Review of Suzume

Suzume is the next work of Makoto Shinkai after the beautiful Weathering With You which I really loved. As usual, from the visual art style point of view, I once again witnessed a jawdropping masterpiece that literally stunned my eyes from the beginning to the end. The impression I had was of an even more mature Makoto, especially in what I found to be a wise usage of the CGI, not as a mere cost-saving replacement for the hand-drawing like may happen in other anime, but rather as an enrichment of the latter in order to bring out the very best of it. As forthe plot and general rhythm, I believe that compared to his previous works (especially the very first ones), this time Makoto aimed at putting aside the sentimental and emotional aspects a little bit more, in favor of a more vibrant pace, possibly closer to the action/adventure genre, often providing to a significant part of the movie a feeling of constant urgency and continuous motion, which in some ways also distantly reminded me of some Studio Ghibli adventures titles such as Castle in the Sky. Regarding the plot itself, I found it pretty interesting and fascinating, as it tries to reconceive a phenomenon normally considered more scientific as something more paranomal.

That being said, I found Suzume to be a great anime in the end but one that, may possibly divide a little bit the watchers, by either surprising in a good way those who found Makoto's previous works a bit too much slow-paced or sentimental, or leaving with a mixed feeling those who of course were long time affectioned to his old previous style and slower-pace. In conclusion, when it comes to me, from one side I personally appreciated Makoto attempt to experiment new ways and I think he did a great job, while from the other side I also missed at least in part his old and slower-pace style, although in the end I still found Suzume to be a great anime that was worth enjoying regardless.