Plot: On her daily trip to school, Suzume runs into a charismatic stranger who asks her if she knows about any nearby ruins. She points the way, and after a little internal back and forth, she decides to join him. When she reaches the ruins she finds a strange door that shows her a hidden world. When stepping through the door, nothing happens, so Suzume decides to turn back. She inadvertently removes the key to the door, and when she arrives back at school, an earthquake hits. She looks outside and notices a huge
Watches
April 22, 2023
The latest Shinkai is pretty much what you'd expect from Shinkai doing a more elaborate fantasy film. There's still some melodrama, but the focus shifts to adventure and fantasy, which some pretty grand and apocalyptic imagery. Suzume is a perfectly fine film, with superb animation, solid pacing, and an interesting premise that doesn't simply retread familiar fantasy tropes. The only critique I have is that it doesn't really push the boundaries like earlier Shinkai films did. Then again, anime features in general don't seem to be doing that nowadays, so Suzume still manages to stand out.