. Unlike them, Takuya and Hiroki felt back the urge to fulfill the promise. What I love about this film is how Makoto Shinkai dwells on the pure story alone. Modern anime has lots of drawbacks, trying to feed everyone's desire of entertainment (like cliches and fan-service). Dialogue is perfect, it doesn't reveal everything but means every single thing, and that's how he approaches art. Despite of how good the anime film is, this show is not for everyone, and I know a lot of people would find this boring. This film is perfect for the aspiring filmmakers and storytellers, as they could find this as their inspiration to move forward and continue their paths. A true inspiration indeed, giving us a lift to reach the towers of our dream. Ja matane!

The debut film feature of Makoto Shinkai (Your Name.'s director/writer), 'The Place Promised in Our Early Days' is definitely a strong start to his directorial feature career. With a captivating plot, stunning art design, a beautiful soundtrack, and relatable characters, this film is worth a watch regardless of whether you're a fan of romance anime or not. [Story - 9] The story starts out rather well - in an alternate history Japan set in the mid 90's, we follow 3 middle school students - Hiroki and Takuya, 2 child geniuses, and their newfound friend Sayuri. They set out on a rather ambitious dream (to fly to a distant tower with a repurposed drone), which is unfortunately cancelled when Sayuri suddenly vanishes. While there is a hook there, it still seems mundane at first, right? Fortunately, this movie goes far deeper than that. From there, it turns into a plot of sci-fi mixed with some war and romance drama to create this unique beauty of a film. It may seem rather weird from this description, but it truly does blend together smoothly to create a rather intriguing story with a lovely payoff. [Art - 10] The art is honestly breathtaking in this film. With a balance of rural and urban settings, the animation team truly succeeded in demonstrating what it would be like to live in this alternate world. Each and every scene is beautifully drawn, with tons of detail and attention put into it. Colours are definitely a strong portion to setting the mood, with a variety of each colour providing a calming but thoughtful ambience. I can definitely see several screenshots from this movie becoming somebody's wallpaper. Character design isn't quite as important, but I feel like they did quite well here too! Each character's wardrobe and expressions definitely fit the type of person they are - special shout out to Takuya's for capturing a pensive type. [Sound - 9] The seiyuu's did admirably - the 3 protagonists' did a great job in expressing both youthful joy and the moodiness of growing pains. Sayuri's is the most notable, capturing each and every emotion in her character's arc so perfectly it hurts. The OST is amazing - Tenmon's compositions truly fit the atmosphere, and even enhance it. With a piano, violin, and strings used as the primary instruments, he creates a rather somber but hopeful affair of a soundtrack. It's definitely worth listening to even outside of the film's context, and I'm excited to hear more of his work in Shinkai's later works. [Character - 8] The main characters in this film are memorable and easy to love - Hiroki's generally friendliness compliments Takuya's stoicness, with both of them further complimenting Sayuri's 'dreamer' type. They actually act like their age for once, which I truly appreciated. The romance was surprisingly deep and heartfelt - I can't say why since it'd spoil a lot, but it was rather moving to see these two cope with both their feelings for each other and the distance between them. The arc I loved the most was Hiroki's, as while he /did/ get the ending he wanted, he had to struggle a lot with feelings of despair and monotony before then. While I'm aware this wasn't intended, I saw a lot of myself and my struggles with mental illness in his various monologues. Takuya's arc felt a bit vague to me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless thanks to how he contrasts Hiroki. Sayuri's is, in a word, heartbreaking, and I won't say anything more. Outside of those 3, however, not many other characters are memorable. I'm content with having the main 3 being fully fleshed out, but again, it would have been better to see more people receive the same depth as they did. [Enjoyment/Overall - 9] This movie was such a worthwhile watch. It definitely makes you feel something, whether because of the artwork and soundtrack, or the characters and how they react at certain plot points. As said before, I highly recommend this movie to anyone, regardless of whether they enjoy romance anime or not.

Audiovisually it's spectacular. Storywise it's... what the fuck is going on? First half an hour or so is okay, but the middle section is so filled with non-chronological storytelling and dreams and memories and whatever, I just couldn't follow the god damn plot. I guess it want's to be abstract and artistic but I prefer to be able to follow what's going on. With storytelling this convoluted anything at all could happen and no explanation is provided or even considered necessary because... art! ...or something. Also it's too fantasy for an SF, but that's just my taste. Atmosphere feels very much like 5cm/sec. Some themes appear that were also in 5cm, like depression, where I don't really feel it had a proper place here, so to me it felt a little like Shinkai jamming his themes in there regardless if they fit or not. Is this movie saying something or trying to make a point? I have no freakin' idea. I disliked the allusions to prayer. On the other hand, there were some scenes that were beautiful in the truest sense of the word. Overall it's worth watching for the visuals and some cool scenes but don't expect a solid plot.