Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Hytioz
I got into this movie after seeing the beautiful animation made by CoMix Wave and expected the story to go the same way, but I was disappointed right away instead.
The story itself started off great but got really weird the moment you learn Yukino is 12 years older than the MC and that she is a teacher at his school. The character development seems to be useless too; you get to know that the MC wants to make shoes, but it is barely explored.
The fact that this movie is only 46 minutes long may be one of the reasons why it feels so unfinished, but even with its short duration, it still had the potential to tell a more complete and meaningful story. The relationship between Takao and Yukino had interesting elements, especially the way they both find comfort in each other during difficult p…
Read at the sourcegimmefood365
Makoto Shinkai's The Garden of Words is one of those films that earns the word "immersive" without having to ask for it. From the first scene, it pulls you in — not with action, not with urgency, but with the quiet insistence of rain on glass. You settle into it before you've even decided to.
The visuals hit first, and they hit hard. Every backdrop — wet garden tiles, light fracturing through leaves, the particular grey of a Tokyo sky about to open up — looks less like animation and more like memory. Character designs are precise without being sterile. There's a tactile quality to every scene, a feeling that if you reached into the screen you'd come back with damp fingers. It's the kind of craft that makes you pause mid-scene just to sit with what you're looking at. Knowing this came out…
Read at the sourcebob-weebington
Another sad but good Makoto Shinkai animation. The art is high quality in this one, very realistic looking rooms full of objects galore.
I would recommend that even if you decide you won't watch this show, that you give the soundtrack "A Silent Summer" a listen. It really shines during its scene in the film too.
I really enjoyed the artwork of these scenes alternating with the despondent teacher's place full of old beer cans, and the student's place full of shoemaking notes and materials.
Overall, Garden of Words feels like a piece of art and I was very pleased to be able to watch it.
Read at the sourceBee-ku
Honestly, I didn't like this movie. It's 46 minutes long, and they were the longest minutes of my life. I don't know if the problem is me or what, but it made me feel very uncomfortable in several scenes. I thought everything would make sense in the end, but I was just left with a “WHAT?!” I'm trying to think of something positive about the movie, beyond the good animation, but I can't think of anything else. I didn't feel a connection with the characters. I felt a little empathy for the woman's story, but the discomfort it caused me got the better of me. However, I can't completely say that I don't recommend it because I feel like the problem is me and I didn't understand the message it was trying to give, hahaha...
Read at the sourcetwinktaro
Why is Japan so obsessed with romances between a 15 year old and a grown adult. Is it really so hard to make him at least 18? He's barely out of his tween years. I'm so tired.
Art is beautiful but I'm so sick of these underage romances. This story would've worked just as well if he was also a young adult or a uni student, but no. They just had to make him 15 and her 27. It's so disappointing. This is why I don't typically watch shoujo. It's like mangakas are allergic to age appropriate romances, no matter the genre and this film is no exception.
I suppose if you don't mind teenager x adult romances, this is the movie for you. I just can't enjoy it when I'm watching a 15 and 27 year old pin for each other.
Read at the sourceelumizu
The Garden of Words presents an intimate and contemplative story about loneliness, connection, and the search for direction in life. The narrative follows Takao Akizuki, a high school student who dreams of becoming a shoemaker and often skips his morning classes to spend time sketching shoe designs in a quiet garden during rainy days. There he encounters Yukari Yukino, an older woman who also frequents the same pavilion, seemingly escaping from the pressures of her own life. Their meetings begin as silent coexistence but gradually evolve into a fragile relationship built on shared solitude and unspoken understanding. The story unfolds through a series of rainy encounters in the same tranquil setting. Conversations between Takao and Yukari slowly reveal fragments of their personal struggles…
Read at the sourceSekizoYagai
Watched it once, so my opinion might develop even further with a rewatch or two. And I'd definetely enjoy it again and again. If you get upset when the plot doesn't go the way you expect it, then it's better to not watch it at all. It's like the main characters are playing these console games where your choices make an impact on the story and they manage to pick the wrongest one out of the rest of the options.
