Dareka no Manazashi

Someone's Gaze is a beautifully executed look on a hypothetical neo-japan in a mere six minutes. For such a short film the overlying plot and eye for detail in this movie is sublime.

Story: 8/10
A simplistic story that captivates the reader from the second the movie starts right up to the end. It explores the deep pyschological effects on growing up and the struggles along the way

Animation: 10/10
Beautifully made movie. The characters are well drawn and the background adds life to the very few scenes of the movie

Characters: 9/10
For what little we saw of these characters, their development is strong and their descriptions are in-depth. More ... is learnt about these characters in 6 minutes than a lot of characters in longer series after the first arc.

Music: 9/10
Perfectly placed. Beautiful melodic songs throughout the movie that aren't distracting or out of place to add to the beauty.

Overall 8/10
For such a short film, this is not what I would usually call a must-watch, but this is definitely a movie every anime fan should watch at least once in their life. Short yet moving.

You might ask, "What can a story told in just six minutes possibly accomplish?" In the case of Makoto Shinkai's "Someone's Gaze," the answer is: everything.

This short film explores the quiet, often painful progression of life and the way relationships can fray under the weight of daily circumstances. I went in thinking, "It's only six minutes," but as with all of Shinkai's works, I was left with a profound feeling, something deep inside me awakened after watching it.

The story is uniquely framed through the POV of the family's deceased cat. This isn't Shinkai's first feline narrator (fans will recall "She and Her Cat" which is ... another beautiful thread in the interconnected universe of his film "5 Centimeters Per Second."),

Through the cat's eyes, we witness the entire arc of a family's bond. We see the initial joy and closeness when the cat first arrives, and the deep affection the young daughter shows it. But as she grows older, entering high school, then moving out to start her career, we feel the cat's loneliness mirror the father's. The time and attention she once gave so freely becomes a scarce commodity.

The film's most devastating moment is a masterstroke of silent storytelling. The father, longing for connection, calls his daughter and offers to visit with two premium lunch boxes. She, exhausted and unaware of his proximity, turns him down from just outside her door. This scene of unintended rejection is a emotional gut-punch, perfectly illustrating the tragic gap between love and the ability to express it.

In just six minutes, "Someone's Gaze" tells a complete and universally resonant story about family, time, and the small, accumulated losses that come with growing up. It's a tiny gem that proves a story's power isn't measured in minutes, but in the depth of the feeling it leaves behind.

Dareka no Manazashi (DnM for short) is a short film directed by Makoto Shinkai - if you're an anime fan in any capacity, you're probably familiar with some of the titles he's directed, such as Byousoku 5 Centimeter and the more recent Kimi no Na wa. His films are often described as bittersweet and sentimental, and this is also the case with DnM. However, the short length and consequential underdevelopent of the many plot points the film presents left me feeling underwhelmed - like this was something that had the potential to be emotionally touching, if given more time.

DnM is visually stunning, featuring vibrant colors, ... attractive character designs and skilled use of lighting to match the story's emotional shifts. However, the "near future" setting adds nothing to the overall story - it could have just as easily taken place in the present.

The voice actors portrayed their characters with conviction and heart. The music was soft piano for the bulk of the film and a piano ballad at the end, which fit the mood of the story well. All aspects of sound featured in DnM were pleasing but nothing spectacular.

The story of DnM centers around Aya Okamura and the evolution of her relationship with her family, and many focal points of this relationship are shown, past and present, ups and downs. The common thread between these plot points is that very little time is spent on any of them, preventing the viewer from establishing much of a meaningful connection with the plot or the characters portrayed in the story. Speaking of the characters, they've got a surprising amount of personality for the short time they're shown, but because we don't get to see that much of them it's hard to find yourself caring about their lives, day-to-day troubles, or relationships with one another. The themes of the story, in addition, are underexplored due to the film's brevity and quick switches from scene to scene.

I do have one gripe about a potential "plothole", which is strange for a film that isn't even seven minutes long - it has no impact on the events of the story, but left me slightly puzzled. Near the end of the film, it's heavily implied that the narrator is one of the characters from the story. However, this narrator describes events as if they were there from before their character was actually introduced in the story, which raises questions. Whether this was an oversight or just Shinkai taking creative liberties with the narration, I found it a bit odd.

Overall, DnM is a good example of an adequate film that could have been much better given more time to grow and develop. There's a lot here with potential that is never met, which is a shame, but the framework for a more solid film is present.