The Garden of Words By: Makoto Shinkai

A Movie Review

If there’s one overarching theme that connects all of Makoto Shinkai’s works, it would be
“distance”. As a bittersweet love story, The Garden of Words carries similar expectations
to Shinkai’s other popularized works such as, “5 Centimeters per Second,” “The Place
Promised in Our Early Days,” and “Voices of a Distant Star.” The movie takes place over
a summer, where a 15 year-old aspiring shoemaker meets an eccentric and mysterious
27-year old woman. Their back-stories are hardly touched on, but the boy is portrayed as
wise beyond his years, independent and seemingly forced to grow up prematurely. On
the other hand, the woman is more aloof, and clumsy in her behavior. She feels as if she’s
unable to move past her youth, but reveals little else otherwise.

After researching about Shinjuku Gyoen where the movie’s location based off, I couldn't
believe my eyes, the animations are so damn accurate that I literally flinched. Despite
being a character-driven movie with first person narration, the film devotes a great deal
of time to scenic shots. Shinkai has drawn a fully realized yet enclosed setting, and the
details he’s put into this garden are nothing short of gratuitous. Shots of a cicada shedding
its shell, raindrops dancing on the surface of a pond, and a tree branch dipping into a lake
boasts an almost over-bearing attention to detail, but these gratuities do more than show
off Shinkai’s talents as an animator.

Due to the differences in age and personality between the characters, the garden is
supposed to express what the characters themselves cannot – a “Garden of Words”. The
two characters are ecstatic at the sight of rain, which is usually a heavy-handed symbol
for sadness or isolation, due to the figurative haven that the garden provides and its ability
to emotionally connect the two beyond words. As in other Shinkai made films, the dialogue
exchanged between the two characters is minimalistic, and for the most part,
overshadowed by the appealing visuals and underlying themes. However, the frequency
of silence is what best represents Shinkai’s abilities as a storyteller, and therein lies the
significance of the movie’s title, “The Garden of Words.”
Breaking the subtlety and slow pace at which the characters’ relationship develops, the
film’s climax shows an uncharacteristically forceful and crude confrontation. As an
outburst of emotion with a fair bit of yelling and crying, it’s less powerful than the silent
yet powerful climaxes of previous Shinkai films. While the film’s climax fails to move
viewers and leave its intended message of “moving forward," it isn’t awkward enough to
be dismissed as melodrama. The film even ends with the same unrequited love as most
of his previous works, but this lack of fulfillment was not portrayed as effectively as in, “5
Centimeters per Second.” As a whole, the film was a lot less ambiguous, yet ended with
the same, physical distance between the two characters as Shinkai’s earlier film.

In the sound department, The Garden of Words consists mostly of ambience, with the
exception of a handful of beautifully composed piano solos. Both were done with great
effectiveness, with the sound of rain meticulously matching each animated droplet and
the piano solos capturing the overall mood of the story.

As for my final verdict, “The Garden of Words” is probably the most visually appealing
anime I’ve ever seen, yet it may not be as memorable story-wise, nor can it avoid
comparisons with Shinkai’s other works. That said, its subtleties in storytelling and
flawless visuals makes it absolutely remarkable, and a veritable visual feast for fans of
the romance genre. And as far as my personal feeling as a fan is considered I liked the
story a lot but what made me love this movie are the details in every visual, from the foot
fetish to rain drops. It was awesome, and I rate this movie 10/10.