Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
JailBaitStar
If you have the chance to watch the extended 2-hour 48-minute version, please do so. It completely transforms the movie, adding depth to the protagonist and highlighting a key character whose presence is crucial to the story. Many moments that felt incomplete in the shorter version now have proper context, making the emotional weight of the film much stronger.
I watched both versions, and after experiencing the extended cut, my rating went from an 8 to a 10. The additional scenes provide a richer understanding of the relationships, struggles, and emotions that define Suzu’s journey. It’s not just about war; it’s about life, loss, and resilience.
A truly beautiful and heartfelt film that deserves to be seen in its full form.💖.
Read at the sourceBlaizeV
The suffering of being an innocent bystander in a country that loses a war is immesurable. All that sacrifice and pain. All those lives wasted for someone elses ambition. The enemies in war are very few compared to the many times more that get labeled as such. To fight through all that, to sacrifice so much and find nothing awaiting you at the end. In This Corner of the World is a somber reminder of how much is given on both sides of conflict. Evil only lives in those with the power to stop it and choose not to, before it's too late. Good only resides in those with the power to grasp what really matters.
Read at the sourceLockensocke
I think what describes "In this corner of the world" best is: being in the eye of the storm. It is somewhat calm and relaxing, has many slice of life moments and the main protagonist Suzu tries to be happy and joyful despite her situation, but there is the anticipation of the worst, yet to come. There are many undertones in this movies and things unspoken, things that are only slightly hinted at, things that later forgotten, because it would be too cruel to be reminded of them, to be reminded what has been lost and what could have been. The movie reaches deep into the dark abyss containing the horrors of war, at least if you catch up to its drift, while still having heart felt moments giving a tiny glimpse of hope and joy. I think it’s the best anti-war movie I have watched in a long time.…
Read at the sourceRESOLVING_POWER
I watched the animated movie Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni, also known as In this Corner of the World. Here are my thoughts:
The story takes place in the 1940s of WW2-era Japan. It is mainly told through the eyes of civilians.
Even though it was released in 2016, the movie feels very old. Everything about it: the art style, the music, the voice acting, the story; they are all reminiscent of early anime productions from the late 20th century. I personally am not a huge fan of anime from this era (speaking VERY generally), so I might be unfairly biased towards this movie. Furthermore, I usually shy away from WW2-era fiction because of how I've seen it done ad nauseam in western media. So I might be biased in this respect as well, although the perspective of a Japanese citizen is relatively les…
Read at the sourcekirazerorequiem
This film brings you on a journey about a girl living through a war period with air raids being a normal occurrence. At first the movie was pretty mundane and boring, while the animation was unique it was also its downfall at times, especially for the characters design imo. i cant get over how the main is suppose to be 18 when she looks 10.
you get your slice of life, getting to know the characters and settings a bit, about halfway through is when the action went down. i am unsure why they are attacking a remote village without discrimination, at times it feels forced, the lighthearted animation along with the dark setting did not give off the right vibe and on the contrary made it feel more fake.
the scene at the end with the little girl felt really forced as if just to bring back emot…
Read at the sourcecameronrb24
This movie didn't leave much of an impression on me. It wasn't notably bad in area, bud it failed to really catch my attention.
The story paced was paced awkwardly, but was fine overall. Mostly slice-of-life up to about the last quarter of the film, where it shifted to more serious tone. The transitions between scenes abrupt and I'd sometimes lose track of how much time had passed.
I wasn't a big fan on the character designs, it would make some characters look at younger than they actually were. The animation was smooth though, and the backgrounds were pleasant to look at. The MC herself, Suzu, probably wasn't best type of character for this setting (kind of an airhead, childish) but she was serviceable.
Haven't watched many comparable animes, but I do think this was more enjoyable than…
Read at the sourceMarBaws
This is not an objective review, as it is a very subjective movie. I would never objectively give a piece of art 10/10 objectively, trust me, so the rating is here only for orientation. There are also no spoilers, though I don't think you can "spoil" anything.
Regarding the rating, I initially gave it an 8 and raised it after viewing it again. The firat time around I took up the task of simultaneously translating for a younger sibling of mine that is not yet fluent in English (I watched it subbed, of course). Therefore I stress that you should get yourself comfy and experience the film unburdened by other concerns, you'll get the most enjoyment out of it that way.
