Kotonoha no Niwa ( The Garden of Words ) Review

Synopsis:

Spoiler:

Type: Movie
Episodes: 1
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: May 31, 2013
Producers: CoMix Wave, Sentai FilmworksL
Genres: Romance
Duration: 46 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older



Kotonoha no Niwa is Makoto Shinkai's latest work. The anime film focuses only one thing and one thing only; Romance. While the notable works of Shinkai romance such as 5 centimeters per second and Hoshi no Koe were depressing from the get go, Kotonoha no Niwa is something peculiar. Like a sense of completion while at the same time a hint of sadness, what you will feel in the end of the movie is something unique and may be different to another audience because the movie was not one sided. Shinkai explored two target audiences for this film, adolescence and adults. Thus, the ending that Shinkai accomplished was completely dependent on what the audience standpoint on ethics and the audience current age. You maybe scratching your head for why two target audience, I will cover that on the rest of the review.

The story may feel like the cliché young guy x older woman romance but it is not. Along with heavy symbolism such shoes being a medium of looking forward and the awful weather disturbance called rain as a condition for the romance, Shinkai made this cliché into a masterpiece. The pacing is kind of weird. It heavily relies on the audience's ability to recognize good stuff directory. Long story short, mediocre storyline but the execution and the bitter-sweet ending made this anime worth putting on my top list.

The characters are fairly well done. First you have Takao, a 15 year old boy who likes to make shoes. Then you have Yukino, a 27 year old female that seems like, in an audience perspective, a mysterious figure. As the plot progresses, the audience learns the backgrounds of the two characters. Because this is a realistic anime, the audience can not help but relate to the two lovers. Whether it is the age difference in relationship or problems that take a piece out of your will, whatever it is, the audience will be engaged in this deep relation with the characters.

The animation is also a factor why this movie became so powerful. Shinkai's works such as 5 Centimeters per Second and The Place Promised in Our Early Days have insane animation. The latest installment of Shinkai's movie is not an exception. The detailed landscape will make you feel refreshed and the rain artwork of the movie is vibrant.

The music of Kotonoha no Niwa was ingenious. A guy named Daisuke Kashiwa made the Kotonoha no Niwa background music possible. Not only that the songs gives the romantic feel, the music also perfectly blended with the rain and river flow. The ending song gave a nice closure. Sang by the artist Motohiro Hata, he gave the classic song Rain a new meaning. The sound effects in this anime were also amazingly done. The sound effects of rain, thunder, and footsteps were good. They helped the movie gave the realistic feeling.  For the voices, a lot of people felt like Kana Hanazawa as Yukino was horrible, but for me Kana was perfect in that anime. Kana is almost the same age as Yukino, so it felt like Kana was speaking from her true self. Did Shinkai do this on purpose? Next, Takao's voice actor was Miyu Irino. I heard a couple from this guy but his notable works were Jinta from Ano Hana and Akira Tsubaki from Nazo Kanojo. I must say this guy was good in Kotonoha no Niwa. Shinkai usually hire low tier voice actors/actresses in his movies, but he finally picked the best ones this time.

Lastly, I enjoyed this anime. When I first watched the trailer was immediately hyped by the visuals and music. I recommended this to a lot of acquaintances and they were not disappointed. The movie helped me grew as a better person today. I recommend this to the people who would enjoy romance, amazing visuals, and ecstatic music. Kotonoha no Niwa is a ten on my list.

This is really a masterpiece! Until now I can't explain the feeling I felt after watching this movie.  



Thanks again for recommending this movie brethren.

nonem wrote:This is really a masterpiece! Until now I can't explain the feeling I felt after watching this movie.  



Thanks again for recommending this movie brethren.

I'm glad to know you loved the movie.

Nice, can't wait to download it.  

Roanne :3 wrote:"Kotoba ni dekizu kogoeta mama de
Hitomae de wa yasashiku ikiteita
Shiwayose de  konna fuu ni zatsu ni
Ame no yoru ni kimi wo dakishimeteta"

Epic song!

And epic review! Pro mashado!

Dawwww, thanks

I would be lying if I said I read your review. I didn't read it all because it's too damn long, but I read the last part.

I enjoyed watching it and of course the scenery were as always superb. Sasuga Makoto sensei

The visual and animation part was a huge turn on to me since I'm a huge sakuga fan. But the story kind of somehow lacked something, which I'm not really sure of what that is. Maybe that is because it's Makoto Shinkai we're talking about.

Anyway, good review. Thumbs up