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May 8, 2023 6:39 PM
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Aug 2016
6
the movie isn't majorly about any romance so there is no need for Shinkai to make it make sense imo.  but even if you want to discuss how they are in love, if you go on a long trip with a lot of dangers, its quite normal to develop at least some deeper feelings than passing acquaintance
May 8, 2023 6:46 PM

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Apr 2023
74
The fanfics of Souta x Serizawa I read on ao3 had better romance than what Souta and Suzume had in the movie. Suzume saw a pretty guy and immediately fell in love, which is like damn girl you just like me but I wouldn't skip school just to find that pretty guy ever again. I'll just think that Suzume moves on from her crush while Souta never reciprocated it, there's just no reason to make it about romance when it would work just as well platonically.


May 8, 2023 9:01 PM

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Dec 2014
1012
Is a 4 years age gap my dude, not 10 - where did that number come up? At what age do you guys graduate college in your country? Not even medicine would keep you there until 27. 

And what romance? There is no romance in this movie. I think this is on you guys, there is something wrong in your heads. You either came to this movie expecting it to be romance (just to compare about the formula later), or you need to go on some dates and learn what romance means because there is none in this movie. Yes, Suzume develops a crush on Souta - she is a 17yo teen living in the outskirts, and Souta is a handsome mysterious city boy, who is also fighting from the shadow agoing a cataclysmic entity to protect Japan from disasters ... even without the later part, he had all the qualities required to be someone, girls develop crushes on. He also grows fond of her - they go on a magical adventure together and she does some pretty awesome shit for a young girl, enough to impress a mysterious city boy - yet at no point does Souta give me the impression that he fell in love with her. He grew fond of her, and he may be in the early stages of love at the end of the movie, but if there is romance, it happened after the movie. There wasn't really any romance in this movie. Also, you guys need to watch some damn movies or read some books too, because you are so caught up in anime trophies that you forgot how realistically depicted characters act like. Love in real life doesn't require development, especially when you are young. When you are a teen, liking the same band, or a mere compliment can lead to love, or can be the cause for starting a relationship. My first girlfriend and I fell in love with each other, because we were in a project where we spent a weekend picking garbage in a park, and this 2 days long adventure was enough to establish a connection. And those two went on the adventure of a lifetime pursuing a god and fighting a supernatural entity that only they two could see, and you complaining about development? WHAT?!
Sep 11, 2023 3:20 PM

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Aug 2017
2220
Not too much age gap. Pair looks good together. The romance was...all right.

manon627 said:
if you go on a long trip with a lot of dangers, its quite normal to develop at least some deeper feelings than passing acquaintance

Yes nicely stated
Oct 16, 2023 10:45 AM
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May 2018
2
I agree it was weird. The only way I can explain her falling in love with him is through the adrenaline rush she got by going on this adventurous journey with him but that would be more of a crush than being truly in love.

Watching it for the first time, I thought it was weird and on the weak side as well cause a lot doesn’t get explained and just happens but Shinkai‘s movies are movies where you don’t get everything the first time you watch it unless you are very familiar with Japanese culture and history.
So you actually have to do a bit of research and maybe not everything but a lot of stuff makes way more sense. I actually cried both times I watched it knowing the topic it was based on but on my second watch I actually noticed way more details.

So all in all, it was a 7/10 for me
Nov 4, 2023 7:28 PM

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May 2014
2371
Love is not always romance. If you understand that, then you know that the relationship between Shouta and mc was not romance. Maybe something started at the end, but I still think it's just a good friendship between them. At least from what we saw.
Nov 4, 2023 7:32 PM

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May 2014
2371
Reply to mechian

This is official artwork.  People without context would think this is a nice happy family.

The romance is official.
@mechian

Looks like Suzume as a child with her mother and father. It would be really strange if Shouta was her father. LOL
I won't deny it could be them as adults, but mc looks way too identical to her mother, so I have my doubt.
Nov 18, 2023 7:53 PM

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Apr 2016
589
Reply to SeerofWords
I have to agree that the romance is the weakest point of the entire movie, and the 16/21 age gap is a little concerning, but it doesn't really take away from that whole factor either.

if you blink twice, she doesn't have to be romantically in love, she could just love him as a person. Which feels slightly less weird.
@SeerofWords It's not even that serious to begin with. Fictional characters.

It's not like the movie is somehow inspiring people to get into relationships.
Nov 18, 2023 9:43 PM

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Jun 2011
423
HajimeNozomiUwU said:
@SeerofWords It's not even that serious to begin with. Fictional characters.

It's not like the movie is somehow inspiring people to get into relationships.

Ah, yes! Thank you! Wasn't aware I wasn't watching a real-life story play out with real characters that may or may not have romance between them or may simply be two super close friends that love each other, and I was definitely analyzing something /not fictional/ that could still be looked at based on a writing and character development standpoint! Really thought Suzume and Souta were real, thanks for cracking the code, dude!
"Aiming for the mark takes precision, balance, and patience."

....Screw that, let's shoot the damn thing!
Nov 18, 2023 10:03 PM
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Oct 2021
362
Yeah, as much as I love the movie as a whole, I just ignore the like three minutes worth of ‘romance’ and treat this as a coming of age story.
Dec 11, 2023 5:41 PM

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Jul 2021
698
I find it hard to believe that the movie was NOT depicting any kind of romantic feelings on Suzume's part.

Whether you characterize her feelings as "romance", "crush", or "unrequited love" is somewhat beside the point. Suzume showed VERY strong feelings towards Souta in many of her comments and actions throughout the movie, and it was a source of motivation and willpower for Suzume to complete her journey.