This is a work of atmospheres and emotions, portraying certain human traits through the lens of japanese people living throu…
Read at the sourceDusk_Maiden
"It's waste to cry because it's waste of salt"
Well it was 2 hrs of heartwarming and tear jerking experience for me.
Each time Suzu smiles, It shows such a contagious reaction out of me.
War sure is cruel, its snatches away every thing precious to you.
And it has such a beautiful score at the end. The connecting of the story from the beginning was interesting.
I haven't seen many world war related movies but this one in compare to
graves of firefly where it felt emptiness at the end, this left such a warmth.
(writing long reviews sure is pain).
Read at the sourceAssthete
My main issue with this movie is how disjointed it feels. The scene transitions are abrupt, and little time is spent developing certain narrative conflicts. My guess is they were trying to evoke the monotony of everyday life, an idea that fits the anime's broader juxtaposition of the mundane with the extraordinary conditions of war.
Still, whenever a work tries to maintain a lighthearted tone within such an inherently grim context, I feel it is limiting itself by refusing to take a clearer stance. There's nothing wrong with trying to convey such contrast, but doing so by constantly shifting the tone without allowing scenes to breathe makes it all feel sort of fragmented. A strong example of it done right is Hotaru no Haka which is carefully directed to avoid pacing issues and tonal whipla…
Read at the sourceInjenss
Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni is yet another shining example of how much more critical the story is to anime than actual animation. When I first began watching it, I was immediately turned off by the animation. I thought it simplistic to the point of where it was similar to Charlie Brown. It actually looked very childish to me. However, experience has taught me to overlook poor animation and wait for the story. By the end of the anime, as usual with unconventional drawing styles, you aren't even paying attention to how its drawn, rather than what is being drawn and what is happening.
The biggest draw of this anime is Suzu. While she is a dim-witted character oblivious to everything around her, she is incredibly charming, as is most of the cast, with the exception of her sister-in-law which t…
Read at the sourceWhyZigle
War. A strong word that could be described with multiple meanings. A word that brings joys to the winner while also brings miseries for the lost one. A word that brings dooms, sufferings, starvations, destructions, loss, and fears to people that live in that zone. A word that makes me ask, what is actually a word called justice? A word that makes me wonder, is the word of "peace" just a lie that disguised as a beautiful dream? Are humans actually equal , just like what people always tell? That is me, an ordinary person that ask this question. Just imagine to live in a war period or warzone already gives me a shiver and chill.
War is often illustrated in many medium like film, book, comic, or even animation medium like cartoon and anime, shows the cruelity of the war itself. And when we ar…
Read at the sourceShrinePriest
Some spoilers below, be you warned.
There are several ways in which one can engage in criticism.
There are objective determinations on which one can base their criticism. There are also criticisms that come from biases and presumptions that one as an individual have and want to see, presumptions and biases which others might not share. To some extent, there's overlap and ambiguity in the delineation between these two styles of criticism. In a trivial way, what is typically seen as objectively bad writing might not bother someone else out of apathy. For instance, a central drama or conflict which becomes resolved without any proper build up towards that resolving (viz., deus ex machina). In less trivial ways, individuals may share different substantive views on the moral responsibility in…
Read at the sourcemoonbell
This is another film I saw at Annecy, and a considerable part of my review is going to focus mainly on the audience's reactions to it since I think they were pretty telling. I will also be reviewing this as a person who has not read the manga the film is adapted from.
I was fortunate enough to go to the very first screening of this film at the festival, which featured a short talk by Mr Katabuchi and, needless to say, the audience was very excited to watch the film. French isn't my best language but what I got from it was that Katabuchi believes younger generations in Japan don't realise how the war affected people, and it's perhaps likely that foreigners don't either (as a foreigner, I feel this is true of me). He felt that the original manga helped educate people about it through a very…
Read at the sourceAidan
In This Corner of the World is a fairly decent anime about a woman as she grows up in pre-war Japan and how her life changes during the later years of World War 2. This anime’s undoing, however, is due to the fact that it focuses on a specific niche of people and this niche is one that is not very prevalent in the anime community.
