Place Promised In Our Early Days, The Review

By sothis Published: March 1, 2005

STORY

8 / 10

It's really hard to talk about Beyond the Clouds without spoiling (for the record, I feel NFO and AniDB both spoil in their descriptions... as they both use the same description), so I'll stick to what happens in the beginning. What's implied, but not really discussed in detail, is that Japan underwent a split after they lost the war, and Hokkaido became the land of Ezo. A great tower was also built but its purpose was unknown until decades later. In the present, however, three friends enjoy a summer together. Two of them, Hiroki and Takuya, have constructed a plane over the years that they plan to fly eventually, to see the tower and the island of Ezo. Sayuri and the two make a promise that they’ll someday fly to the tower on the plane, but then, Sayuri mysteriously disappears, and life goes on for the two boys. That’s about half of the movie, with the other half being a few years later. Without spoiling, I’ll just say that the movie goes into some pretty scientific stuff and explores physics and other advanced topics.

Beyond the Clouds is not for everyone. It’s not only slice of life, but it’s really, really slow slice of life. In addition, the topics covered are very intelligent and scientific, and probably would be best enjoyed if you have a strong science background. Granted, I didn’t find this to be a bad thing. I enjoy slice of life series, slower series, and things that are intelligent, though I do admit it was a bit much even for me. Still, the story was superb, the execution was good, and the flow was decent, so I still gave it an 8.

As far as genre or mood? Well, it’s definitely slice of life as I mentioned above. Furthermore, there’s a subtle but very moving romance that occurs, which will definitely remind you of Hoshi no Koe. There is essentially no comedy, no action, and very little that happens between characters except talking, but it’s a great quiet ride nonetheless.

So for the story? Good, but definitely not for everyone.

ANIMATION

9.5 / 10

If you saw Hoshi no Koe, you surely were awed by how beautiful it was. Expect no less from Beyond the Clouds (created by the same person), and be assured you’ll be in for an even more beautiful treat this time around. Everything about BTC’s animation was stunning, from the beautiful panning background shots, to the close-ups, to the odd camera angles and character designs. Attention to detail was superb, lighting was amazing, and colors were rich and vibrant. Though this section is short, I really can’t say much else about the animation because it’s virtually flawless. The only reason I knocked down half a point is because the plane scenes did look a bit fake compared to the rest. Great animation all the way around.

SOUND

9 / 10

Music was orchestral and incredibly moving, or non existent. Due to this being very slice of life, it’s ok that music was devoid a lot of the time, and the music the rest of the time made up for it. Not much else to say about the soundtrack, since it was superb in most ways. Voice acting-wise, they all did a good job.

CHARACTERS

7 / 10

The only low point of the movie would be the characters, but not by much. Because this was a slice of life film that was very quiet and moody (and focused on the visuals), the characters suffered a bit. They weren’t developed basically at all, and we only knew about the thoughts and feelings of one of the male characters. The romance between two of the characters was definitely the strongest point of the character interactions, but nothing else hit me very hard. This is a movie you watch for the intelligent plot and (more so) the visuals, anyways. I would have liked to know a little more about the characters, though in the context of slice of life, maybe it wasn’t terribly necessary.

OVERALL

8.5 / 10

Beyond the Clouds definitely reached my expectations as something amazing. I guess I just wish it would have been a bit shorter or had better pacing, so I wouldn’t have been as occasionally bored. The transitions also really should have been fixed. In between each scene there would be several seconds of pitch black, including after a major buildup complete with booming music. The visuals are fantastic, music is great, and story is interesting, so what can you lose by watching this? As long as you don’t hate slice of life, Beyond the Clouds is great for a viewing.