Suzume no Tojimari

On her way to school one day, Suzume Iwato stumbles upon Souta Munakata, a young man searching for abandoned areas. The high school girl directs Souta to a nearby ruin, but out of pure curiosity, she herself decides to head to the same destination.

Once there, Suzume discovers an isolated door with a dreamlike universe lying beyond it—a place that she can see and feel, but not enter. A strange stone rests on the ground nearby, but it turns into a cat-like creature and scurries away when Suzume lifts it. Suddenly afraid, she heads back toward her school, not realizing that her act of leaving the door open will have consequences.

With the "keystone" released, the evil within the other universe can now freely escape and wreak havoc throughout Japan. Intending to correct her dangerous mistake, Suzume joins Souta—whose true goal is to prevent evil from festering—in finding and locking all open doors before the country is destroyed.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Iwato, Suzume Main

Hara, Nanoka Japanese

Munakata, Souta Main

Matsumura, Hokuto Japanese

Daijin Supporting

Yamane, Ann Japanese

Serizawa, Tomoya Supporting

Kamiki, Ryunosuke Japanese

Sadaijin Supporting

Yamane, Ann Japanese

Iwato, Tamaki Supporting

Fukatsu, Eri Japanese

Iwato, Tsubame Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Okabe, Minoru Supporting

Sometani, Shouta Japanese

Amabe, Chika Supporting

Hanase, Kotone Japanese

Miki Supporting

Aimi Japanese

Itou, Kouichirou Producer

Okamura, Wakana Producer

Shinkai, Makoto Director, Storyboard, Screenplay, Editing, Original Creator

Yamada, Haru Sound Director

Reviews

Apr 14, 2023

psuedonymph

Recommended

(Spoiler free.) My feelings were hurt by the top 2 negative reviews so I'm writing this out of autistic rage.

There was once a little rabbit who's been enjoying the carrots on a kind farmer's field for years, where the sun was always shining and the veggies always sweet.

Harvest season was beginning again, but for some reason incomprehensible to the little rabbit, not a single friend showed up for the feast. Cautiously, she nibbed on a carrot, but it was as delicious as all the previous years.

The little rabbit decided to ask around to find out why. "Elder rabbit, why have you not come ... to the veggie patch this year?" Elder rabbit responded with a tired look, "little rabbit, the carrots taste exactly the same every year, I cannot be bothered." The little rabbit thought to herself that even though Elder rabbit was right, a good carrot is a good carrot, and that hasn't changed for as long as the kind farmer's been around.

"Brother rabbit, have you forgotten that it's harvest season? Why haven't you come down for the carrots?" Brother rabbit responded "both myself and my friend went, but we were gritting our teeth and dying to get out by the 30 minute mark." This made no sense to little rabbit, but Brother rabbit has always been a little dim.

"Cousin rabbit, what do you think of the carrots this year?" Cousin rabbit snootily responded, "oh foolish little rabbit, don't you see that those carrots are garbage? Your palatte can't possibly be so unsophisticated." Cousin rabbit was known to be the contrarian of the nest who hated whatever everyone else liked, so little rabbit didn't pay him much attention.

Little rabbit approached the old owl and told him about her day. Wizened by his years, the owl told the little rabbit about the 3 types of irrational haters in this community.

1. Someone who tried something good twice, but forgot what he liked about the first two times on his third.
2. Someone who didn't bother to use his brain.
3. Someone who hates what other people like for the sake of it.

The little rabbit accepted the owl's wisdom and learned to not let others' negative opinions affect her anymore.

Suzume is modern Shinkai's third work after Your Name and Weathering with You. A common criticism shared by other reviewers is that Suzume's plot is a rehash of the previous two. I think this interpretation has validity, but to write off this movie because of that would be tragic. If you've enjoyed modern Shinkai's other works, you'll enjoy this one too.

I think Suzume is best interpreted as Shinkai exploring the themes raised in his older works, The Place Promised in our Early Days, 5 Centimeters per Second and Garden of Words. Without spoilers, these films had a heavy emphasis on the ubiquitous struggle and stagnation faced by those who've lost a loved one. A common criticism of Shinkai's older films before the commercial success of Your Name is that the plots are incomplete, and the emotional aspects too subtle to resonate.

At it's core, Suzume is about coming to terms with the randomness of death and the importance of loving the people around you. You never know when they might go, so we must "live" the time we're given to its fullest. These universally emotional messages are packaged in a relatable, but not melodramatic story about growing up. Shinkai wants us to understand that as long as we are alive, "we already have everything we need." The movie is a Shinkai's tribute to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake.

People who love Shinkai's older works will find that Suzume is a maturation of Shinkai's thoughts on loss. While his previous films conveyed grief and distance, Suzume conveys liberation and gratitude. Shinkai stated in an interview that Suzume is the highlight of his career so far, and I personally couldn't agree more.

