ANIME REVIEW: The Garden of Words

Was it a love story? Yes. But not the kind of love story we are used to.

• I am in love with the artwork. Beautiful.

• While the main character (Akizuki) seemed pretty fleshed out, I feel like I connected more with the secondary character (Yukino). Probably because I am at this point in my life where her struggles are pretty much in line with mine.

• Which then brings me to my next point, the issues these characters face, mirrors everyday problems we also encounter. Both characters had their own set of obstacles to face which I think a lot of people could relate to. Wanting to do something so bad yet not having the heart to pursue it. Wanting something you know you shouldn’t. Choosing whether to stay or let go of something that’s important to you and move on.

• The movie was pretty short. I think it’s only about 44 minutes yet the story tells you a lot of about these two people. One we focus more on, the other mostly shown through the eyes of our main character, Akizuki). 44 minutes was enough to make you care about the characters and the decisions they make.

• If I had one gripe about the entire story it would be the ending. It wasn’t bad but I wanted there to be more. I wanted to know more about what happened to them because like I said, at the end of this you will care about the characters.

• Also grab some tissues in advance, this could potentially make you cry.

Title: The Garden of Words (Koto No Ha No Niwa)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Writers: Makoto Shinkai
Release Date: Aug 6, 2013
Runtime: 45 Minutes
Genre: Drama, Romance

This full length feature anime film tells the intimate, dramatic story of a 15 year old boy named Takao Azizuki, whose dreams of becoming a shoemaker are understood by seemingly no one, until he meets a special but distant girl in the park, who may be the only one to believe in him, if she can overcome the troubles within herself that keep her from getting close. – Rotten Tomatoes