Lets talk about In This Corner of the World/Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni

 

This is a movie I am sure many of you must have not heard of and that's because it's not "famous". Don't confuse famous with good as I personally have seen many people do that. For me, I accidentally found this movie on Netflix while looking for animes to watch and am so happy I stumbled upon it. The synopsis goes a bit like this

Suzu Urano

 is a pure and kindhearted girl who loves to draw. She can also be quite the airhead, owing to her ceaseless daydreaming, much to the annoyance but also the joy of those close to her. Growing up in the outskirts of Hiroshima City, Japan, she led an ordinary but happy life with her family.

However, after some time, Suzu has to suddenly leave her beloved home to move into the neighboring town of Kure, due to her marriage to 

Shuusaku Houjou

, a man she barely knows. Put to work in her husband's household, the homesick girl struggles to adjust to the unfamiliar environment, living with a family who treats her coldly. She cannot help but question: can this ever truly become her new home?

Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni depicts the years from 1933 to the end of World War II, when peaceful everyday life gradually gives way to harsh and unforgiving conditions, as the war eventually reaches Japan's shores and Suzu's own backyard. She will have to prevail against the inevitable suffering and loss that accompanies war, all the while supporting herself and those she comes to love.

If you know anything about WW2, you probably know which direction the movie is going into and must have already anticipated what will happen in the end. It does happen but the story is much more than that, the story is of a life of an innocent, unknowing, uninformed, and unaware citizens and their lives. The story beautifully manages to tell everything in 2hr 36min. This is the story of the people during the war, it's not based on a true story according to my knowledge but it is certainly inspired. I can easily say after watching this film that it would have been someone's life that we witnessed.

Going forward I want to specify some things

• This is not a story related to a specific person but the society as a whole and their lives, though it focuses on a single person's life we see a lot of different people and their respective struggles.
• If you go into this film wanting to see some petty family drama like the mother-in-law is insulting the newlywed wife, the husband is bad and does not care about the wife and etc, etc, you will be majorly disappointed. As I said this movie is about the bigger picture.

• You may find the story being slow-paced at some points but that can't be helped given the character traits of the protagonist and just bear with it. I highly recommend you to not stop the movie.

War. A strong word that could be described with multiple meanings. A word that brings joy to the winner while also brings miseries for the lost one. A word that brings dooms, sufferings, starvations, destructions, loss, and fears to people that live in that zone. A word that makes me ask, what is actually a word called justice? A word that makes me wonder, is the word of "peace" just a lie that disguised as a beautiful dream? Are humans actually equal, just like what people always tell? That is me, an ordinary person that asks this question. Just imagine living in a war period or warzone already gives me a shiver and chill.

War is often illustrated in many mediums like film, book, comic, or even animation medium like cartoons and anime shows the cruelty of the war itself. And when we are speaking about war movies (anime), Japan often released anime in which the theme is wartime, especially around the World War II period, a war which Japan won but also lost at the same time. WW II period is often portrayed in various perspectives on this medium. Grave of Fireflies with the survival of two siblings during that period or The Wind Rises with the bittersweet life of an aeronautical engineer during that period as the point of view.

From the movies that I mentioned above, they have some interesting points of view to tell the story during the World War 2 period. While Hollywood war films are more focused on the glorifications with their patriotisms and feelings of pride, Japanese anime movies take another approach to depict this period. Wrapped with more dramas, they tend to tell it through the poignant sense or with the spirit to rise up again and again. Deliver a really powerful message for the generations henceforward, and telling that war will and always bring tragedies and grieves behind the short victory of the war. Delivering the theme that could make the viewers sob while being wrapped with a powerful message. That very portrayal of the theme which makes Japanese war movie really special.

But...

