It has already been crowned the fourth highest-grossing anime film ever, and it hadn’t even been released in much of the world yet. But ‘suzume‘ finally arrives today in theaters in many territories including Spain, and after the latest films from makoto shinkai and the advances that have been giving us long teeth for several months… There was already a lot of desire.
‘Suzume’ (‘Suzume no Tojimari‘) comes with very high expectations, and it doesn’t hurt to say that Makoto Shinkai has left us another true masterpiece with which he has set the bar even higher for the future.
Known worlds, but with their own spirit
The plot of ‘suzume‘ follows a teenager who one day comes across a mysterious young man looking for a door in the middle of some ruins. Suzume ends up bumping into said door, and opening it begins to unleash a series of natural disasters in Japan.
So start traveling with souta munakata, who comes from a long dynasty of sealers, and together they set out to close all the portals that are appearing throughout the country to prevent a gigantic catastrophe from repeating itself. And as if this task wasn’t difficult enough, a playful spirit transforms Souta into a slightly battered child’s chair. So Suzume has to take charge of the situation to return him to his human form and fulfill her mission.
After ‘Your Name’ and ‘Time With You’, it’s hard not to see certain patterns that repeat themselves in Shinkai’s films, and to a certain extent ‘Suzume’ also seems to start in the same way: with two young people involved in a plot with certain supernatural elements and the hint of romance.
But although the elements are there and give us a certain familiar comfort if we already know the director’s stories, ‘Suzume’ also manages to bring her own personality to the table to differentiate herself from her older sisters.
And especially, also has escaped that the central relationship is solely a romance thanks to the complicated situation of Suzume and her aunt, and to all the people who are helping her during her trip. Because even if they’re only passing through, everyone we meet in this little epic is full of life and leaves their little mark on history.
In ‘Suzume’ we also have that strange tone of magical realism fused with Japanese mythology, the comforting costumbrismo and the commentary on climate change. But Shinkai also dares to get much more into the field of action and fantasy. with some moments that leave a very good aftertaste of Studio Ghibli and especially ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’.
‘Suzume’ It manages to balance fantastically the slower moments, where you simply have the characters talking about their lives and their dreams, with the action scenes that have their hearts in their fists. But without a doubt his greatest virtue is how he manages to explore the duel, since not only of Suzume’s character, but also of the entire nation and the natural disasters that have been happening in recent years.
looking back to go forward
About his new film, Shinkai already warned that he wanted to reflect on the impact of the devastating earthquake of 2011 that took almost twenty thousand people with it. And although ‘Suzume’ is not reduced to a great drama to explore this tragedy, it does explore its effects on the protagonist’s family and everything they lost as a result of it.
Through Suzume’s journey across Japan, we also discover more of her past and how her grief has left her stuck in recent years. But still it is a movie full of hope which emphasizes the importance of looking at the past and honoring it in order to look to the future.
With ‘Suzume’, Shinkai has been taking many elements from his previous films, but taking them to another level to build something new and wonderful with a story that touches your heart and keeps you on your toes at all times. And despite the number of places we visit, Suzume’s journey doesn’t feel rushed and takes his time exploring each setting and allowing us to meet Suzume and Souta (and fall in love with them).
And obviously, if we talk about ‘Suzume’ and any Shinkai movie, we must mention the beautiful animation of CoMix Wave, which is still a real joy. Not only with the hyperrealistic backgrounds that take you to each scene, but also with the atmosphere full of melancholy and the expressiveness of its characters. maybe in the section that limps the most is with the integration of CGI at certain times, but in these hectic scenes, the union with the soundtrack and the cinematography make you forget to sharpen anything.
It is possible that after ‘Your Name’ we arrived with very high hopes for ‘El tiempo contigo’, and that more than one took a small dip from more of the same. But ‘Suzume’ manages to overcome and even surpass Shinkai’s great film, shining with an overwhelming light of its own.
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