Review of Suzume

Shinkai’s films have always run hot and cold for me. Despite being visually striking, I found them lacking in the writing department, with stories that were more often than not half-baked, and with characters not strong enough to support the weight of the plot. Is Suzume no Tojimari any different? Well… yes and no. The story follows our main girl Suzume, who is snatched from her everyday life into a world of mythical beasts, places, and menacing doors. She meets our male lead Souta, who is much more experienced in the supernatural. He is a Closer, essentially someone who must stop the monsters of themythical world escaping into our world through mysterious doors and creating natural disasters. Together they journey across Japan to stop a giant worm-like creature from escaping the aforementioned doors and causing massive earthquakes across Japan.

I’ll be honest, the story of Suzume no Tojimari is not that good. It basically acts as a vessel to move our characters from one action set piece to another, and is not particularly complex or unique. It also suffers some pacing issues; the movie is two hours long, but really should have been closer to one and a half. I’m a slice-of-life fan so I’m accustomed to slow pacing, but one of my friends who I saw it with me did say it dragged at times, particularly before the finale. If one or two sequences were cut and the editing was snappier, the film would have lost very little but the pacing would have improved drastically. I’m giving the story a 6 out of 10.

The reason the score is not lower is because the action set pieces that the plot clumsily ties together are spectacular. The visuals of Shinkai’s films have always been impressive to me, but here they also incorporate striking visual imagery to create otherworldly sequences reminiscent of Your Name. Beautiful abandoned ruins, giant structures in the sky, and burning towns are just some of the excellent imagery in this movie. The music also adds a whole lot to the experience. Unlike Shinkai’s other films the score not only consists of more delicate pieces but also contains many epic arrangements with chanting choirs and drums to enhance the action sequences and create a dreamlike experience. Seeing this film in theatres with the music blasting in my ears and the visuals on the large screen certainly heightened the film’s set pieces, and while I’m not one for saying that a film must be experienced in theatres, Suzume is far better on the big screen. I’m giving the music and animation both a 9 out of 10.

The main area that Suzume succeeds over Shinkai’s other films is his characters. They are still far from complex, but this time they embody much more of a screen presence than his previous characters. There is depth to both Suzume and Souta, and their personal conflicts provide a strong emotional core to counterbalance the film’s external conflict. I was surprised that their backstories were not built up inorganically; Suzume’s is woven into the plot reasonably well and Souta’s is gradually revealed throughout the film. I liked Suzume’s determination to not walk away, and Souta’s courage in the face of what he knows he can’t accomplish by himself. Their dynamic is not particularly special, but I found it endearing nonetheless and it does work well in some of the film’s comedic moments. I’m giving the characters a 7 out of 10.

The main thing I felt watching Suzume was a sense of fun that I have not felt in any of Shinkai’s other works. The epic music and visuals created a world it was a joy to walk into, the characters were fun and had enough presence to elevate the experience, and the story had a much stronger emotional core than Shinkai’s other works. While I wouldn’t say it’s as easily consumable as Your Name due to some pacing issues, and it’s not a particularly complex or deep film, it is definitely an enjoyable experience that offers an unmatched and unique spectacle you won’t find in many other films. My enjoyment, and overall score, are both an 8 out of 10. If you don’t like Makoto Shinkai’s films, Suzume no Tojimari is probably not going to change your mind. But if you do like Shinkai’s films, it’s a consolidation of all things Shinkai that is rough around the edges, but striking nonetheless.

Thank you for reading.