The number one topic that Makoto Shinkai likes to deal with would be loneliness and distance. You are close to people, but your heart is still far away. Maybe you feel forgotten, worthless.
These topics can also be found in Garden Of Words. The movie lets the audience experience these feelings first hand, but in a very beautiful and comforting way.
It's not a movie to cry and feel sad to the core afterwards.
Rather, it's that it makes you cry - but still feel safe and calm on the inside. It's a movie full of hope.
What I found the most beautiful was the music and the scenery. I've hardly seen any animated film in which these two played together in such harmony that it makes you cry and smile at the same time. The effect is that you feel drawn in, but in away that you don't want to escape from there anymore.
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To sum it up, this movie is not something that was made just because they had to produce something. They wanted to make this film and they poured their hearts into it, everyone who watches it agrees.
If you're intrested in a movie that affects you long after its end, Garden Of Words is perfect.
