Suzume is a young girl who lives with her aunt due to the passing of her mother when she was young, we're first introduced to her - or her dreams more specifically in which it is made clear that she still very much grieves for her mother. Yet this is not shown outwardly from her character, instead she puts forwards a face of a head strong girl. Throughout the film we see her personality shine through, she truly is a charming character and gives us the perfect viewpoint from the adventure she is going on. To avoid spoilers I can't say much on her character arc but it has an incredibly satisfying end and really teaches the lesson that we are the ones to save ourselves, and carry ourselves into tomorrow.
Souta, the male lead, is a gentle soul. He takes a backstep to Suzume, aiding her in her journey rather than having his own - but he serves his purpose very well. Not to mention he is just a beautiful character in personality as well as looks. This goes for the majority of the cast, they're all people who aid Suzume on her journey - but this shouldn't diminish the fact that they are characters in their own right and feel like real people. The voice acting for everyone is fantastic - standout roles were definitely the va's for Suzume and Souta, it's a breath of fresh air hearing new voices in animated films and they were fantastic.
It's a Makoto Shinkai film so of course the visuals are the standout. CGI and 2d animation are seamlessly woven together to create some stunning sequences that really go to show just how far technology for animation has come these past few years. The camera movements along with the animation created so many well done shots that are harder to do traditionally and create some memorable moments. I don't think I need to gush too much, it's just a visually stunning work, every shot is a piece of art, it's just so breathtaking.
The music was well chosen, especially for some car sequences where the music was put on by the characters in the car for the drive. The ending song only had me crying harder because of how moving it was. Sound as a whole only aided the experience, no qualms there.
In case you couldn't tell I really enjoyed this film. It had a message to tell and it told it, a lesson to teach and it taught it. An empowering one at that. I would highly recommend.
