The Garden of Words

The Garden of Words is an incredibly beautiful animation with a lot of rain. I always liked rain, I like the sound, the smell. The best mornings are the ones when it rains and I can stay in bed, half asleep and listening to the water drops falling to the ground. It is so calming, it makes me so happy, and seeing and hearing it in this animated film, it got me feeling just like that.

I first watched The Garden of Words a while ago (in June 2016 to be more precise) and lately I kept thinking that I wanted to watch it again. There are a lot of gifs from this movie sprinkled all over the internet, and why wouldn't they? Every single drop of rain is a delight to look at. The details, the insane work that must stay behind this work of art, are amazing.

But rain is not the only thing going down here, we also witness the beautiful start of a potential love story.

On one hand there is Akizuki, a 15 year old who dreams of becoming a shoemaker. Akizuki allows himself to skip classes on rainy days when he likes to enjoy the rain and sketch shoes.

On the other hand there is Miss Yukino, a 27 year old classic literature professor who is just learning how to walk on her own. She was forced to leave teaching and with the help of Akizuki she can begin to stand on her own again.

The animation, without a doubt, is wonderful, but the plot not so much. I like both characters, they are great, I liked watching them grow closer and wonder where it might all lead, but I don't feel satisfied by it. There is so much more to be said.

I enjoyed Akizuki and Miss Yukino's little moments, their brief talks, their mutual appreciation. Their relationship progressed slowly, in the second half of the animation taking a more romantic turn, but it didn't develop further and the ending is rather vague.

There is a lot to be said about the characters as individuals as well. A lot of things are hinted at, like Akizuki's passion towards shoemaking, but others are not so clear, like Miss Yukino's condition about which I'm still unsure, I don't really know what was going on there.

There is a manga with the same name, published around the same time the animation was released, that seems to be more detailed, featuring extra scenes and a more explicit ending. With just as beautiful art I am so, so tempted to order it. If there are any complaints about the movie is that the plot isn't more elaborate and the ending too vague and if the manga has that covered, I sure would like to read it. The whole age difference alone would make for a great topic.

Overall, The Garden of Words is an animation that surely deserves attention, even if only for the beautiful art. The plot might leave to desire, but it still is enjoyable and you just can't not like Akizuki and Miss Yukino.