Review of Suzume

Shinkai should consider making a TV series. But it wouldn't fit the large budget he's used to working with. Suzume no Tojimari is proof that Shinkai's work is getting a little stale. The plot really dwindles here. Characters are introduced as plot devices and aren't seen again. I believe Suzume was a good female main character but is overshadowed by the overwhelming amount of characters that are introduced in two hours. Shinkai does this thing where he introduces an subplot and it is never completed. In tenki no ko, this was alleviated but he's returned to it. In your name, everything was done so masterfully.The supernatural element of musubi, the red string of fate and how it drew them together. the parallel trains. So it wasn't as bad when it was left on a cliffhanger, the characters were better then. When the film ended, my heart was racing. I wanted to know whether they ended up together or not. What happened? What is the message? I was that attached to the film, the plot twist in the middle was great as well. I feel as though the attention to detail that was exhibited in the garden of words, 5 cm per second, your name, it's starting to dwindle. The voice acting is brilliant, nanoka hara proved how she beat so many people in auditions for the role of suzume. As a first time Voice actor, shinkai found a masterpiece. The rest of the characters barely stay on the screen except souta who is also good. Overall great voice acting.

I will never rate an Shinkai movie below 8. I had the pleasure of watching in an theatre as it came to the United States. The soundtrack and animation are brilliant. The art is so careful, the way japan is depicted in all of it's beauty. Shinkai viewers know what im talking about. Kobe, tokyo, and many other towns and cities, rural and urban, are masterfully seen and it is great to watch. Shinkai also does the slice-of-life really well, as always. Whether it's playing with kids, jumping into sports cars, cleaning a bath, the dialogue is always brilliant, it's one of his greatest strengths. The dialogue is great. I wish he would do more humor, he is good at it. One review I read said that the soundtrack felt a little "off", and I couldn't agree more. there was no "it" moment, like when grand escape plays in tenki no ko, or sparkle in your name. I also wanted more vocal RADWIMPS soundtracks as the only one is in the end credits, they could have added a lot more to the film like in your name and weathering with you. I can't lie, suzume is a great piece but the ost felt off in terms of timing apart from one scene towards the end where it is played in a slower, sadder way.
There are too many loose ends hanging here, the romance is really frustrating, which I think is fair given the age gap between souta and suzume, I guess he didn't want a repeat of the garden of words. I have a commitment to be spoiler-free in reviews, otherwise im just ranting to people who have already seen the movie. Characters are so and so, first off, there are too many of them. Some had lots of potential but let me get to the main point of my review. Shinkai IS TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. It was really bad in this movie, and why it's not getting above an 8. He is pulling things out of his ass and then chooses to resolve ABSOLUTELY NONE of it at the very end. not even the central theme of why they are locking doors in the first place is made clear at the end. Fuck, we don't even know why it is starting which makes absolutely no sense. At least some effort is made to explain the supernatural element in his past works. Shinkai's works are a little slice of life, a little romance, and an supernatural element. He screwed up the plot and the supernatural part.

I liked the premise of how they need to hear what was once there in said location. Even if he is pulling things out of his ass, the ending message was nice as it was the only thing that was really resolved. Suzume reconciles with her younger self as she teaches us and tells the nation of japan, which seems to hit disaster after disaster (it must be noted that suzume's hometown of kyushu, was it by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake in real life 6 weeks before the film was relased) to accept the trauma of the past and look forward. Similar to tenki no ko, the plot resolves with the premise that preventing disaster and resolving the disaster completely is secondary to making bonds with others and helping others when they need it. Just like in tenki no ko where hodaka chooses to accept endless rain so long as hina is in that world with him. I think that is a great message to end the plot with, especially for the japanese audience. Because they won't be able to prevent future natural disasters, that's impossible. But what they can do is continue to power through it and move forward. Regardless, in conclusion, Shinkai fails to tie up loose ends with all of the characters he introduces and the plot is stale and has too many holes. Overall disappointed and expected more plot-wise out of Shinkai who is a brilliant storyteller, his works seem to be declining in that aspect. Im sure he is aware that he is bullshitting the plot but he must think it makes a better film. As shown by the high MAL rating, he might not be wrong. But as someone who knows his game, it is disappointing. You need to go see it for yourself however, as the art, animation, dialogue, and ost are the best in the business (it helped that I was in a theatre). It was even better in-person. Characters- 6/10, soundtrack- 9/10, art- 9.75/10, animation- 10/10, plot- 6/10, voice acting- 10/10. Overall 8.45/10. That was a really long review and I appreciate you a lot if you made it here, let alone read all this. Thanks, -nashy