Powerful

People are voting emotionally.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The third feature film from Makoto Shinkai presents the writer-director blending elements of fantasy, sci-fi & romance into another ambitious coming-of-age tale that astonishes on a technical scale yet is marred in the storytelling department by the same issues that plagued his first film.The story of Children Who Chase Lost Voices (also known as Journey to Agartha) follows a young girl who, accompanied by one of her school teachers, embarks on a life-changing journey to a mythical place called Agartha to find her lost friend, only to encounter cruelty & beauty in the world beneath.Written, produced, directed, photographed & edited by Makoto Shinkai (best known for 5 Centimeters per Second & Your Name), the film begins on an interesting note, hinting a sense of mystery from its opening moments, and Agartha is truly a sight to behold but the longer it goes on, the more tedious the journey becomes.Shinkai's imagination is impressive and he does well to translate the storyboarded images on the film canvas, but the slow narration hurts the overall experience as the story overstays its welcome and feels quite overlong. Characters appeared to be intriguing at first but interest in their journey fizzles out over the course of its runtime.The animation is top-notch as expected and Agartha has that otherworldly feel & vibe to it but its never ending exhibition of set pieces becomes tiring after a while. More often than not, they seem like distraction rather than an integral element of the plot. The inspiration behind Agartha is obvious but the events unfolding there aren't always riveting.On an overall scale, Children Who Chase Lost Voices starts on a promising note but fails to keep the interest alive until the end. Its structure is a mess, characters are one-dimensional, and many moments that should've ended up on the editing room floor make it to the final print, thus slowing down its narrative by an extent. It's an extravagant effort from Shinkai but it just isn't as rewarding or satisfying as expected.

The movie plot was very thought out and deeply emotional. The plot itself was simple but with a mixture of elements and tools of delivery that made it complex and beautiful. The idea of magical elements, connection between characters, and their adventure was very beautiful if you can connect with the characters and their situation. This is the type of movie you have to truly immerse into to appreciate. The detail and settings is what have given me the memorable feelings. The meaning behind each element have enhanced the emotions as well. Some aspects could have been approached better, and some introductions and twists depend a bit too much on the viewer, but overall I loved it!

First off, the animation and visuals in this film are quite stunning. The landscape shots are spectacular and breathtaking. The colours are vibrant and really bring the world of the film to life. The human characters, though are seemingly normal, is what Japanese anime is known for. To have average looking human characters that imply could be anyone. The other creatures in the film are appropriately strange as characteristic of Japanese anime. The narrative is also equally strange. It has a very dark tone to it, and the topics of life and death add to the darkness. What I like about Japanese animation is that they aren't afraid to make the characters 'human' in the sense that each and everyone of them has flaws. You might think you have grasped a character, but then the film goes deeper and adds another element to them. Unlike Hollywood characters who are usually one dimensional (what you see is what you get), these characters show sides of themselves that are unpredictable and that come up at the end. Additionally, a popular theme for Japanese anime films is that of the coming of age story - especially involving female protagonists. I don't think I actually know a coming of age anime that has a male protagonist...I'm not sure what this implies. Going off that, there is a lack of important female characters in this film (apart from the protagonist) which I dislike. The soundtrack is, for the most part, soothing and complements the narrative well. With the fighting scenes, it sometimes felt like an action movie. Those scenes are well done in terms of animation, visual effects and music accompaniment. Overall, an interesting film though it did at times make me wonder what in the world I was watching (Japanese cinema tends to make me think that). The animation is great and the characters likable. However, it can be quite slow at times and may be hard to get absorbed into the narrative.

I discovered Shinkai's movies because of 5 centimeters per second. A film that struck me deep, and which I really loved because of it. I bought his earlier works, but didn't like them as much. I had high hopes for his new movie, this one, but seeing the themes and the more magical world it would play in, I was a little disappointed. Still I did watch it, together with my brother, because we also enjoy Miyazaku movies.The movie is visually very stunning. It's the best animation I have seen, so pretty. I would give it a 10 for that.The story, like many other Japanese movies, contain a lot of "what the heck ?" moments, where sudden emotional states of the characters are totally not relatable, or feelings seem weirdly suddenly deep. It makes you wonder about how Japanese people/culture handles emotions and feelings, and if Japanese people themselves can relate to the characters in the movie. Miyazaku movies have the seem issue, like protagonists feeling sudden love for someone they just met for a few seconds... The story itself contains some mythological elements, and it left me wondering if those elements are more familiar to Japanese people or are embedded in Japanese culture. However, it's always nice to see a more unfamiliar story arc. Negative point is that much is introduced without really explaining things, and therefor you are left with a lot of questions about things. I thought the minor violence in the movie is a bit negative because of the graphical display of it. I don't think that was needed. It's not as good as 5 centimeters, but bearable. Really hope Shinkai will return to it's non- fantasy setting in his next movie.