I
happened to discover Kotonoha no Niwa while
I was on Tumblr. While scrolling I came across a couple of gifs portraying
visuals from the film, and I almost immediately disregarded them as just some
neat shots of nature. Then as I continued to scroll my eye happened to catch
the word “anime”. Immediately I viewed the images again and I was taken aback
to realize that the imagery I was watching was in fact animated. Straightaway I
looked up the source of these beautiful graphics and watched the movie. I knew
that even if the film was to fail on a narrative level in my eyes, I’d at least
be pleased based off of the imagery alone. As it turns out, I was immersed into
both.
The
film focuses on two protagonists: Takao, a fifteen-year-old high school student
who struggles between childish delights and a desire to grow up so as to
achieve his dream of becoming a shoemaker; and Yukino, a twenty-seven-year-old
woman who shares Takao’s aspirations to mature and progress, but lacks his
ambition and confidence to do so. The two meet on a rainy day (the first of
many in the Kanto region’s rainy season) and over the course of the film a
romance of sorts buds between them as they learn more about each other and
themselves.
Kotonoha no Niwa is
a short movie at only forty-six minutes long, but it manages to flesh out its
characters and their relationships notably well in its timespan. The character’s
dilemmas are ones that are easily emphasized with—making their relationship
believable despite the age difference between the two. Their manners of
thinking and behavior are testaments to their true ages, but how they view and
react to their situations also reveals their maturities and immaturities.
The
“romance” between the two is the secondary focal point of the movie, and it’s
handled with finesse—as a relationship of this type must be. There’s a level of
sensuality that’s established without becoming creepy, and the ramifications of
their relationship going too far is a plot point also handled with tact, never
tarnishing the innocence the movie airs, nor overshadowing the main themes.
The
primary focal point, however, are the visuals. Kotonoha no Niwa is one of the most gorgeous animated films I can
recall seeing. While I don’t claim to know how it was animated, there appears
to be a blend of computer generated imagery and hand-drawn that creates visuals
that blur the line between the surreal and the real. Throughout the film are
various unique shots that show off the amazing artistic design with imagery of
nature. Most of the environment almost becomes characters in itself—especially the
rain. With its beauty and relevance in the story, I’d argue it is a character. This is without even mentioning the beautiful score by Daisuke Kashiwa. The movie proved itself
to be one of both visceral and visual depth, and with such a brief running
time, it lends itself to be viewed again and again without oversaturating the
audience.
A-
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