Behind the cruelty of war and the effect that it caused to people, there is always a slight ray of hope and the will to survive during this dreadful period. And it is clearly portrayed by a movie which adapted this theme as the meat of its story, a tale from the corner of this beautiful world, that resonates through the emotions; ladies and gentlemen, here I present you the movie that won many awards reaches its peak by bringing home the highest award in Japan's film, the 40th Japan Academy Award, and the movie has the title named Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni, known as In This Corner of The World as its global name.

Kono Sekai no Katasumi Ni is adapted from a manga serialized from 2007-2009 by Fumiyo Konno. It is a movie that is brought by Studio MAPPA (Yuri on Ice!!, Zankyou no Terror) and directed by Sunao Katabuchi (Kiki's Delivery Service assistant director, Black Lagoon) through crowdfunding from 3374 supporters.

The first half of the movie is dedicated to the storytelling of Suzu's daily life as a new family member of her husband. Doing household chores like crafting kimono, laundry, cooking for the family, while trying to fit in her new family. The realistic depiction of the slice of life element flows subtly while being followed by the music that plays gently behind the screen. Creating a harmony, slowly but surely, the viewers are being drawn into the narrative; and me without exception. And then, without realizing it, we have fallen into the trap set by the director. The moment the movie reaches its climax and tragedy after tragedy befalls, like BAAMM, as we were being struck by a fast-moving train. Resulting in an irony of war, this movie makes people wobbled in feels ride, and it is without injecting the forced drama element into it. The combination of a slice of life and its drama blend really well and successfully create a solid and emotional story. The romance element in the movie is pretty simple and pretty common among people. There is no fictional romance here. It flows really natural and subtle flavored with a husband-wife relationship or first love as a spice.

In this period, losing your family member and the loved one is inevitable. Kono Sekai depicts every these moment really well and clear. Many scenes portray those moments in the second half of the movie. It is not a strategy to make us, the viewers cry. They bring a powerful message that war only brings misery and tragedy to the people. And the biggest commentary by Suzu near the end really gives me goosebumps after knowing that Japan lost and surrender after failed to fulfill its ambitions in World War II. The tragedy lies in the fact that we know, even before the movie begins, that these characters are doomed from the start. But was it ever about the course of the war? Certainly not for us, and in the end, certainly not for Suzu and her family. For just as this a film set in the war, that is not about war, so too is her life one that precedes, and even ascends, the circumstances that define it. Many powerful scenes show the cruelty of the war and they strengthen the fact of this movie as an anti-war movie.

Kono Sekai no Katasumi Ni itself is told from Suzu’s point of view, from her corner of the world. This movie knows how to do character development on Suzu perfectly. We see Suzu as a girl, a bit of a daydreamer, and an artist; a good one, at that. And she has an affinity to often see the art in many situations, although this often means she loses focus on the here and now (in one scene during an air raid the puffs of smoke from the anti-aircraft fire become a beautiful impressionist painting to her eyes – gorgeous but it also means she is too mesmerized to take cover). Without exaggerating, her characterizations are done in a really natural and realistic way. Started from a young girl and then become a housewife at the beginning of her adulthood time who should endure all the hardships in this wartime. Suzu is an admirable protagonist not because she’s a stereotypical strong character with superhuman physical strength and mental fortitude, but because she is an ordinary person living through terrible events who nevertheless decides to keep going. Non as her voice actress really did a great job in portraying Suzu's character. Her Hiroshima accent fits really well with Suzu who comes from Hiroshima as well. She knows how to voice a simple yet innocent girl but with never give up attitude on Suzu. Supporting casts like Suzu's family, neighbors, or even a prostitute are adding another new layer on Suzu's life. With all the people around her, sometimes carefully, oftentimes spontaneously, Suzu chooses to protect and love who and what she can as best she can and to find a future for herself among the ashes of the past. She knows about fighting for what she can change and adapting to the things she can’t, and about the ordinary power of enduring, persisting, and coming out the other side, bent but not broken.

