Your Name and Suzume are cool, but this one is more mature and melancholic.
The name Makoto Shinkai is firmly associated with fantasy and sci-fi plots: the director gained worldwide fame after the release of Your Name, in which the fantasy genre began to prevail over the everyday life inherent in his earlier works.
Since then, all of Shinkai's projects have become hits, holding positions at the top of the highest-grossing anime in history, which brought comparisons with another master – Hayao Miyazaki.
At the same time, such a comparison does not seem very relevant, at least because of the difference in their approaches: where Miyazaki transforms the personal into the universal, Shinkai does exactly the opposite – and it's most evident in his The Garden or Words.
What Is The Garden of Words About?
The rainy season has arrived in Tokyo a few days earlier than expected. Takao has always preferred rainy weather, so it comes as no surprise that he only skips class on the dreariest days in the park.
In the pavilion, he meets Yukari, a 27-year-old teacher. She drinks beer after eating chocolate and wears shoes that are inappropriate for her profession.
With each cloudy day, the two get to know each other better, sharing fears and dreams, exchanging memories, until one day the rainy season ends.
The Garden of Words Deserved More Love and Attention from Anime Fans
Loneliness and coming of age, first love, nostalgia for youth are the hallmarks of every Shinkai film, regardless of genre.
From his first short films, he developed his own style, and since then has consistently returned to familiar routes. Shinkai has established himself with unchanging visual imagery, such as clouds symbolizing a dream or railroad crossings promising imminent separation.
The release of The Garden of Words on the big screen was not accompanied by the same resounding success as the release of Your Name or Suzume.
At the same time, The Garden of Words is probably Shinkai's most mature and spectacular anime, despite the complete absence of fantastic collisions.
The Garden of Words Is a Bittersweet and Melancholic Work
The boy is already facing punishment for truancy, and the girl, having decided to quit her job, plans to start a new life away from the ghosts of the past. Their daily encounters become a salvation for both of them, although neither of the characters is in a hurry to admit it to the other.
Behind the poetic narrative are typical problems: the misunderstanding of parents, the cruelty of teenagers, the fear of believing in oneself and one's dream, escape and depression. But everyone knows that a person needs a person, and the characters of this anime are no exception.