The moral of the story is so upsetting and raw and pretty unexpectable even if considered a sad ending, yet so realistic. In my opinion, only the artstyle and music give off a romantic sense, cause the events resemble real life to the extent of determinism, in the sense of the inevitable.
If we consider it to be just a story with surficial events to take place and no deeper charact…
Read at the sourcealacaster
A short film that explores the human condition and is surprisingly non-cringe in either direction, those being too shy or too romanticized. Its purpose is to capture the beauty of the experience of normal life in art style and vibe. It's organic progression and dialogue of a topic that can be overdone surprisingly met my expectations at every step, never hitting a sour note; I have no critiques.
What might stand out to some is the subtlety and lack of exposition. The story could feel underdeveloped or leaving you wanting more if you're attempting to self-insert. No word is spoken that isn't important and heart felt, and what is spoken feels realistic yet better-than-real while knowing when to stop milking the situations, which was clearly the focus of the writing and directing. It is not…
Read at the source1stDecame4Danime
The writer's artsy self-insert fantasy (and barely disguised foot fetish and romance pedophilia of a teacher with a student). She's 27. MC is 15, a first-year in HS yet looks older even according to dialogue and is working and worrying about becoming a shoemaker and acting like an adult and taking placement exams... it sounds like they wrote nearly an 18 year old in his last year of HS worrying about going into a trade school and a future career as a shoemaker, and then decided to make him 15 instead despite every reason not to because they wanted pedophilia.
This is a lame version of To the Forest of Firefly Lights.
There is so much authorial vomit, exposition-dumping self-narration of the MC's inner thoughts by having the MC's voice actor read off extremely clunky and unnatural lines o…
Read at the sourceJayremyTM
Art and animation alone are some of the best I have ever witnessed in my entire life. I can tell the budget for these 40 minutes has been astronomical. Attention to detail is incredible, and you can see the love and effort they’ve put into bringing this masterpiece to life. It’s truly fun to see these animators create something as fantastic as this in such a short amount of time. It just feels like feels like they’ve added extra 4K ray tracing to the rain, making it thousands of times better than what was originally drafted. Little details, like scenes of cooking, drawing, and the attention given to props throughout the anime, are incredibly well done. The city and town are perfectly drawn. I’m not an artist, so I can’t speak much about the technical aspects of art or animation, but as som…
Read at the sourceIULIXX
When I was watching this anime, I felt like I was watching a summer day in my (boring) life.
This anime has nothing wow, but let's talk a little
1. Characters
Let's be serious, does anyone else remember a character from this anime besides the boy and that girl?? Oh and even if you remember, they were too boring, even the two protagonists, they didn't have anything special
2.Too short
How can an anime of less than 40 minutes be good? There are anime movies of at least a grade 11, but this one is too bad
3.Hype (Spoilers alert)
How can you be hype to a character like that guy, who all he does is give him a pair of slippers, bro nobody cares, there was no hype at all when he offered him the pair of slippers, but it should have been at least a little hype
The only ok thing was the ending,…
Read at the sourceimposta66
A 27-year-old woman falls for a 15-year-old boy. I would love for you all to reverse the roles of this movie and tell me how you really feel. The movie has amazing animation and camera work, with many shots focusing on feet all in the name of the main male character wanting to make shoes. It was an entertaining movie but I can't get that age gap out of my head. my overall feelings are mixed but the animation does help.
The characters needed more time but for the short length, I think they are just ok at best. the character acting was very good, from voice acting to character movements.
Read at the sourcecolelouch
Visually stunning and aesthetically pleasing, the art and animations in "The Garden of Words" remain impressive even today. The story is short and precise yet beautiful, acting as a healing remedy for those feeling a bit lost in life. Compared to other Shinkai films, this movie is more grounded in reality, though the element of nature is still prominent. Both main characters face their own physical and mental challenges, but it's the subtle interactions and emotions that matter most. The film strikes a perfect balance between the concepts of "love" and "companionship. and I would love to see a sequel where both characters has become older and more emotional mature in life.
Read at the sourcePursueth
A vapid portrayal of forbidden love and loneliness, paired with hollow imagery and feet for some reason.
