Review of Suzume

I finally had the chance to watch Suzume no Tojimari and it was quite the experience. After watching it I can say with a high certainty that it's... good. Let's just jump right into it. This review doesn't contain spoiler, so you can relax. If you're wondering about the story, just watch the trailer and you basically get the gist of things. Following his previous work, Suzume no Tojimari also tells a story about our protagonists (Suzume and Souta) save Japan from imminent danger. Already this plot made me roll my eyes when the movie started. I'm sorry to say this, I want to like ShinkaiMakoto's movies, I really do, but he's making it very hard for me. In fact, I really like Kotonoha no Niwa due to its simple premise yet deep character interaction and development. I enjoyed Kimi no Na Wa too but it's not one of my favorites and Tenki no Ko is his weakest work yet. This is my opinion, but I think Shinkai Makoto is best to stick with slice of life type of movies and not apocalyptic ones.

The characters in this movie are also quite shallow. Calm down and let me elaborate. Every single character is introduced as a nice person and stays that way from start to finish. There's no ups and downs that force the characters to grow. Dare I say they are all bland, with no seasonings. Because of how the movie is written, characters move from point A to point B, clearing the objective that is closing the Doors (gates) and their relationship doesn't go beyond that. I'm quite disappointed with how the characters are written to be honest.

As with all Shinkai Makoto's work, this movie has amazing background art and animation. The music and sound effects are top notch, as well. Every scene is an eye candy and a treat, and the animation makes the movie feel alive. Character design-wise, meh, not so much. Kimi no Na Wa is my favorite style and this one is alright, I guess.

Should you watch Suzume no Tojimari? If you want to, then yeah. But it's not an amazing movie as a whole.