Despite the wartime conditions, the premise of the movie appears at odds with what we see on screen. Kono Sekai no Katasumi Ni prides itself on its hand-drawn animation, a level of effort that's becoming rare nowadays. The rich colors of the beautifully hand-drawn animation seem almost too radiant to be found in a war film. The animations are really simple and give nostalgia vibes to the viewers. The art style fits perfectly with Suzu's humility and produces a visual formula that is pleasant and enjoyable to watch. Hiroshima and Kure are beautifully portrayed. The sea is really calm and inviting, the scenery does bring the calmness, costumes, bustling roads of Hiroshima, and naval base with their legendary battleships like Yamato and Nagato docked. The atmosphere of war is detailed portrayed and bring impacts to the viewers, even without adding tensions or gripping tones. I can imagine how nostalgic and important this film can be in Japan. The film is like an epitome of Japanese history, traditional culture, and art. More so, the painterly approach to the look of the film encapsulates the watercolor goggles through which Suzu views the world. In her earliest moments, the character is established to be an avid artist; one illustrative sequence shows that the young girl has sketched so extensively that her costly school pencil is now an impractical nub.

Sometimes, the animation in the movie shifts from its realist mode to capture an impressionistic vision of the surrounding beauty. The blend of visual styles, one representing the real world and the other representing the imaginary or the idyllic; White rabbits illustrate the cap of waves, the bombs and explosions turn into expressive looking fireworks being drawn by an unseen hand. The most radical stylistic departure follows the movie's traumatic incident. The movie relies on an artistic representation of the scene in order to convey its full impact. For all its impressive attention to detail, Kono Sekai no Katasumi Ni is a painting of history, not a photograph of it. It also answers the question "why anime?" This is one of the movies that could effectively use animation to deliver meaning.

The music, on the other hand, is very simple and fits very well with the animation. Kotringo's composition brings a melancholic feeling to us as the viewers. Sometimes, the music brings you happiness with its gentle note. Sometimes, it brings you sadness with its rhythm that echoes through a tragic scene. The songs, on the other hand, remind me of Hitomi's song on Planetes. It gives you a calm feeling. But on one particular scene, one of its songs really hit me with all the feelings from all the tragedies that have happened. A powerful moment with a powerful song and put an end to this movie.

Another thing that I believe it's worth pointing out the movie's context is the historical aspect of this movie. The one unavoidable reality that the film largely ignores is that Japan is historically seen as one of the villains in World War 2. The scars that they left to countries due to their colonization still remain. Whether it’s a denial of Japanese war crimes or the enshrinement of the men responsible for these war crimes, I think it’s fair that Japan's inability to fully reconcile with its dark past is a lingering, festering wound on the psyche of an entire region.

Kono Sekai no Katasumi Ni is a very human movie. Beautiful, artistic, historical accuracy, timely messages and thematic depth, thoughtful, and more importantly, it is a genuinely enjoyable viewing experience that I won't forget. A movie that echoes with me through its emotional journey. A movie that I enjoyed the most from all movies that I have ever watched before. It’s a provocative, engaging, and thoughtful look at a very problematic time in history. A movie that brings back everything that has been lost for many years on animation medium, especially movies. A great showcase for animation as a storytelling medium, unafraid of using the unique aspects of animation to its advantage. If a person asks me what movie I should recommend to him/her, I will proudly answer Kono Sekai no Katasumi Ni. And I believe, this movie will yield more blog posts and essays for years to come.~

"In the end, the cicadas do not stop playing just because there is a war. And that's why life should go on while we are busy dealing with its tragedies"

PS: This movie also has a live-action so do watch it if you don't want to watch the anime(IDK who will ever choose that). Comment down below what do you think about this movie and what anime should I do next also tell me what categories should I add in my scoring system.

FINAL SCORE

Recommandation Level: MUST WATCH

Score : 

Animation - 9.5/10

Story - 9/10

Music - 7.5/10

Characters - 9/10

OVERALL - 8.53/10