Suzume Review: How To Fall in Love With a Chair

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When I first heard about Suzume, it was when this movie was first revealed to be a theatre experience. Although I was able to watch it back then, the theatres around me only offered the English dub of the movie. For anime movies, I typically prefer the Japanese dub, so I opted to wait until this movie came out on streaming. Now that the movie is available for streaming, I finally got around to watching it.

And boy, the praise it received when it first premiered was well deserved. Under the genius direction of Makoto Shinkai, who also directed Your Name and Weathering with You, Suzume combines an interesting storyline, with heartfelt themes, wonderful characters, beautiful animations, and a solid soundtrack.

After saying all that, I think the first thing I want to talk about has to be the animation. When you think of Makoto Shinkai’s work, beautiful animation should be one of the first things you think of. Suzume is no exception.

Just like his previous work, the animation and art style are world class. I could spend hours just watching the sky or the water in the movie. Not only was it pleasing to the eye, but the colour palette used had a nice balance that not only popped out, but it wasn’t too harsh either.

I think one of my favourite scenes of animation has to be when Suzume finds the first door. Not only was the water reflective and pretty, but the ripple effect was smooth. Along with that, when Suzume passed through the door, I also loved how pretty the other world’s starry sky looked. Even early on, I knew that movie was going to be something special.

Now, going from the visual to the audio, Suzume has a solid soundtrack behind most of its scenes. From the serene tracks during peaceful times, to the higher-tempo action scenes, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

The track titled Suzume is also a classic. Right from the first few bars, it feels serene and peaceful, yet catchy at the same time. One of my favourite tracks from this movie for sure.

Now besides the audio and visuals, what else makes this movie such a masterpiece? Well, the plot was simple and straightforward, yet its themes added an extra layer of depth that was great to enjoy. The plot had a great balance between the action scenes and the developing scenes. When we got scenes that were slower that developed the characters, it felt natural and not drawn out.

By that same logic, the action scenes were tense and flashy. I never lost my attention when I watched this movie, which is a sign of a great movie. Besides the actual adventure part of the movie, I also loved the heartfelt and heavier scenes. This is going into spoiler territory, but the outbursts between Suzume and her aunt near the end of the movie was a heavy moment.

Both characters had valid points, yet at the same time, there was no clear right or wrong. These heavier moments fleshed out the characters and the world a lot more, which grounded the movie in contrast to the fantastical elements of the movie. Considering the background of this movie is set in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Japan in 2011, having those deeper themes relating to that tragedy was a nice touch.

The final aspect I want to touch has to be the characters. So to start, Suzume was a wonderful lead character. She was a wonderful character to follow during the events of the movie. I also liked the mysterious aspect of her past that gets foreshadowed in the first few moments of the movie. These events get clarified by the end, but this is a major plot point that I don’t want to spoil.

Besides that, Suzume is a brave, yet kind girl. It makes you want to root for her naturally. Personally, I feel like a lot of shows recently try to force the strong female lead down your throat to the point where it feels unauthentic. Suzume is a strong lead character who happens to be female, instead of being a strong lead because she is female.

The other lead character, Souta, was also great. For being a chair, I never expected to have so much fun watching him interact with the world. He was a great source of comic relief, yet his character had a surprising amount of depth to it. The final character I want to mention is Daijin, the cat who wishes to befriend Suzume.

Although I didn’t like him at the beginning of the movie, I have to say that by the end of the movie, I really liked his presence. Besides our leads, the secondary characters were great too. They all had their moments and they felt well integrated into the movie.

Overall, Suzume was the masterpiece that I heard of. With beautiful animation, a wonderful soundtrack, a compelling plot with deep themes, and intriguing characters, it was a fun watch all the way to the end.

Although this movie would have been an experience to watch in theatres, I’m glad I got the chance to watch this movie through streaming. If you have the chance, I definitely recommend watching Suzume. And if you have seen this movie, Your Name and Weathering with You, also by Makoto Shinkai, are wonderful movies to watch as well.