Garden of Words spoiler talk

One of the biggest flex in animation Makoto Shinkai’s 4th film tackles loneliness and growing up. Also the first part of the unofficial “weather” trilogy of Shinkai.

The two leads find companion ship in each other. Takao an aspiring shoe maker and Yukari a teacher who skips her duties due to students bullying her. Also a recurring theme of Shinkai’s works is old vs new. Takao being a shoe maker using traditional methods. Which feels more like a plot point in the film but Shinkai does better in his later works. Also this is one of the shorter length films Shinkai has done. It barely makes it over 40 mins. It cuts the fat to other sub plots and relies solely on the two leads.

Which is great this is by the numbers a solid story. So while the ending is left open ended I think Shinkai wanted to leave it up to the viewer. The two leads help each other connect to other people. The shoes serve as a metaphor for her walking again. Yukari finds the courage to move on in the friendship with Takao.

While Takao’s journey is just beginning. His story is most left unresolved. He confronts the bullies at school and makes the pair he promised but we are left wondering if they will meet again. Which I think fits into the narrative.

Them meeting and talking in that garden was their Neverland. It was all just pretend. They had no status and could connect as equals in that space. And them meeting at Yukari’s apartment breaks that illusion. The real world comes crashing in. The Rain. While you could read the rain as the 3rd wheel to the couple, it’s also a metaphor for reality.

And that’s where we leave our characters. The fun’s over. Reality always sets in. But for a brief moment Shinkai’s characters got to shoot the breeze for a little bit.

Things I liked: There are barely any secondary characters in this film. Takao’s brother and girlfriend don’t really count since he lives with them. And the bullies are given as little screen time as possible. The beer and chocolate is such a mirror to Yukari’s character. She’s wants to have that youth full innocence but is grounded due to her responsibilities. They are both cutting class for their own reasons and it’s one of the first high school dramas without the school part.

I think this was a great practice film for Shinkai. He nailed the art and characters but just needed that extra push which we will see in his later works. But I don’t think any of his films looked as good as this one. Each frame could be taken out as a screen shot and be a great piece of art. That should have some merit even lacking the story elements in making this film a consideration.