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“The Garden of Words” is a perfect movie for fans of “Your Name” for one simple reason: Both films were directed by Makoto Shinkai. His touch is obvious — the colors are just as vibrant, and the animation is just as fluid. Most importantly, though, “The Garden of Words” captures the same feeling of longing that Taki and Mitsuha experience when they’re separated by time and distance.
Every Shinkai movie has this distinctive yearning in common: As YouTuber Analog Drift observed, the director is fascinated by what separates people who are drawn to each other. Sometimes it’s a physical obstacle, and sometimes it’s a more figurative kind of separation. In “The Garden of Words,” it’s not a comet keeping the two romantic leads apart. Instead, the biggest barrier to their love is their age difference.
Takao is a 15-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a shoemaker, while Yukari is a 27-year-old teacher who spends rainy days with him at the park. Takao falls in love with Yukari, but of course, she sees him as a kid. A relationship can never happen between them, which Takao must poignantly face. But that doesn’t mean that what they share isn’t meaningful. Moreover, if you love the beautifully-rendered scenes of nature in “Your Name,” there’s plenty more of that here. Even something as simple as a tree branch is animated with spectacularly detailed care.
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