The Promised Place in our Early Years

Promised Place in our Early Years is Makoto Shinkai's first full length feature as a director. A precursor to 5 Cemtimeters per Second, the art and character development is amazing as Shinkai shows himself to be one of astute observation. Choice angles and beautiful landscapes define his art style, and great characters move his movies.

Promised Place is a sci-fi drama kinda. The story takes place in an alternate reality Japan where there is an American Occupation has just ended of Northern Japan since WWII. Probably in the early "2000's" Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa begin to team up at school and dive into upper level physics to get a job at a manufacturer in order to have parts and experience in building planes. On the side, the use the money to buy their own parts for their own custom plane designed for the purpose of flying across the border line to the Union and see the enormous tower that dominates the sky line all the way to Tokyo. While they are spending time after school and summer working on their project, they are joined by Sayuri, one of their classmates who is positive and outgoing. After spending a summer together, Sayuri suddenly disappears and over the next three years the friends begin to go their own ways.


The art and strategic soundtrack is without question superbly integrated. Being able to step into the main characters minds and listen to the small monologs is such a huge change up from other movies. Detail is never sacrificed on character models, on environments, action...everything moves so smoothly as a full spectrum of color is blasted into each scene. Following in a current inability to say what I want to about this movie, this is the closest blend of an action plot along with a great character development so far.