Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
filippaberry84
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Hattie
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
SnoopyStyle
Suzu is a young girl living in a peaceful seaside Japanese city. It's revealed to be pre-war Hiroshima. Her family farms seaweed. At 18, she receives a marriage proposal from a relative stranger, a young earnest man from Kure who fell in love with her at first sight. She marries and moves in with his family. Kure is a Navy town and everybody works at the base. As food gets rationed, she finds ways to adapt. She continues to draw and is beloved by her adoring niece Harumi. The winds of war blow harsh as life grows ever more difficult.The animation is simply beautiful which contrast nicely with the fear of impending doom. I really liked not naming Hiroshima at first. I'm sure everybody in Japan noticed the building right away but outside Japan, the audience may not catch on. It would be more compelling to stay silent on the city name longer. I actually expected more of a love triangle especially with that amazing sea rabbit drawing. It didn't turn out that way which is perfectly fine. I grew to like Shusaku which is exactly what Suzu does. There are some devastating drama but it also leave some heart-warming turns for the audience. Hiroshima is handled with class. It's Fireflies without the unrelenting depression.
TheLittleSongbird
Love anime to death, especially Studio Ghibli, so would see anything regardless of the studio and subject matter. There are many great animes out there that are among my favourites ever, and while 'In This Corner of the World' is not one of the best or one of my favourites it has a huge amount to admire and a worthy take on a heavy subject (one doesn't get that much heavier than the Hiroshima).'In This Corner of the World' doesn't completely engage in the first act, in this part of the film the slightness of the story does in particular show meaning that some of the first half suffers from being a bit meandering and draggy. The film is perhaps longer than necessary, would have trimmed around twenty minutes or so by tightening up the first act, and some of the secondary characters are not as fully formed as one would like for a film as long as it is.However, as said, 'In This Corner of the World' is worthy of a lot of admiration. It is always brave taking on heavy, sensitive subjects in any medium, let alone animation/anime. With a subject that is as both of those things as one can possibly get, 'In This Corner of the World' had a lot of traps it could have fallen into.Those who haven't seen it yet and are diffident about doing so will be relieved to know that the film feels neither over-simplified or melodramatic (two of the biggest traps). Instead it has genuinely poignant emotions even with an interestingly gentler tone (beautifully done too) than one would expect, the cultural quirks are similarly done beautifully and the historical aspects respectful and educational.Particularly good here is the animation, which is nothing short of wonderful. Rich in meticulous background and character detail, atmospheric and ethereal in colour schemes and alive to nuances in its use of settings and character gestures and expressions, it becomes a character of its own. The music has whimsy, haunting beauty and understatement, while not overbearing the drama and letting it speak when needed.Writing has a lot of sincerity and heart, while the story properly comes to life in the more dramatic and genuinely powerful second half. The emotions of the first half are also still done very well, the gentle nature of it works effectively, it's heart-warming, very moving and the messaging is inspirational. The coming of age aspects of the story have warmth, emotional impact and the sincerity really shines throughout. Being animation/anime, of course the full horrors of the event couldn't be shown but one does get the sense that it is an important part of history and a harrowing one treated with respect.Suzu is an engaging and likable lead character that one finds easy to relate to and the character relationships are executed with a lot of good intentions executed nicely, even with characters and motivations not as fully developed as one would like. Voice acting is dynamic.Overall, not perfect but quite beautiful. 7/10 Bethany Cox
kartiknnagar
There have been few anime movies which have not left me deeply moved, and this is no exception. Mixing cute anime characters and their straightforward lives (at least on the surface) with the chaos and trauma of the Second World War may seem like an oversimplification of the war and a cheap, melodramatic effort at invoking sadness and tears, but there is a depth to the characters and emotions in this movie, and the ultimate message of the movie is not just that war is devastating and destroys the lives of countless innocents, but also that life moves on in spite of all the carnage, and people change and discover new qualities and things about themselves, transforming them into different (perhaps better?) versions of themselves.The movie follows our female protagonist Suzu through her childhood to early marriage to the tumultuous years of the War. Suzu is a lovable and cheerful protagonist, gentle and kind but also clumsy and forgetful, redeemed by her artistic talent and her perseverance, but there are hidden depths to her that are only partially revealed through some odd sequences in the first part of the movie, and come into the spotlight in the second part after her traumatic brush with the War. The animation is beautiful, and the attention to detail is superb, transporting the viewer effortlessly to rural Japan in the 1940s. The cultural quirks of this place and era are delightfully presented in the first half of the movie, during which it feels like a gentle slice-of-life movie. Once the War begins in earnest, we see the effect that it has on the ordinary citizens. While there are some traumatic sequences, the movie does not linger on them, and instead it focuses on how the characters handle the changes and come to terms with them, often questioning the futility of all the devastation (especially after Japan loses the War) but also forging new bonds among each other and finding hidden depths in themselves. One stark criticism of the movie is that some important supporting characters are not properly introduced, and Suzu's own feelings and desires are not properly explored, so that some revelations later on feel artificial and we never really entirely understand Suzu's actions and her motivations. Apparently, an extended version of the movie is being prepared which I feel is definitely required to understand this story in its full details.
austin0731
A coming of age story set during WWII depicting the story of Suzu a girl forced to marry away from her home. Viewers may find parallels to 'Grave of the fireflies' another animated Japanese film depicting war time struggles of the ordinary people. In fact the struggles of the everyman(woman) is heavily featured in this story of a young girl in a fish out of water situation while maintaining her inherent innocence in spite of the horrors of war. It is very interesting how through this character and the gentle animated artstyle a story of war depicting horrible imageries from bombings, to explosions, to death can all seem innocent and calm. A particular scene of explosions in the air transitions perfectly to colourful splatters of colours in the sky in the eyes of our protagonist. Her innocence and naivete is challenged throughout the film yet through the many challenges she faces yet it is maintained constantly. What's great about this film is that because of such a characterisation her struggles to daily life often seems even on par to that of the horrors of war, focusing on the everyman's struggle is a new and innovative way of viewing war, struggles from finding her way and managing rations. Such a character seems almost the opposite of war and bloodshed as she sets the tone for this film which seems unlike one that focuses on war setting In this corner of the world apart from the bunch. Yet we still witness the character mature and grow throughout even though she doesn't lose her sense of imagination and innocence, it's a tough notion to balance and goes against traditional ideas in a coming of age tale where a main protagonist must understand the 'true colours' of society, the world, humanity…… in order to come to fruition. By doing so solidifying itself as a staple supporting that of peace and the good in being ordinary.
