The Garden of Words

Title:The Garden of Words
Kotonoha no Niwa
言の葉の庭
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - CoMix Wave
A high school student named Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, has skipped school and has hidden himself away in a Japanese style garden to practice sketching shoes. While there he chances to meet a mysterious older woman named Yukino. Then without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again in their private place, but only on rainy days. The time they spend together only deepens their relationship and they begin to open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches...

One 45-minute movie released on 5/31/2013.
Animation by CoMix Wave Films
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 10 10 9 7 8 Ggultra2764 [series:2737#1552]
Surprising enough that there's another Makoto Shinkai movie that I can get latched on since 5 Centimeters per Second. I guess as long as his story focus on distant relationships is down-to-earth and there is reasonable time within the span of the title to explore the relationship, then I can get latched on it. In the case of Garden of Words, 45 minutes provides enough time to explore the unique dilemmas of Takao and Yukino who bond in the garden house they visit on rainy days and Takao faces a shocking revelation over the older woman he grew to love towards the later half of the movie, with both clearly depicted to be within different points in their lives with Takao determining his profession in life and Yukino well into her years of adulthood. The distant relationship theme is emphasized this time through an element of Yukino's past and what ultimately becomes of Takao and Yukino's relationship at the end of the film. Like many Shinkai works, this baby pleases excellently in the visual department with gorgeous scenery shots and nicely animated movements coming from the title's various scenes such as the rainfall that comes down on the garden house and the many people walking along the city streets. Overall if you're a Shinkai fan or a lover of romance anime, Garden of Words is at least worth a look.

Last updated Sunday, September 22 2013. Created Sunday, September 22 2013.

Community Anime Reviews

anime mikomi org