Kumo no mukô, yakusoku no basho

Mind-bending sci-fi is a staple of Japanese animation, and many of them are complex in a way that makes them difficult to grasp immediately. This one, though, I really don't think the director has any idea how to tell a story. The film is just never coherent. Not only is its science fiction premise (which deals with alternate universes) never clear, nor its world comprehensibly established, but it's terrible at establishing characters and their relationships to each other. All of the characters are quite thin and clichéd. The artwork is nice(the animation is a bit choppy, though), and the music is pretty (but also occasionally too sappy), but this is an annoying mess of a film.

While a popular anime, I find that the title (The Place Promised in Our Early Days) is more interesting than the slow, plodding script. Many will find this film unmoving and uneventful.

The animation is so-so. In only one scene (a mountain background with mist) was I impressed; otherwise it's very typical. I'm honestly surprised by the number of reviews stating this is "beautiful". It's really simply not that impressive animation-wise. I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

The characters are largely undeveloped. The plot line is simple and mono-directional, without much in the way of suspense, surprise or emotional impact. There are no highs or lows, no real climax to the film, and the ending is weak.

I am a fan of anime and very much enjoy artistic anime. I don't need giant robot battles in order to enjoy a film-- and enjoy many aspects of the drama genre where story is as important as the animation itself. But this work struck me as mediocre in all aspects. I do appreciate that some may enjoy the (very)subdued romantic aspect, but I found it as undeveloped and uneventful as the rest of the work.

As would be expected I give it 5 stars. Neither impressive nor bad... just a slow-moving story, weak plot line and so-so animation.

Makoto Shinkai came back. And this time he is not alone.

'The Place Promised in Our Early Days' is a pure and beautiful piece of work. This has probably the most beautiful visuals of all animations that I've seen ('Please Save My Earth' and some others are also beautiful but they all have different characteristics, I must say). Pictures themselves are beautiful, and it is no wonder how people call him the 'magician of light'.

My overall impression of this anime is that it's like a poet but with Sci-Fi to match with it. 'Voices of a Distant Star (Hoshi no koe)' was quite boring for me honestly. But with a similar structure and image, 'The Place...' seems to deliver much better what Makoto Shinkai wanted to deliver, even though its story is slightly loose here and there.

I do think, however, that it is 'too' consistent throughout - from Makoto Shinkai's authentic poetic and solitary, pure atmosphere to its story/drama, visuals (e.g. lighting), music etc (I must say that sound aspects outside music is not very well done but let's put that aside), pretty much everything. This strengthens the sense of purity this anime represents, but I really think it would be better to have more 'bandwidth' to it, so it can have more dynamics and life in it. It is great how Makoto Shinkai pulled it off gracefully knitted altogether, though. I'd say that 'The Place...' stands on its very own ground, really. I think it is something that's quite different to all the rest, and don't really think it's appropriate to judge this by typical standards.

To hold it together for a much longer period of time, and to do it well, he has effectively implied editing (if I could say that) and careful laying out of the story. But the biggest difference I witnessed from 'The Place...' was how Makoto Shinkai has casted much more characters than before - though characters lack in variety as well. This enriches the story as well as adding complexity and depth to it so you don't get bored out easily.

But after all, it is superb how well Makoto Shinkai has put the whole thing together so well. I was very fascinated and captured while I was watching it - which didn't happen for quite some time. I think this is one piece of work that overwhelms viewers by its beauty and sense of purity.

P.S. Although I can understand how some animatings are not up to the feature animation quality, I personally think it'd be better for Makoto Shinkai to get somebody good to retouch on his characters' faces.

Approaching this from the perspective of a sci-fi enthusiast, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, despite the complexity of its theories on divergent realities and their harmonic coexistence with dreams, there was a far simpler coming-of-age story that centered on a childhood promise. The score is haunting. The visuals and animation are stunning and the characters are charmingly awkward. Although there are some action sequences and a pint of blood thrown in for measure, the film's pace is decidedly that of a romantic reflection on loneliness and bittersweet affection. In the end, the story telling is adequate, but viewers who were eager to be exposed to fantastic alternate universes will be disappointed.

The director and writer of The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a certain Makoto Shinkai who is otherwise famous for movies like 5 cm Per Second and Voices of a Distant Star. He has been hailed as one of the greatest anime directors or even the greatest, up there with legends like Hayao Myazaki. Since I saw his other two movies first and absolutely adore them, it is needless to say that my expectations for this movie were sky high. Simply put, I was not let down. Unlike the other two movies under the same direction, The Place Promised in Our Early Days has a very definite plot with clear dips, rises and climaxes. All in all, it is an exciting story that puts you in the center of a divided Japan with different powers controlling both sides. The plot might seem dry and overused on paper, but it is quite intriguing once you actually see it in action. Also driving the storytelling forward is this movie's sci-fi twist on parallel universes and how certain people react with them. Again, this movie certainly brings around one of the uniquer feeling tales around, even if it doesn't sound it. Anyone who has seen another Makoto Shinkai movie however will be able to tell you though, that it is not the story that makes his movies special, but the characters and the emotion that few movies come close to matching. Although it is still a huge distant beyond any other movie in this respect, the power behind to emotions is probably the weakest of all three movies. Don't get me wrong; you will still find the characters and their relations hauntingly and irresistibly real, but you aren't AS horrified when a character's life suddenly changes for the worse. Still, the feelings of loneliness, desperation, or exuberance, all of which Shinkai is famous for, are still found in their distinct, amazing way. Since this was the second of the three movies, it also seems as though it is a technical middle-step between the OK animation of Voices of a Distant Star, and the truly breath-taking visual found in 5 cm Per Second. The animation will not disappoint you, and there are some truly clever tricks that are used that make it look truly wonderful, but they won't stand out among the best in the industry. The music might just do that however with its beautiful, violin-heavy soundtrack that creates a great ambiance for whatever scene is currently playing. Also, the fact that the violin is featured in the soundtrack is of relevance to the plot, and makes both the character progression and the music appear that much sweeter.

Although I have criticized this movie a lot, for every thing it did wrong, it did a million things right. This still stands with the truly great anime movies out there and is a great watch for any fan of sci-fi influenced plots that will bring a surprisingly personal tone to the story.