Tooi Sekai

Tooi Sekai is very interesting and, for me, some what sinister.

Story: 3/10
There is not a lot of story. It is just a couple, on a train, talking about their relationship. That's it.

Art: 7/10
Very different take on Makoto Shinkai's usual work. I do love this black and white silent film style though. Very interesting and it fits perfectly. Honestly, it was quite creepy too. Any colour would have ruined this illusion.

Sound: 10/10
The piano tune by Erik Satie in the background is what made the whole thing for me. Even though it was not meant to, the piano made the entire thing feel very eerie and ... sinister to me. It was quite chilling to be honest. As the short progresses, the piano seemingly gets louder and more violent, making me think something bad was going to happen. E.g. the train crashing and them dying. Or the man was going to kill the woman so they could be 'together forever' as stated in the short. What was meant to be a cute and romantic short, turned quite dark for me. It is very interesting to me to see the different takes you can have on this video. I cannot fully describe how the video made me feel. Though I was definitely somewhat scared.

Character: 2/10
There is nothing developed on these characters. You do not even get to see their faces. Though, from what you can see, I did like their designs.

Enjoyment: 5/10
Pretty scary for me, though I still can't grasp why. I liked it and would watch it again.

Overall: 7/10
I did very much enjoy it, although there is not much to it. What made it for me was how creepy the entire setting was (though I don't think this was Shinkai's intitial intention).

This is a short of 1:29 seconds long(around that time) made by Makoto Shinkai in the late 90's(1999)..probably one of the works done by just himself alone..thinking about things and relationships

First of all, I must say that the introduction with the airplain is good(surrounded by a rectangle and a light that gives you really 90's vibes)along with the birds that will be a continuos presence in this short.
Then with the train we got introduced to another theme that later on will be a main theme of Makoto Shinkai's works..such as distance relationships and love and all the
consequences and the effects it can bring.

The train ... make us understand the pain of the distance also because of how it is done the art...infact the art done in a rough way and with a lot of chiaroscuro that give you such 90's vibes I talked about..the camera angles also and the change between scenes are done well with interesting and good shots that can give at least some thinking to the watcher.

The music are the best parts of it..I loved it with the piano fits the tone of this short pretty well(8 for me)and they mix well with the train departure and its travel

During the travel on the train, Shinkai often shows us(and also at the very beginning) the birds which means freedom and they make us understand the joy and the need to find your other self needed for you..and to be together with the other person..to be free to stay in a relationship.
Shinkai so tries to tell us that it is good to be attached to it although it can bring pain

Overall I give it a 6,It depends of the person you are but this can make you feel good or bad about yourself and positive in life..but for me it can't really last that long..not memorable enough...and I find it not strong enough to move a person
It is good short anyway..so give it a try

In less than two minutes we are told a story that touches the typical themes found in works by Shinkai. In other words, the focus lies on drama, romance and, naturally, clouds.

But despite Tooi Sekai being as simple as possible due to solely having been created by Shinkai himself, it does not hit home. In seven silent sentences we are told an ultimately forgettable story that comes across more as an idea, an experiment to test his skills, than something with a point.

There is nothing wrong with this. However, it is not very exciting to watch.