Shole
Well-known member
Lets make it clear that this is a movie produced by CoMix Wave Films and directed by Makoto Shinkai. A wonderful yet heartbreaking story of two individuals who would meet during the rainy days in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I was amazed by the art of this movie and the story behind it . So far I didn’t have the time to read the novel nor the manga but I am planing to do so soon enough. Lets get it going with the review.
Story:
The main focus of this story is the young high school student , 15-year-old Takao Akizuki who has a passion for making shoes. He’s life is complicated and the hardship of it has made him mature. Whenever it rains he goes to the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden to come up with ideas for new shoes. Working part-time to pay for his craft and help his family has put a pretty big burden on the young high school student. The story has a great turning point when Takao meets our second protagonist, a 27-year-old woman by the name of Yukari Yukino. Yukari , same as Takao, seeks shelter from the rain in the Shinjuku Gyoen Gareden. As Takao searches for a place to come up with new ideas, Yukari is in search for a place that takes her away from the problems of everyday life. Takao was more open to her, yet they didn’t formally introduce themselves to each other. After noticing Takao’s school uniform, Yukari bid him farewell with a tanka. Tanaka is a form of Japanese poetry.
The rainy days came and passed with both of them enjoying the company of each other without ever formally introducing themselves.
After the rainy season , during the summer, Takao focused on his work and didn’t go to the park anymore. When he returned to school he saw Yukari in his school. When he asked his friend about it she told him that she is a literature teacher who became the target of bullies and gossip due to her beauty. The rumor was that one girl lost her boyfriend because he has fallen for Yukari, therefor the girls started to bully her. It went even after she came back so she was forced to quit her job.
They meet that day in the garden and Takao recited the 2514th poem from the Man’yōshū Japanese poetry collection, the correct response to her tanka, which he found in a classic Japanese literature textbook. A thunderstorm gets them soaked and they go to Yukaris apartment and spend the afternoon together. Takao there expresses his love for her . It is a moving part as her reply is a bit cold, she tells him about how she is a teacher and the age difference and also that she will be moving back home to Shikoku. Takao excuses himself and leaves angry. She realizes that she made a huge mistake and rushes to catch up with him. Outside it was still raining so she slipped on the stairs but quickly got up and rushed down. She found Takao on the stairway and he started to tell her how he takes back everything that he said and criticized her because she wasn’t open with him. Tears start to run down Yukaris face as she rushes to him and hugs him. Both of them start to cry while Yukari starts to explain how much the time spent with Takao had helped her back on her feet and how she is tankful for meeting him in the park. In the end we see how Takao almost fails his final exam and how Yukari moved back to her hometown and started teaching again. The winter comes and Takao goes to the park where he finds a letter from Yukari. After he reads the letter he takes the shoes he made for her and puts them there on the bench where she usually sat. He promises himself that he will find her as soon as he gets somewhere with his career.
Its really a moving story of showing how some people mature differently , the shoe was used as a reference to life itself. The beauty of the shoe outside doesn’t meant that its comfortable to wear or that his sole is clean, it is just beautiful from the outside. Takao’s family issues with his mother constantly going after her love dreams and his brother moving out of the house leaving him to take care of their mother, this whole situation has impacted him a lot , made him grow, mature. On the other hand we have a teacher that has no one to lean on, a fragile being that was broken down thanks to some mean students. Both of them help each other out in their own ways when they meet in the park. Sometimes all you need is someone to make you feel warm inside.
Characters:
Takao Akizuki
A 15-year-old boy who’s dream is to become a shoemaker . He is very mature for his age and works really hard. Coming from a complex situation in his family life he is a bit different from his peers, more dedicated to his goal. He falls in love with a 27-year-old teacher by the name of Yukari Yukino whom he meets in the park.
Yukari Yukino
The female protagonist and a 27-year-old high school teacher who had a horrible time teaching in high school due to her becoming the target of bullying and gossip. She is a beautiful middle aged woman who felt for Takao, but she just couldn’t bring herself to see past the age gap.
Other characters include only supporting roles that are not so much important like Takao’s mother and brother. Takao’s mother even if she loves her family she was preoccupied with love life while Takao’s brother even though he helped Takao sometimes was planing to move with his girlfriend. Other than that we see two friends of Takao who tell him about Yukari.
The main characters are really well designed , the back story and their personalities are really a good fit for the whole movie and create a really sad setting that has a glimpse of hope when they meet in the park.
Art:
The art is purely amazing. Its a combination of hand drawn art with computer animation. Some of the backgrounds were created by using photos that were taken by Shinkai and edited in photoshop, basically they drew over photos in photshop.
Movies usually tend to have great art but this one is in the top 5 of my list for sure. The detail and the long hours of work on this movie have been proven to be worth it .
Sound:
I didn’t watch the dub so I don’t know how it was there but as far as the normal version goes , the voices fit the characters perfectly . The theme song of this movie, “Rain”, was originally written and performed by Senri Oe but it was remade for this movie and was sung by Motohiro Hata, and may I add that that song turned out to be really good and I think it fit the setting perfectly .
Personal Enjoyment:
If its not clear to you by now, I am going to tell it straight. I loved this movie, love, love , loved it ! Its a sad story with a bit of hope for a brighter future, something to look forward to, its those kind of stories that bring your heart to a stop and in the next minute they make it beat really fast. It shows the hardship of life from different perspectives and it shows you that no matter who you are you are a individual and you react differently than other people. Sometimes age doesn’t matter when its time to talk about maturity.
I really enjoyed the characters and how the whole movie was able to focus on only them rather than having annoying side characters.
