The Place Promised

The Place Promised in our Early Days Review

The Place Promised in our Early Days (Hoshi no Koe)

Synopsis: (taken directly from the back of the DVD)

In School, they were best friends. And they shared two passions: the plane they built together, christened Bela Cielo, and a girl, Sayuri. Oblivious to the tense international environment, the three form an indelible bond and it seems nothing can ever come between them and their dream. The boys believe that someday they will reach the distant tower- and touch Sayuri’s heart- however far away it may be. But time passes. War escalates. Alliances are changed. Friends become enemies. And Sayuri falls into a dreamlike state that seems inexplicably linked to the mysterious tower of their youth. At the brink of a World War, Sayuri seems to be the key to a new world peace… or a frightening bitter end to life as we know it. Come to The Place critics the world-over have hailed as a work of new animation genius. A mystical, lush and moving masterpiece about the passion of friendship, the pain of war, and the power of a promise that will touch, move and inspire you.

My Personal Opinion:

I thought The Place Promised in our Early Days was a title that I would cherish for a long time to come. The animation, sound, story (it was decent enough) and the characters were all put together with great thought.

For the animation, well, is magnificent. This is a title that will draw you in just because of how nice the animation flows, looks, and performs. The backgrounds are detailed with marvelous CG animation, which was actually good unlike some CG animation. Everything in the movie you see is treated as the most important part of the film, giving the film a nice look. You will be stunned.

The story in this movie isn’t quite the strong point in this film, but it gets the point across to the viewer, but at a slow rate. The movie is noticeably depressing and slow, so if you enjoy fast-paced animated films, I urge you to stay away from this film. As complex as some anime can get, this may be at the bottom of complex, since there is nothing really complex about this story at all.

As for the characters, they were all directly thought out well, and the directors of the film didn’t make me hate any character. All have good voices, and everything goes well in this section.

For the sound, it all sounds great (though I haven’t tried surround sound). Both Japanese and English support 5.1 surround sound, so either way you watch it you’re getting the best possible experience. Sub-titles are a bit different from what they actually say, so I didn’t really enjoy that.

Final conclusion, the anime movie was great, and I highly recommend this title to anime guru’s and anime noobs. Though, I must state again that if you like fast-paced anime, this is not for you. My final review, I would give it an 8.5 out of 10. The story really detracted my score because it had the potential to be much better.

Main Characters:

- Hiroki: Hiroki is the character in the story who (later in the story) convinces Takuya to finish building the Bela Cielo and fly to the mysterious tower, to help Sayuri awaken from her dream which she has been in for over three years.

- Takuya: Takuya is Hiroki’s best friend, and helped Hiroki to build the Bela Cielo. As time goes on, Takuya gets side tracked on their dream, but later accomplishes his dream.

- Sayuri: Sayuri is the girl who is linked to the mysterious tower, and the girl that both Takuya and Hiroki cherish. Sayuri has been in a dream for almost 3 years, and awakening her could lead to destruction of the Earth or a new world.

DVD Information:

Special Features:

- 3 Video interviews with the Japanese Cast

- Video interview with director, Makoto Shimkai

- Original Japanese trailer collection

Other Information:

- 90 minutes long, plus 40 minutes of Extra Materials

- TV-PG

- English and Japanese 5.1 Surround Sound

- English Subtitles

Awards:

WINNER! Best Animated Film!