The movie itself takes a look at the effects of the war through the eyes of a young bride named Suzu who claims she is always dreaming. This dream state, however, can lead to some confusion as several of the events in the story can feel surreal while only a small fraction of those events are actually dreams. An example of this is when Suzu visits home for the first time after her marriage and comments upon waking up from a nap, “that was a good dream” personall…
Read at the sourceLord_Odous
Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni (I will call it KonoKata from hereon) is a slice-of-life, historical movie that details the life of a normal Japanese citizen during the latter days of World War 2.
For an average citizen, war is a very undesirable thing. It disrupts the peaceful routine that makes us very comfortable with our lives in the first place, food has to be rationed and thus you won't be eating much and deliciously for a while. Air raid alerts are very frequent and may happen anytime so chances are you won't be getting much sleep if an alert blared off in the middle of the night. When your beloved ones are drafted for war, the mixed feeling of sadness, fearfulness and loneliness came flooding in fear of losing them and not seeing them again.
KonoKata tells its story in a very simple a…
Read at the sourcedgg32
I visited Hiroshima May 2016. It was a bleeding experience that I can only relunctantly reiterate.
The city nowaday is a vibrant metropolis, a dramatic contrast to its own 1945 past. As busy as other mega Japanese cities, Hiroshima stands in a profoundly solemn atmosphere, a city still mourning, especially at the Peace Memorial area. You can hear the Peace Bell, you can see the Peace Flame is still on and it will be on until the last piece of nuclear weapon is destroyed, you can visit the Children's Peace Monument and count those thousands upon thousands of origami cranes for Sadako Sasaki. And you can pay a visit to the Peace Museum.
Lots of Japanese school children were there at the Children's Peace Monument. Lots of foreign visitors were at the Museum, turning their heads away out of…
Read at the sourceFireEmblemIke24
You were brought to this foreign land.
In this Corner of the World is a Japanese wartime drama set during the second world war but plays out more like a slice-of-life show if you were to examine it closely. The movie features around a young girl named Suzu Urano who spends her childhood in Hiroshima. She is suddenly shipped off to another family as a product of arranged marriage to meet her would be husband Shuusaku Houjou who is the successor of the household.
A significant portion of the movie centers around the household activities that Suzu is soon accustomed to. She is for the most part a domestic housewife while her husband is recruited for the local navy base. Furthermore, she exhibits a profound aptitude for art in general, which is showcased in her numerous sketches that have r…
Read at the sourceSirMarmelady
War is never beautiful and I can't decide where you'll see the most damage. The battlefield itself, where the wreckages of men still cry over their fallen comrades, the foolishness and betrayal of being promised glory and fame ending with nothing but pain and loss, wishing and praying they could go home. Or is it the home itself? Father is off in a foreign land fighting, and the women must pull through together with the old yet they do not escape unharmed, with countless bomb raids disturbing their sleep after a hard day trying to make ends meet. A slip or absence of vigilance and caution of your world might well cost your life. The worry, the fear of living in the dark of utter annihilation as late news of the ongoing war comes in through the wireless.
In This Corner of the World is fant…
Read at the sourcetenjor
TL;DR: Watch this movie for the love, loss, and war you can expect in Japanese war movies. If you've seen any, like for example Barefoot Gen, you should know kinda what to expect walking in.
Right after the overall score is the "should you watch it" chart.
There is also a spoiler section at the very bottom for detailed commentary. Most people would not consider these spoilers, but they may hint at plot developments indirectly. Whether or not you wish to view them is up to you.
Story: 8/10
This movie takes place mainly around World War II, and talks about a ditzy and dreamy little girl called Suzu from Hiroshima. She loves drawing, but is a bit clumsy at a lot of other things. In 1944, when she was 18, she was forced into a marriage with Shuusaku, a man she had never met from the city…
Read at the sourceGohanwaOkazu
A "Slice of Life" in Kure and Hiroshima in 1940s, Involving Love, Laughter, Fantasy, Hope, and Death.
The protagonist is a nonchalant (at least on the surface) and a bit dreamy ordinary girl who loves to draw and paint. She is raised in Hiroshima and marries into a family of a young man employed in the naval town of Kure,
The movies goes into great detail showing the life of an ordinary family of that time. It starts as a great slice of life, of her old-style marriage with a new husband, sharing life with in-laws and communicating with neighbors. There are happy, sweet, and tender moments although the life is set in wartime, and the hardship gradually creeps into life. The relationship with the sister-in-law is a bit fictitious, but the protagonist forms a solid bond with the family and…
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