*Note* I do not hate side characters but sometimes their story can be more interesting than to me than the story of the main protagonists. It happened for me in a few managas and animes that I enjoyed the stories of the side characters more than of the protagonists*
All in all its a great movie and I highly recommend it to everyone who didn’t watch it.
Story:
The main focus of this story is the young high school student , 15-year-old Takao Akizuki who has a passion for making shoes. He’s life is complicated and the hardship of it has made him mature. Whenever it rains he goes to the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden to come up with ideas for new shoes. Working part-time to pay for his craft and help his family has put a pretty big burden on the young high school student. The story has a great turning point when Takao meets our second protagonist, a 27-year-old woman by the name of Yukari Yukino. Yukari , same as Takao, seeks shelter from the rain in the Shinjuku Gyoen Gareden. As Takao searches for a place to come up with new ideas, Yukari is in search for a place that takes her away from the problems of everyday life. Takao was more open to her, yet they didn’t formally introduce themselves to each other. After noticing Takao’s school uniform, Yukari bid him farewell with a tanka. Tanaka is a form of Japanese poetry.
The rainy days came and passed with both of them enjoying the company of each other without ever formally introducing themselves.
After the rainy season , during the summer, Takao focused on his work and didn’t go to the park anymore. When he returned to school he saw Yukari in his school. When he asked his friend about it she told him that she is a literature teacher who became the target of bullies and gossip due to her beauty. The rumor was that one girl lost her boyfriend because he has fallen for Yukari, therefor the girls started to bully her. It went even after she came back so she was forced to quit her job.
They meet that day in the garden and Takao recited the 2514th poem from the Man’yōshū Japanese poetry collection, the correct response to her tanka, which he found in a classic Japanese literature textbook. A thunderstorm gets them soaked and they go to Yukaris apartment and spend the afternoon together. Takao there expresses his love for her . It is a moving part as her reply is a bit cold, she tells him about how she is a teacher and the age difference and also that she will be moving back home to Shikoku. Takao excuses himself and leaves angry. She realizes that she made a huge mistake and rushes to catch up with him. Outside it was still raining so she slipped on the stairs but quickly got up and rushed down. She found Takao on the stairway and he started to tell her how he takes back everything that he said and criticized her because she wasn’t open with him. Tears start to run down Yukaris face as she rushes to him and hugs him. Both of them start to cry while Yukari starts to explain how much the time spent with Takao had helped her back on her feet and how she is tankful for meeting him in the park. In the end we see how Takao almost fails his final exam and how Yukari moved back to her hometown and started teaching again. The winter comes and Takao goes to the park where he finds a letter from Yukari. After he reads the letter he takes the shoes he made for her and puts them there on the bench where she usually sat. He promises himself that he will find her as soon as he gets somewhere with his career.
Its really a moving story of showing how some people mature differently , the shoe was used as a reference to life itself. The beauty of the shoe outside doesn’t meant that its comfortable to wear or that his sole is clean, it is just beautiful from the outside. Takao’s family issues with his mother constantly going after her love dreams and his brother moving out of the house leaving him to take care of their mother, this whole situation has impacted him a lot , made him grow, mature. On the other hand we have a teacher that has no one to lean on, a fragile being that was broken down thanks to some mean students. Both of them help each other out in their own ways when they meet in the park. Sometimes all you need is someone to make you feel warm inside.
Characters:
Takao Akizuki
A 15-year-old boy who’s dream is to become a shoemaker . He is very mature for his age and works really hard. Coming from a complex situation in his family life he is a bit different from his peers, more dedicated to his goal. He falls in love with a 27-year-old teacher by the name of Yukari Yukino whom he meets in the park.
Yukari Yukino
The female protagonist and a 27-year-old high school teacher who had a horrible time teaching in high school due to her becoming the target of bullying and gossip. She is a beautiful middle aged woman who felt for Takao, but she just couldn’t bring herself to see past the age gap.
Other characters include only supporting roles that are not so much important like Takao’s mother and brother. Takao’s mother even if she loves her family she was preoccupied with love life while Takao’s brother even though he helped Takao sometimes was planing to move with his girlfriend. Other than that we see two friends of Takao who tell him about Yukari.
The main characters are really well designed , the back story and their personalities are really a good fit for the whole movie and create a really sad setting that has a glimpse of hope when they meet in the park.
Art:
The art is purely amazing. Its a combination of hand drawn art with computer animation. Some of the backgrounds were created by using photos that were taken by Shinkai and edited in photoshop, basically they drew over photos in photshop.
Movies usually tend to have great art but this one is in the top 5 of my list for sure. The detail and the long hours of work on this movie have been proven to be worth it .
Sound:
I didn’t watch the dub so I don’t know how it was there but as far as the normal version goes , the voices fit the characters perfectly . The theme song of this movie, “Rain”, was originally written and performed by Senri Oe but it was remade for this movie and was sung by Motohiro Hata, and may I add that that song turned out to be really good and I think it fit the setting perfectly .
Personal Enjoyment:
If its not clear to you by now, I am going to tell it straight. I loved this movie, love, love , loved it ! Its a sad story with a bit of hope for a brighter future, something to look forward to, its those kind of stories that bring your heart to a stop and in the next minute they make it beat really fast. It shows the hardship of life from different perspectives and it shows you that no matter who you are you are a individual and you react differently than other people. Sometimes age doesn’t matter when its time to talk about maturity.
I really enjoyed the characters and how the whole movie was able to focus on only them rather than having annoying side characters.
*Note* I do not hate side characters but sometimes their story can be more interesting than to me than the story of the main protagonists. It happened for me in a few managas and animes that I enjoyed the stories of the side characters more than of the protagonists*
All in all its a great movie and I highly recommend it to everyone who didn’t watch it.
