The Garden of Words is, without a doubt, one of the most beautifully animated slices of life in over half a decade.
Makoto Shinkai's short story is as simple and fleeting as the rain that brings its two main characters together. It doesn't try to introduce any drama that can only be found in fiction, nor are the characters particularly remarkable. At least, they're no different than you or I. Instead of demanding our attention, it captivates us with a charming scenario, stunning artwork, and music so perfect that it sounds like it's being played on heartstrings. The movie's reminiscent of a bedtime story: an awe-inspiring illustration both trivial and meaningful that adults have rarely had the chance to experience since younger days.
It unfolds as if it's being told to anyone who'll listen without any strength of its own to keep an audience, but the emotions are familiar enough that anyone who understands would be curious to know what comes next. "Will this play out the same way it did for me?" It's a soft allure I seldom see any title accomplish, anime or otherwise. The cast isn't anything special either, given just enough life to tell us their story and just enough personality for us to believe there's so much more to them than what their screen time allows. Everything from the unelaborated characters to their conditional rendezvous to the movie's short runtime paints a single picture. It's a slice of life so thin that we're only shown one thing in flawless detail (and they actually say what this is, together).
The artwork was out of this world and there couldn't have been a more fitting soundtrack. The raindrops and ripples, lens flares and flickering lights, the style of light and dark and no outlining, seamless blurring of foreground and background, the reflections in glass and tile, shimmering water in wind and air from summer's heat, everything danced hand in hand with the delicate music of a wistful piano for what seemed like forever before coming together in a liberating crescendo after 40 minutes of art in motion. I've never seen more beautiful animation in anime. If you can't appreciate the story's simplicity, at least watch for those raindrops! It's a breathtaking show for both the eyes and ears.
The male lead's interior monologue takes up a lot of the movie with relatively little dialogue, but there are a few scenes without him that give other characters more depth. It's mostly exposition and silence, providing ample time to really take in the art and music. It took a few viewings to notice, along with some commentary help, but there are some very subtle things that really develop or completely change the story (ex., their personalities, his interests, her motives, those rumors, that phone call, a post-credit scene, etc.) The pace is slow and the mood is light. There's also something about it that might turn off younger viewers and will definitely resonate more with older audiences. In fact, I'm fairly confident that it takes an adult viewer to appreciate the resolution, and to understand the female lead most of all.
People are people: they're simple, but never who they seem to be, and they do stupid things, but try their best even if their best isn't good enough -- and life goes on, with or without the people met along the way, and sometimes only because of them. I'd describe the movie it as a vibrant memory someone might tell twenty or thirty years after, like a familiar dream. The Garden of Words is an enchanting and gentle reminder that the smallest things, something as simple as the weather or just being in someone's life, can make the biggest difference.
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