It's not often that a film leaves me in stunned, awed silence by the end. This one's a definite keeper.
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The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho · 2004
Three childhood friends reach for an enigmatic tower.
Synopsis
In an alternate postwar timeline where Japan is divided between the American-controlled South and the Soviet-aligned Union in Hokkaido, middle school friends Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa spend their summer building an experimental airplane called the Bella Ciela. Entranced by the colossal Union Tower soaring into the stratosphere across the Tsugaru Strait, the boys make a solemn promise with their classmate Sayuri Sawatari to fly there together. However, Sayuri abruptly disappears without explanation, suffering from a mysterious sleeping sickness that inexplicably links her unconscious mind to the parallel-dimension experiments of the Union Tower.
Trailer
Characters
8
Staff
57ADR Director2
Animation Director3
Assistant Animation Director1
Background Art3
Character Design1
Chief Animation Director1
Color Design1
Digital Paint1
Director1
Editing1
Executive Producer1
In-Between Animation8
Key Animation18
Music1
Original Creator1
Producer3
Script2
Sound Director1
Studios
Main Studio
HakiPoints
- Conquers 67% · 2 reviews
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- Average 0% · 0 reviews
- Skippable 0% · 0 reviews
Because with this film, Shinkai has assured me that the anime industry, as a serious storytelling medium and not just an excuse for fan service, is safe in his hands.
Read full reviewWhile not quite a classic, this first full-length effort by Makoto Shinkai is a visually impressive and highly sentimental tale which ranks among the year's best animated movies and reaffirms Shinkai's status as one of Japan's most gifted and promising young animators. A worthy follow-up to Voices of a Distant Star with very similar styling.
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