In particular, in the scene where she speaks to Souta's grandfather in the hospital, she basically professes her devotion to Souta to the point of sacrificing her own life to save him. My only reaction to that was, "WOAH hold up". It just came across as much too intense for a man she met a few days ago (albeit vaguely remembering him from her childhood) and had a few struggles together on their journey.

I do recognize that the movie gives the two of them many moments to talk and get to know each other. But Souta as a character has always acted reserved and distant, so it wasn't really easy to see what kind of person he was and what was making her fall for him. It also did not help that he had to share the "downtime" with many other characters, like Suzume's aunt, Souta's friend and the strangers they meet on the road.

I also understand that the two of them are supposed to have formed a strong bond through their shared struggle, but the early "action" sequences did not really come across as "desperate" or involved enough that would have a large impact on the relationship between the two. The only exception I can think of is when Souta pulls Suzume out of her "trance" at the Ferris wheel; he was directly responsible for grounding her back in reality. The sealing of the doors, while spectacular, generally felt almost business-like, very "job done, where's the next one?". I think the "action" part of the plot moved along too fast and became too complicated with constant lore dumps, taking a lot of the focus away from the relationship aspect.

There's some comment about Suzume having a crush because of how handsome he is, but I don't think it played a big role in the overall story. Yes, initially in their very first encounter she seems irresistibly drawn to Souta, but he soon turns into a chair and spends the majority of the story in that form. She doesn't draw attention to his looks too much in subsequent scenes either, I think.

Another complication is the fact that she remembers him from "the Great Beyond" from her childhood. But it was a glimpse at best, and younger Suzume and Souta haven't even spoken, if I remember correctly. The story did not emphasize this meeting too much anyway until the very end, so I did not get the impression that this was the key to the connection between the two.

Watching the climax as Suzume desperately struggles with the frozen chair while crying out Souta's name, pulls him out of the icy prison against all odds, and holds his hand in "the Great Beyond" after the battle, it was impossible not to read it as love and not to read it as a fundamental part of the story. While beautiful and emotional scenes on their own, I just could not shake the feeling of not understanding exactly how I got to that point, which really hurt my experience.
Dec 30, 2023 1:12 PM

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Sep 2019
113
There is nothing wrong with the romance in Suzume.
FIrst of all, the age gap is not really big. Lately it seems to be a trend from america to hate on any romance when boy and girl aren't the exactly same age. What's next ? Only couples born within a month of each other allowed ? Really weird hate boner the americans seem to have developed here. But i guess it's normal for americans to hate on perfectly normal things, they're just unhinged after all. This age gap is way more comfortable than any 25 year old gold digger throwing herself at some 70 year grandpa.
Secondly, Suzume isn't randomly drawn to a random guy she meets on the street. Spoiler incoming: Anybody who paid a little attention knows that young Suzume already met the guy in the other world, which is why older Suzume at the start of the movie is so intrigued with him. But i guess haters rather hate instead of paying a little attention ;)

Overall it is clear and proven that the romance makes sense, no matter what people have as opinions.
I'm not reading any replies or comments directed at me at all. I know my truth and if you disagree: that's fine but i couldn't give a damn about :)

Dec 31, 2023 10:37 PM
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Aug 2017
24
Tbf I agree with your points, I just don't agree with the score, there's no way something with a "good" production can be 1/10, it's 7/10 because it's as good as something in this score(too lazy to talk about, it's just easier to compare with all those 7/10 forgettable animes). Btw to me 7/10 is generic things that have decent sound/design/animation direction, while 8/10 it's for really really good anime with really good direction.
Jan 23, 7:33 PM

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May 2015
3106
I've been hearing about romance ruining this anime a lot and watched with that expectation in mind. lol, there wasn't anything offensive about anything shown on screen. It made total sense to me from the beginning, I kept waiting for some shitstorm to drop, but they just hugged... and met in the end. Which is very typical of Makoto Shinkai. If the age gap is the only thing that's supposed not to make sense, well, lol.
Mar 4, 1:56 PM

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Nov 2007
31354
Is it too late to put my guess on the topic? (it could be wrong):
I Two Syaorans from Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and TRC!!!
Mar 6, 8:34 PM
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Mar 2021
842
agreed loved weathering with you and your name along with other Makoto shinkai film don't understand how she falled in love with a stranger after 2 days who was pretending to be an inanimate object most of the time. still a good movie but no where near the level as the weathering with you or your name
Mar 12, 2:56 PM
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May 2020
20
Some people had a love at first sight so not all love story need a better story to explained, if I where suzume and meet a tall man with long hair, beauty mark on the face and long eyelashes i also had a love at first sight
So i don't see a problem in romance in this anime and as for the age gap they're many real life couple with the 10 to 15 age gap so i think romance part in anime done very well, maybe people who watch Your Name and Weathering with you expect to much from this anime, for me this is very good movie and Suzume love for Souta is purely genuine, People have to muture mind to understand this type of love
Apr 8, 12:55 PM

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Apr 2012
580
Reply to Lemonnnnn
This wasn't a romance show to begin with.
@Lemonnnnn Then Shinkai shouldn't have made the last 20 minutes of the movie EXCLUSIVELY about that nonsensical romance.
If you haven't watched "Fantastic Children", don't talk about "best anime". Thank you.
Apr 17, 10:18 AM

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Aug 2016
3627
Not a big fan of this movie, but at least the romance made more sense than your Name. Shinkai has the awful idea of making romantic bonds trough distance. At least the distance in this movie was made by turning flesh into wood
:v
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