REVIEW: Suzume (2022)

Anime

Sometimes I watch a movie just by chance or default rather than actively planning on it. This was the case with Suzume, the latest from writer/director Makoto Shinkai (Weathering With You, Your Name). The art style appealed to me, but I went in without prior knowledge, including the director’s previous work, although I now plan to find and watch some of his other titles. Let’s take a look. 

Suzume follows the title character, a high school student who lives with her aunt Tamaki. Suzume lost her mother at a young age and hasn’t fully dealt with the grief. One day on the way to school, she encounters a mysterious man on a mission. Curious, she follows him and gets wrapped up in a titanic threat she can’t imagine. Along the way, Suzume makes friends and comes to appreciate the good things in her life. 

The animation in Suzume is spectacular. It’s very bright and colorful but not oversaturated. The effects look great, and I mostly like the character designs. I only say “mostly” because of Souta, Suzume’s love interest in the movie. He looks like a woman from the neck up. I know this is a popular type in anime, and I can’t fault the execution, but I don’t love the luscious hair and delicate features. I read that director Makoto Shinkai wanted to give Suzume a girlfriend but was shot down by the film’s producers. I’m not saying this is the reason Souta looks this way, but it makes me laugh to think about it. 

Suzume is surprisingly funny! This film deals with themes of loss and moving on, but that doesn’t stop it from containing some great visual gags and absurdist humor. A turn of events with Souta provides a lot of levity in an otherwise dire situation. My favorite character in the film is Daijin, and without spoiling too much, he’s a cat that’s more than he appears. I love this character’s design. This is the cutest thing I’ve seen since Baby Yoda, and honestly, I like it even more because I love cats. His appearance isn’t the only thing to appreciate about him; there’s even a hint of tragedy in his story. Suzume’s personal journey in the film is emotional and bittersweet, but Daijin made me feel the most. In addition to having his own significance to the story, Daijin represents Suzume’s own grief and inability to let her mother go. 

Shinkai cites Kiki’s Delivery Service as an influence on Suzume, and it’s easy to see why. Both films are coming-of-age stories featuring a cat with a special bond to the protagonist. However, they also both involve travel and meeting new allies along the path. Kiki is much more episodic than Suzume, which has a clear, linear story. The Miyazaki classic is very slice-of-life, showing Kiki’s progression through small adventures and mundane interactions with friends. But Suzume’s friends, delivery girl Chika and bar owner Rumi feel like characters taken right out of Kiki’s Delivery Service. I mean this as a compliment; these simple, wholesome friendships are a huge relief in a film centered on earth-shattering chaos and the loss of a parent at a young age. I love the contrast between Suzume trying to help Souta save the world and hanging out with her new friends. Suzume and her aunt even make friends with one of Souta’s classmates and go on a hilarious road trip with him. Suzume is a brisk two hours, and a lot of that runtime consists of these fun side adventures. 

For that matter, it’s clear from the beginning that Shinkai is a Ghibli fan, or at least very knowledgeable. My husband even asked me if this was a Studio Ghibli production. There are overt references to Whisper of the Heart and Princess Mononoke, and the movie gives off strong Howl’s Moving Castle vibes. If you love Studio Ghibli or animation in general, this will be a treat for you. 

I only ever watch Studio Ghibli movies in English, and I haven’t talked about many other anime. I grew up with American animation and have found it more accessible over the years, and I also feel ill-equipped to discuss anime sometimes. I mention this because, in regards to voice acting, I’ve never had to assess dialogue delivered in a foreign language. Suzume was screened in the US in both English and Japanese, but I missed out on the dub, and outside of Ghibli, I tend to prefer subtitles anyway. From what I can tell, the performances are great. There’s a lot of emotion conveyed, especially from Suzume (Nanoka Hara) and Tamaki (Eri Fukatsu). Hokuto Matsumura plays Souta as incredulous most of the time, which makes a lot of sense, given something that happens to him early on. In my experience, performance issues in anime usually come about in dubs, which is unsurprising. I speak English, so poorly delivered English is much more obvious to me. Additionally, for some reason, dub actors like to overdo things like screaming and laughing, in my experience. I know there are numerous talented and passionate dub artists like Steve Blum and Wendee Lee, but I think lower-budget dubs tend to find people who don’t really care about the source material or delivering a great performance. I wish I could have seen Suzume in both formats to compare, but if I had to choose, I think I ended up better off with the original Japanese. 

Suzume is a great movie. It’s got heart, laughs, likable characters, and gorgeous animation. Some of the aesthetics aren’t quite to my liking, but on a technical level, I can’t fault the film. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has experienced loss or just wants to go on an exciting ride.