The Garden of Words

[sadht="The Garden of Words"]Kotonoha no Niwa[/sadht][sadhl]kotonoha-no-niwa[/sadhl][sadhdc][/sadhdc]
I've double checked, but it seems like there was no thread for this movie yet. Strange...

This movie was quite nice actually. It was a short, but bittersweet story. The art -especially the scenery- was breathtaking though. Together with some nice music and sound effects, it was a fun watch. I gave it a 4.0+/5.

Being a huge fan of Shinkai Makoto I've been looking forward to this movie for quite a while.
I've watched some countless times already and the only word I find fitting to describe it is "AMAZING"!

First of all the art. It's amazing how realistic it is and how well they could recreate Tokyo.
The character design is also pretty amazing. Well this is what you usually expect from a Shinkai Makoto movie. :3

The story was heartbreaking but beautiful. I find myself tearing up every time I watch it.

And I'm not afraid to say best movie by Shinkai Makoto :3

I liked this one a lot, but I still found it inferior to Shinkai's 5 cm/s. It just lacked those 10 minutes... maybe a bit more time to properly attach us to the female lead, or go a little bit more into separation. Female character didn't have much characterization, many because that was a point and audience was supposed to look at her as an enigma, but more flashing wouldn't hurt. It looked and felt amazing, and I'm still amazed by how he managed to switch the tone of rainy days into happiness and sunny days into sadness. I'm still can't decide between 3.5 and 4... I still can't get over the lack of plot, but right now I'm giving it 4/5.

Kotonoha no Niwa (Garden of Words)

As I have gotten older, my expectations and interests for anime have evolved. I would say that the actual art and character of the animation is one of the biggest deal breakers for me now. If you were to judge Garden of Words by its animation. . . then it stands ready to be judged. I have seen both subbed and dubbed version, both are fine as far as voice work. But in all honesty, it could have been a silent film and I would have enjoyed it. Not to mention I am a huge lover of the rain. Shinkai just knocks it out of the park with this one, at least in terms of capturing the beauty and detail the story is set against. Not to mention......the piano themes are of extreme quality.

to be honest, near the the end i cried
i don't know why, it was just an emotional moment for me


[sad yee]

I feel like I was supposed to cry but didn't. Which is weird because I cry at literally everything, even things that aren't really emotional. But this didn't do it for me. It was just too emotionally flat until the resolution, and has super predicable story progression. So one is prepared for the so-so emotional climax.

Also considering the title "The Garden of words" one would think I'd have better dialog...

but those rain scenes, those were sooooooooooooo satisfying, and the rain audio was just as good. I'd probably enjoy it just as much if everything but the rain scenes were cut out tbh.

Sadspacekitty said:

I feel like I was supposed to cry but didn't. Which is weird because I cry at literally everything, even things that aren't really emotional. But this didn't do it for me. It was just too emotionally flat until the resolution, and has super predicable story progression. So one is prepared for the so-so emotional climax.

Also considering the title "The Garden of words" one would think I'd have better dialog...

but those rain scenes, those were sooooooooooooo satisfying, and the rain audio was just as good. I'd probably enjoy it just as much if everything but the rain scenes were cut out tbh.

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The first time I watched this, I didn't feel anything either. Then I watched it a second time with a friend and we both got emotional at the ending.

Although then again, we were both nursing hangovers at the time...

I feel like this movie could've been so much more. It had great potential.

this movie was boring as hell. the only thing i liked was the animation. literally just looking at it. i understand the appeal but i personally hated it. it's beautiful to look at, boring to actually have to listen and pay attention to.

They definitely could have taken the plot way farther, especially with the interesting chemistry between the two characters. I mean just when I was getting attached to the characters, the credits rolled. I can see why people find it emotional but I feel that it really wasn't as good as it could have been. The animation sure as hell made it a worthwhile watch, though.

The animation was incredibly good just like many Shinkai Makoto`s works. But I just felt that I had been failed by the plot, there was so much potential in the development of the two characters, but it just needed an extra push.

WinterRobin said:

this movie was boring as hell. the only thing i liked was the animation. literally just looking at it. i understand the appeal but i personally hated it. it's beautiful to look at, boring to actually have to listen and pay attention to.

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You don't watch these kinds for fun to be real.