Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho


The Place Promised in Our Early Days

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Beyond the Clouds, The Promised Place
Japanese: 雲のむこう、約束の場所
English: The Place Promised in Our Early Days
German: The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Spanish: El Lugar que nos Prometimos
French: La Tour au-delà des Nuages
More titles

Information

Type: Movie
Episodes: 1
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Nov 20, 2004
Producers: None found, add some
Licensors: ADV Films, GKIDS
Studios: CoMix Wave Films
Source: Original
Genres: Award WinningAward Winning, DramaDrama, RomanceRomance, Sci-FiSci-Fi
Theme: MilitaryMilitary
Duration: 1 hr. 30 min.
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.421 (scored by 9491394,913 users)
1 indicates a weighted score.
Ranked: #23122
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #1174
Members: 226,913
Favorites: 741

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7.42
Ranked #2312Popularity #1174Members 226,913
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Episodes: /1

Synopsis

Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa harbor admiration for two things in their life: their classmate Sayuri Sawatari and the vast Ezo Tower that stands boundlessly across the Tsugaru Strait. Fascinated by the limitless structure beyond their reach, Hiroki and Takuya begin constructing an aeroplane from a fallen drone they discovered—naming it the Bella Ciela—to fulfill their dream of one day reaching the sky-scraping top of the tower. Later joined by the girl they love, Hiroki and Takuya promise Sayuri to fly with her to the seemingly otherworldly top together. However, Japan has suffered a North-South partitioning that has fueled conflict near the base of the tower, which marks the border between the America-controlled Southern islands and the Northern lands occupied by the Soviet Union.

Further along, Sayuri suddenly disappears, and Hiroki and Takuya never see her again. Unbeknownst to them, she fell victim to a sleeping disorder that left her comatose for the past three years. Although Hiroki and Takuya later learn about Sayuri's condition, they also discover that the girl's unconscious state is oddly linked to the same tower the trio had promised to conquer together.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Background

The film won the Best Animation Film award at the Mainichi Film Awards in 2004.

Characters & Voice Actors


Staff

Shinkai, Makoto
Producer, Director, Sound Director, Script, Storyboard, Theme Song Lyrics, Color Design, Original Creator, Executive Producer, Editing
Itou, Kouichirou
Producer
Hiramatsu, Kiyonori
Producer
Foster, Steven
Script, ADR Director


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Opening Theme

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Ending Theme

"Kimi no Koe (きみのこえ)" by Ai Kawashima




Reviews

Jan 22, 2025

Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho (The Place Promised in Our Early Days)

Makoto Shinkai’s hallmark of breathtaking visuals and poignant storytelling shines vividly in this film, At first glance, it’s easy to underestimate Kumo no Mukou as just another science fiction story. However, beneath its speculative premise lies a deeply human tale, intertwining personal promises, and the weight of dreams.

Thematically, Kumo no Mukou delves through the characters, the burden of unfulfilled promises, and the struggle to reconcile dreams with reality. It’s a meditation on the passage of time and the lingering impact of choices we make—or fail to make.


Set in an alternate post-war Japan, the ...
May 31, 2025
Mixed Feelings
I feel like this movie gets way too much hate and is oddly charming and heartwarming in its weird little way. Is it poorly written? Maybe. The plot is a bit convoluted and the dialogue is corny, but I just do not understand why this gets as much hate. Watching this right after Shinkai's previous work is like the equivalent of going from getting punched in the face to eating a birthday cake, the improvement is staggering. The environments especially are breath-taking in this one, especially for 2004 standards. The story itself is rather intreguing and kinda heartbreaking. Even if the characters do feel a ...
May 4, 2025
Another Shinkai movie repeating the same nonromance of nonlover noncharacters separated and trying to connect (across worlds, get it? just like how the multiverse tower connects the universes pointlessly, it's pointless, this whole movie is pointless). This ain't Your Name (I'm convinced his original script for Your Name was to just end it with the impact reveal and they never interact ever again before something led to the movie being rewritten with an actual plot by writing the rest and cutting out the filler to get it down to length). This is some scrawled out rough draft rehash with all his usual low effort proclivities ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )
Desian - Sep 20, 2008
168 repliesby yori21 »»
Jan 19, 5:44 AM
I can't believe this movie came out in 2004
sometaters - Mar 9, 2023
10 repliesby sometaters »»
Mar 13, 2023 5:53 PM
Not a good thing (spoiler)
Someone_OwO - Oct 3, 2022
3 repliesby kyo_1 »»
Oct 4, 2022 12:43 AM
Love the Movie? Join the Club
DrinkMyCrumbs - Jul 21, 2009
1 repliesby Harsh- »»
Mar 23, 2022 11:12 AM
The place promised in our early days HELP [SPOILERS]
tankker5 - Dec 29, 2014
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