Those who are on the fence about this movie, do yourself a favour and go see it. Those who came here because they're upset by the negative reviews, me too. Suzume lives too far beyond the horizon to be touched by those who refuse to see its beauty.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Feb 24, 2023

quynh_a

Mixed Feelings

Well-written

I've been kind of worried about Makoto Shinkai's works since Tenki no ko as it's apparent in which direction he aims at with each new movie. Same concepts, new setting. They're becoming repetitive.

So if you're really looking for something completely new and fresh you won't find it here but if you're okay with knowing what's going to await you and are just here because you're a huge fan of his or want to immerse yourself in a beautiful world that has a touch of Shinkai's charme, you're good!

While still extremely beautiful visually with awesome direction, I just can‘t fully enjoy his movies as I always ... thought something was missing in his movies which are missing explanations to why these supernatural things happen and where they come from. It‘s about cause and effect for me. It especially shows in this one and feels like there are huge plotholes because the movie was cut short. You're thrown into event after event but don't really know why or what to make out of it.

Maybe it's just me but I find it hard to just accept it like it is. It might also be because I don't have any knowledge of Japanese mythology but it shouldn't really be required when it was aiming for an international release anyway. Makoto Shinkai did say in the Q&A afterwards that he took inspiration from the mythology Uzume and another one that is mentioned in the movie, so you might wanna look into that as it clears up a few things about the movie.

Other than that, the movie has a great balance between lighthearted and cute scenes which will definitely make you laugh and more serious, dramatic ones. Also the romance between the main leads feels kind of awkward. I just can't grasp my mind around how they even fell in love with each other, let alone their age gap which does get touched on but is just... dropped at the end?

10/10 for music tho. I expected no less from Radwimps. It really elevated certain scenes and made them more touching.

Needless to say, I still really enjoyed this movie and cried a lot knowing what the inspiration was behind this movie and will definitely rewatch it when it's officially released internationally in two months.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 19, 2023

n1saki

Not Recommended

Well-written

I'm as much of a Shinkai fan as the next guy, but I have to admit his latest work is also his weakest to date. Shinkai's writing has always been a point of criticism in his previous works, but in Suzume, even the relative strength of its visuals and music do little to rescue its struggling storyline.

Shinkai makes no attempt to push the boundaries in Suzume, and viewers will find that the story follows pretty much the same formula as his previous two works. Unfortunately, there's just a bit too much crammed into its 2 hour long runtime for anything to be resolved in a ... satisfying manner. There's that slightly forced, slightly awkward romance subplot; there's a coming-of-age/self-discovery segment; not to mention some familial angst and trauma thrown into the mix. None of these threads are given enough time to develop and it all ends up feeling like a bit of a cop out with little to no emotional payoff. Side characters come and go, serving as little more than checkpoints in the main characters' journey, doing little to influence their development and final destination. Our main guy might look cute, but he has less emotional depth than the chair he turned into. Overall, not great, even by Shinkai's standards.

The visuals are, as usual, the star of the show. Suzume departs from the more grounded, realistic atmostphere of past films, instead opting for a more ethereal, supernatural vibe. Viewers will once again be treated to stunning panoramas and wallpaper-worthy backdrops. Although, the film is sorely missing the small, human aspects that were so effective in creating that extra bit of immersion in Your Name and Tenki no Ko. In my opinion, Suzume doesn't quite reach the high bar set by Tenki no Ko in terms of atmosphere and visuals.

To no one's surprise, sound design and SFX were once again impeccable, and lent quite a bit to the realism of the film. Our friends in Japan may (or may not) appreciate the attention to detail in earthquake-related scenes in particular.

In the music department, Radwimps reprise their role in the soundtrack, delivering a great soundtrack. Unfortunately, while the sougs were fine, the timing felt a little "off". There was a noticeable reuse of some tracks, and it never quite felt like there were many emotional notes hit. There was no moment like when "Sparkle" or "Grand Escape" started playing in Your Name or Tenki no Ko; no moment that made you go "damn, this is it". Perhaps this is more the fault of the plot than the music. That said, relegating one of the only vocal Radwimps tracks to the end credits was a... questionable decision, to say the least.

Viewers going into this for the visuals (and other things Shinkai has traditionally done well) should prepare to be whelmed, or maybe underwhelmed. Viewers hoping for an improvement in the story writing department shouldn't bother. While I will still eagerly await Shinkai's next project, I only hope that he brings something new to the table next time. Even the best formulas get stale after a while.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Suzume no Tojimari Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Shikkakku - Nov 11, 2022	357 replies	by thatboymanu »» 6 hours ago
	Makoto Shinkai's next one? I've already make 3 oil paintings! im_feelingstuck - Dec 3	11 replies	by im_feelingstuck »» Dec 13, 3:46 PM
	Next one coming soon? kingsley_017 - Oct 15	12 replies	by kingsley_017 »» Oct 20, 7:28 PM
	Is Suzume not related to your name/weathering with you? BAKA0402 - Apr 27, 2023	27 replies	by Remlz_77 »» Sep 2, 9:14 PM
	Feet and shoes in the film trvekvlt666 - May 19	22 replies	by Comander-07 »» Jul 12, 2:42 PM