Suzume [Anime Review]

Quite possibly one of the best anime directors of all time, Makoto Shinkai is a legend in the anime world, and for good reason, his movies are masterful. With movies like Your Name., Weathering With You, The Garden of Words, and 5 Centimeters Per Second, Makoto Shinkai has created anime films that stick with you for a long time and look visually gorgeous. That’s why we were extremely excited here at Honey’s Anime to be invited to an early screening of Makoto Shinkai’s latest movie, Suzume. We knew we had to deliver a review to our readers out there. We even got to witness a Q&A with the legend himself thanks to the folks at Crunchyroll who made this happen!

Now then, is Suzume the next anime film to be included in Shinkai’s large repertoire or has the master finally made something not on par with his other films? We find out in our review of Suzume! We’d also like to thank Crunchyroll and Sony for giving us such an experience to watch Suzume before its US release. Let’s get to our review!

As common with most Shinkai films, Suzume mixes reality with the fanatical in ways most anime just can’t mimic. Focusing on a young girl named Suzume Iwato, our young woman ends up mixed up in a supernatural world when she meets a young man named Souta which, in turn, leads her to some ruins with a seemingly normal door. When Suzume opens the door she ends up releasing an otherworldly power and quickly learns there are multiple doors and if they are ever opened, danger could befall the world. Suzume joins Souta when he…becomes something not human and soon realizes how important her new mission is alongside Souta.

Like most of Shinkai’s movies, Suzume fuses the supernatural with real-world themes and does it incredibly without missing a beat. There are also small little details that may or may not connect Suzume with another recent movie of his—no spoilers here—but searching for them adds just a bit of continuity to his already growing anime movie universe! Suzume’s story is relatable and will definitely tug at the heartstrings of girls/guys who have gone through similar issues in life. By the end of Suzume, you will no doubt have many emotions flowing through your heart and want another Shinkai film soon!

We think one of the best elements of Suzume is the feeling we got from watching. Just like Your Name or Weathering with You, Suzume has an incredible ability to absorb you and immerse you into Suzume and Souta’s world as they try to prevent the destruction of the world. Yes, giant doors with large worm-like forces bursting through them causing earthquakes are unreal in every sense of the word but you won’t think about that while watching. Instead, you’ll laugh at Suzume’s struggles, cry at the revelations of her past, and grab your seat as you debate what life would be like if you end up in Souta’s predicament—seriously we can’t spoil it as its hilarious—and that is just some of the reasons you’ll really fall into the world of Suzume and not realize 2 hours have flown by!

Makoto Shinkai films aren’t just known for their visuals—don’t worry we will discuss that soon—but for their impressive OSTs and Suzume can now join the ranks of all the previous Shinkai works. The music in Suzume is captivating and engulfing in the best possible way. RADWIMPS once again has lent their talents to Suzume and we can’t deny we love their music and tones! Honestly, Suzume visuals alone could have made the movie a real treat as well as the story/characters. But with the perfect audio companion, Suzume just hits all the right notes!
Yes, Visually Impressive Once Again

Did we make you wait long enough to talk about the animation? We did that on purpose—for some heightened reactions—but yes, Suzume is yet again another Shinkai masterpiece visually and animation-wise. From the simple moments of characters just standing around to the epic events that occur, Suzume is simply breathtaking on every level! Rarely was there a single moment or piece that didn’t make us keep our eyes open and even blinking felt like a risk that we would miss a gorgeous raindrop falling from the animated heavens! Suzume is visually a masterpiece showing that Shinkai has only learned from his past works and continues to master the craft of movie animation!

Really, were you expecting anything less though? Of course not, Shinkai is a legend after all! We applaud studio CoMix Wave Films as we know Shinkai couldn’t do it alone and needed a studio capable like they are!

Included with the experience of seeing Suzume early—which alone was incredible—there was a special Q&A interview video with director Makoto Shinkai and we’d like to share it with all of you in written form! We think this short video truly explains the thought process behind Makoto Shinkai and why Suzume was created and how one incident changed the way the director made animated movies!

Question: Why tell stories of natural disasters?

Shinkai: “It came about because of a massive earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011, known as the Great East Japan earthquake. It was really a huge earthquake felt across the entirety of Eastern Japan. Bet even as a resident of Tokyo, I wasn’t directly harmed by it. I didn’t suffer any damage directly, but the earthquake of March 11 drastically changed the way I think. I think it changed the hearts of all Japanese people. Japanese society itself changed significantly after that event.

“The Starting Point of Suzume”

Shinkai: What I felt when that big earthquake happened was, of course, concern about whether all the people of the Tohoku region were okay, but also relief at the fact that we weren’t directly harmed by it. All those feelings came together to leave me with an intense feeling of guilt. Even when Japan was going through so much, was it really right for me to just carry on producing animation for entertainment purposes? I wanted to take on some sort of role. And the work I’m good at is creating animated films. Making animated films, and presenting them as entertainment. I decided that was something only I could do. That was the one thing I knew without a doubt!

“A Story That Could Only Be Born in Japan”

Shinkai: I think, in modern Japan, it’s impossible to separate yourself from disasters. Disasters are happening right below our feet all the time. We, Japanese people, live on land that could start to shake at any moment. That’s why I wanted to write a story that could only be told here, and I spent these past ten years writing in the form of an animated film for entertainment.

“Believing in the Power of Entertainment”

Shinkai: The most powerful characteristic of entertainment is its power to inspire empathy in those who partake in it. In entertainment, no matter how far removed the world you depict is from yourself, people will grow to love the characters in it, and they can enjoy the story as if they were characters in it themselves. I believe that’s what entertainment is. I thought that if I could make Suzume a truly entertaining film, I could make people feel as if they were Suzume themselves and that even people who didn’t experience the quake could briefly experience the feelings of those who did through the film. That’s why I felt it was necessary to make the film thoroughly entertaining. I felt it needed the power to grab and hold the feelings of those who watched it. It’s been more than ten years since the quake now, but wouldn’t it be possible to share it with your folks who have little to no memory of it now? Don’t we need to share that? Isn’t that a job only we can do? That’s how I felt.

“A Message to Everyone Around the World”

Shinkai: Disasters aren’t just earthquakes. There are diseases, climate crises, and wars, too. And you never know when they’ll happen. It could be tomorrow. We live in a world where your day-to-day life could stop at any moment. I believe that’s exactly the same for people in other countries. People might watch this film and think, “Oh, I get it.” “I know that Feeling.” “I know what that’s like.” Or they might think, “I wish someone had said that to me.” I think I’d be truly happy if people would look for and find those things. I made it a really interesting film, a great source of entertainment, so if people can take something positive away from it, I think our making this film in this country will mean something. Please, if you would, watch Suzume and enjoy it. Thank you very much.