this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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Makoto Shinkai films are much more about the overall experience, rather than the details I think. They always have this very strong bittersweet/poignant element running through everything (visuals, music, story) that leaves me with this very odd feeling afterwards. Japanese cinema in particular has this wonderful ability to subtly convey very complex emotions to the viewer so that you get to the end of a film and realise you have tears in your eyes without really understanding how or why they got there.
I adored Perfect Days for those exact reasons yet Suzume's attempts to pull at the heartstrings felt blatant and a little hollow and is why I chose the word "gratuitous". Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I entered without prior expectations of greatness or if I had a personal connection to the 2011 earthquake that so permeates throughout. Don't get me wrong, the film to me was decent but the romance was shoehorned and it wasn't cohesive enough to live up to the hype. I do intend to watch eventually Your Name as it's widely believed to be his magnum opus and I would love to see a more compelling Suzume.
I haven't actually seen Suzume yet so maybe I'll end up agreeing with you. I'm not sure if you've seen 'The Garden of Words' but that is possibly my favourite from him, despite being very short. Maybe that's part of the reason why it was so impactful - the shortened runtime cuts out a lot of the more distracting plot elements found in his other films and leaves you with a very distilled and pure Shinkai film.
I haven't! Would you recommend I watch it before Your Name?
I don't think it matters either way, though I prefer Garden of Words. I think an appreciation for the differences probably depends a bit on the age of the viewer, since Garden of Words is really dealing with the complexity and isolation of adult life. If you are in your 20s or younger, you might not fully understand or appreciate those themes yet. Your Name is more fantastical in that sense; it has a streak of hope and wonder running through it that younger audiences can connect with.