Clouded skies
Perhaps rain comes
If so, will you stay here with me?"
Takao, who is an inspiring and is training to become a shoemaker, skips school and is sketching shoes when it rains in a garden. He keeps meeting a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then without any time arrangements they two start meeting each other in the garden whenever it rains. They grow close to each other and deepen their relationship and open up to each other, but Takao stops showing up when rainy season ends.
If Five Centimeters per Second is a five on five, then The Garden of Words is a Shinkai on five. Yes, The Garden of Words is that great, not only in visuals that have reached vistas but also the relationship he narrated in his latest work along with gentle soundtracks. The Garden of Words is a perfect example that an anime need not to aim higher and deliver something great, but can just follow and execute what it had set out to. The Garden of Words is a personal and short story of Akizuki Takao and Yukino. It captures the brief period of time they spend together in a garden during a rainy season. It was interesting how the events in the film could not be considered as significant for either. It was not the beginning nor the ending of the either of the characters. But, The Garden of Words effectively explored Takao's and Yukino's struggles and problems they faced in the brief period.
About the animation, I've got nothing to say about the animation for this one, hopefully, I might link some screens I've captured to this post. The animation only got better since 5 Centimeters per Second. But it is only natural to praise the animation is Shinkai's works. The soundtrack composed by Daisuke helps set the mood throughout the film. Still, Kashiwa does a good job establishing the tone of the film, with his arrangements mostly composed of unaccompanied piano pieces. The score is simple yet perfect for a movie of this level. And the ending theme, Rain, by Hata was downright amazing. It was a lovely acoustic music, which plays out well with the end of the movie.
Miyu Irino, voice actor of Takao, did a splendid job with his task. Irino has a very mature and masculine voice which speaks a lot about Takao. Despite being 15 years of age, he knows what he wants to do with his life, and takes his goal seriously. He is mature enough and is level-headed that we forget that he is a high-school student. Kana Hanazawa, voice actor of Yukino, did a great job too. Her soft gentle voice suggests a woman who isn't quite ready to grow up just yet and struggles to maintain that image of someone who is warm and in control of her life.
As said earlier, this movie isn't the starting nor ending of Takao or Yukino. It was just a period of their meetings with each other. The ending doesn't not conclude anything. It doesn't show us that Takao becomes a successful shoemaker or Yukino is happy with her new job. I like how the movie concludes, it ends with both characters being honest about their feelings towards each other. Yet, there was no use of happy-romantic ending. They both go on their separate ways, not concluding anything and leaving it to viewers' imagination.
"A faint clap of thunder
Even if rain comes not
I will stay here
Together with you."
