Not knowing what to expect but beautiful imagery I tried to absorb as much as I can in one sitting.
Story
Takao is a 15 year old highschool boy who wants to become a shoe designer. Skipping school on rainy mornings he came into contact with a young woman in a nearby park.
There he spends time with her having various conversations and drawing and sketching shoe-designs.
On the other side we have the life of the young woman, who's name is not told right from the start but later revealed.
We know she suffered some sort of injury which makes her impossible to work, so she spends her days at a park bench with Takao.
It soon becomes clear that a romantic relationship unfolds thought is never spelled out. The age difference is just too big.
From here on we see how Takao starts to open up to the nameless lady and makes her indirectly part of his life until later her identity is revealed.
I don't want to spoil anything, it's only 45min so you can just watch it.
All I can say is, it is again a very touching romance, with some drama and a realistic but idealized portrayal of real life.
Makoto Shinkai is very talented in telling us short but emotionally gripping dramas and love stories.
They are not very heavy but very cute, though the drama is haunting and makes you think about it ever afterwards (at least that's how it was in 5cm per second).
The Garden of Words was different in that regard giving you a good closure that doesn't break your heart and leaving only good feelings.
Characters
The story mainly focuses on Takao and Yukari Yukino ( no spoiler her name is in the character description).
Various side characters are introduced but have no greater impact on the show and don't feel they miss.
While the show is a romance and things are portrait more idealistic as they are in real life, the characters were extremely realistic and had real personalities.
Takao is interesting as he has a true talent and hobby he works hard for, and Yukari real fears and problems.
Their relationship is shown very faintly yet is enough to get the idea.
We don't see such real characters often in anime, mostly they turn to either some sort of cliche or rule of cool. I liked how well they were handled and how relatable they were. Even for such a short story I felt heavily engaged into the events.
Art and Animation
I'm not sure if I should say anything here because... if you seen the pictures or trailers you know what it looks like.
I don't lie if I say this is the absolute best looking anime I've ever seen.
Yes there are anime that have better animation, but when it comes to pure looks, this is better than reality.
The colors are so engaging, the light effects immersive, the small details so breath taking.
And what little simple movements there are are well animated, and everything seems to be hand drawn, no cgi.
I really don't wanna add anything here anymore it's a clear masterpiece when it comes to its looks.
Sound
The movie is very quite. Mostly we hear the ambient rain which is an important factor for the story.
But if there is music it is very minimalistic piano pieces which work perfectly well with the setting and pacing. It's as if the key are the drips and drops of the rain itself.
The ending theme, though listenable, didn't catch me so well.
I wouldn't say the sound aspect is the worst because that implies it is bad, and it isn't.
The Voiceacting is done by Kana Hanazawa, and Miyu Irino. Two very pleasent voices. Not my absolute favorites in the industry but 2 of the best you can get.
Enjoyment
The movie was throughout enjoyable, alone the backgrounds and light effects made the show so breathtaking that it was hard to make anything that wasn't enjoyable out of it.
And it totally hit into my heart, because I am an avid lover of romance, it might just be my favorite type of story you can tell in a movie or show.
Story 7/10
Premise and Setting +0 (Nothing we have never seen before, a lovestory)
Pacing +0 (It could have been a bit longer to flesh out character relations)
Complexity +1 (simplistic perfection)
Plausibility 0 (A bit of a stretch with the romance, but it's so simple you can't do anything wrong)
Conclusion +1 (it ends satisfying)
Characters 8/10
Personality +1 (real people)
Behavior and Chemistry +0 (It would have been nice to see more interactions)
Development and Progression 0 (There wasn't enough to develop anything)
Motivation and Backdrop +1 (Everyone had real hopes and dreams)
Likability +1 (Even with the little exposition they got, they grew on me fast)
Art and Animation 10/10
There is nothing to argue about.
Sound 7/10
Voice Acting +1 (two talented voices)
Theme Songs 0 (not my thing)
Soundtrack +1 (I love minimalistic piano songs)
Sound Effects 0 (nothing too spectacular)
Enjoyment 10/10
Art +1 (best looking thing ever)
Sound +1 (enjoyable pianos)
Story +1 (touching minimalism)
Characters +1 (true people)
Value +1 (will remember just like 5cm per seconds)