You've gotta love Shinkai and his obsession with establishing shots. If "Your Name" was any indication that he lacks the skill of directing meaningful imagery, then "Garden of Words" is a full on confession that he absolutely has no idea what he's doing. His writing in Your Name was completely absurd and out of touch, but here it's just non-existent.
There's a lingering feeling of chronic loneliness that follows our two main characters. The rain itself symbolizes loneliness. The irony of the film is that these characters only seem to find each other's company during the rain. The problem arises when the film has no idea how to develop these ideas on screen. Even if this is an understa…
Read at the sourceShirogari
The garden of words is an anime with a beautifully animated environment which along with its sound can make watching it into quite the experience. The story however I liked less and is the reason is can't recommend it to everyone.
The story is a story is 40 minutes long and you experience along with the characters. There is no clearly defined goal or purpose but you just follow the characters and their interactions, simply experiencing where the story goes. The story is mostly about two people meeting in a garden on rainy mornings where they then interact. Initially you barely know anything about the characters which can make this interesting to watch. The story ends in a somewhat inconclusive manner.
The characters are interesting, both clearly having their own life going on. Them mee…
Read at the sourceSloth_Hawk
Don't hate me after reading this. The main reason I give this series a low rating was my poor languages skills. This anime is rich in metaphors, personification etc, which makes it hard for a person with poor communication skills and grammar to understand.
But on a personal note, this movie has one of the best animations that I've seen in anime. The natural sceneries and smooth animation is so good that I made it my PC wallpaper at some point of time...
Regardless, if you can spare 40 mins of your time you should give this anime a GO...
Read at the source23feltrind
Expectation: 6
Reality: 8
Recently, so many films in cinema are beginning to overtake the 3 hour mark, and for what reason. Kotonoha no Niwa proves that you don't need a whole afternoon to tell a story and tell it well. Makoto Shinkai does it again with another brilliant masterpiece. This must be one of his most well animated films and the colouring is perfect. This is so much more than a simple love story and it really explores concept of chasing dreams. While Yukinowants to chase his dream of being a shoemaker, Teramoto looks at him and regrets not doing what she really enjoyed. The simple setting of a small cover in a garden in the rain sustains a large proportion of the short film and allows the viewer to truly feel the mood, tensions, and feelings of each of the characters. The sound…
Read at the sourceMyDogTige
The opening scene shows such amazing color and depiction. It's not 3D detail, obviously, but the depth of it virtually screams "look at me." Then there is is everything else - the city and the trains all in the measure at which things pass.
And then, you add the characters. So much for maintaining any sort of positive balance. I feel it was ruined at that point.
First and foremost, their appearance is completely opposite of how amazing everything else is. The rain is supposed to be metaphorical and they play off of it with everything that can fix it. They are ugly characters. The color and the art style in which they are portrayed is such a disappointment. I think maybe if we could leave this at just dialogue without action or very visual, it may have had a chance and fixing what I feel…
Read at the sourceEDOSHINRATENSEI
Oh my god. I’m so mad rn. I can’t believe Makoto-sama did his own manga dirty with this anime. After finishing the movie, I knew that something was missing from the story, because I remembered from the manga that the two main characters had much deeper conversations than portrayed in the short movie. I was sure of this after I reread the manga.
The only thing I liked from the anime that the manga couldn't provide was the atmosphere. It was pensive with the sound of rain and slow music.
Overall, a huge disappointment and injustice to the manga. For the record the manga was pretty good. 4/10
Read at the sourceFirst-5
This is my personal review of Kotonoha no Niwa
Plot: Normal romantic plot, nothing special, I didn't expect Yukino's job to be a teacher. 5
Characters: I liked the main two characters's personality and with 45 minutes obviously I can't see such a big development. 5
Music and graphic: The music was good. 6
The graphic was really really good, probably the best thing about this movie. 9
Entertainment: I enjoyed it, it was really fast. 7 Overall: 6
I suggest you to watch Kotonoha no Niwa if you like watching movie in general and you like the romantic genre. Thank you for your time :)
Read at the source
