Review of SUZUME: Thwarting Tremors

March 12, 2023

17 year old high school student Suzume lived with her aunt Tamaki in Miyazaki town. Suzume was still a little girl when she lost her mother, a memory that haunted her dreams up to now. One day on her way to school, she met a handsome young man Sota looking for any ruins in their area. She directed him to an abandoned onsen resort in the mountains. However later, her curiosity got the better of her so turned back to go to the old resort too.  

There, she saw a door which remained standing in the middle of a pool of water. When she opened the door, she saw a mysterious ethereal place on the other side, but could not actually enter it. In her attempts to enter, she tripped on a small stone statue which turned into a white cat when she pulled it out of the ground.  Later that day after an earthquake, she saw a pillar of red smoke coming from the door, and Sota was trying to close it.

This was just the beginning of Suzume's road trip adventure which will take her all over Japan accompanied by her enchanted three-legged chair chasing a cute white cat around. She met new friends along the way, like school girl Chika and karaoke hostess Rumi, who helped her achieve her formidable task to help Sota close mystic portals where "worms" can come out to cause destructive earthquakes to the surrounding towns.   

This is already writer-director-animator Makoto Shinkai's latest animated masterpiece following his two recent box-office hits "Your Name" (2016) and "Weathering with You" (2019). He continued to follow his prior themes connecting natural phenomena to human lives (a comet in "Your Name", rain in "Weathering", now earthquakes here in "Suzume"). As before, Shinkai also incorporated new moody, energetic music by the RADWIMPS here.

The graceful pastel artwork and the voice acting were all on point like in the "Name" and "Weathering". Aside from Suzume and Sota's supernatural mission, Shinkai also managed to work in a budding romance, interesting details of Japanese life and myths, viral exposure on social media, as well as the stress and sacrifice of an adoptive parent. I just cannot figure out why the smoking of Sota's friend Serizawa had to be unduly highlighted. 8/10.