In a world where Japan has been separated into two halves by Russia and the US three teenagers want to find out what is going on a tower on the Russian side of the country. As the film progresses time jumps occur (as with every Shinkai film), as the teens plans progress. After a three year jump it is revealed that they haven't seen each other in that time and one of them has seemingly just vanished into thin air.
The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a sci-fi film with a very strong romance theme running all the way through it (as with every Shinkai film). It isn't your run of the mill science fiction with a hint of romance. At its core the film is about relationships and how time and distance has an impact on those relationships that mean the world to you one minute and haunt you the next. Shinkai explores this theme in all of his films, he seems to have a deep interest in how relationships dwindle through time and how distance can put a strain on relationships that were previously so strong.
The animation in this film is much like Shinkai's short film Voices of a Distant Star. It has the same character design which is very much his style unlike the recently released Your Name which is the only one to seemingly have lost this look. The background and settings that Shinkai animates are truly where he shines in an animation perspective, they are simply stunning. They are brightly coloured but not out there or strange. He animates lens flares into these scenes which gives the animation this essence of realness in a world that is so different from our own yet so strangely familiar.
From style to story this film is breathtaking. The animation will have you wishing that everything was still 2D animated (which to be honest I already do) and the story will pull on your heartstrings just enough to get a few tears out of you. Even if you don't like anime films, or reading subtitles, find a dubbed version because even though this film is set in Japan I think it has the capability to connect with everyone no matter where they are from. The theme of relationships is one that everyone can relate to, and the theme of war and nations fighting for things that aren't truly theres is something so relevant in this day and age that it can't help but resonate with an audience today.
Rating: 5 out 5 (obviously, no?)
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