Suzume Romance Movie Review
Introduction
In 2022, visionary Japanese director Makoto Shinkai returned with Suzume no Tojimari (Suzume’s Locking Up), internationally known simply as Suzume. Following the massive global success of Your Name (2016) and Weathering with You (2019), Shinkai once again delivers a breathtakingly animated and emotionally charged story — this time focusing on grief, memory, natural disaster trauma, and the human connections that bind us.
While retaining his signature blend of supernatural elements and poignant romance, Suzume takes on a slightly different narrative tone. It’s both a road movie and a fantasy quest, centering on a teenage girl’s journey across Japan to literally and metaphorically close doors from the past, while grappling with her own buried sorrow.
In this review, we’ll explore Suzume’s plot, themes, animation, music, cultural significance, and overall impact within both the anime and global film landscape.
Plot Summary
The film opens in a quiet, coastal town in Kyushu, where Suzume Iwato, a spirited 17-year-old girl, lives with her loving but overprotective aunt, Tamaki. One morning, on her way to school, Suzume encounters a mysterious young man named Souta Munakata, who is searching for an abandoned ruin nearby. Out of curiosity, Suzume follows him and stumbles upon a strange, otherworldly door standing upright amid the ruins.
When she opens it, Suzume glimpses a surreal landscape beyond — the “Ever-After,” a liminal realm where the spirits of the dead linger. Unknowingly, Suzume unleashes a giant supernatural worm that threatens to cause catastrophic earthquakes in the real world. Souta, revealed to be a closer — a guardian who seals these dangerous doors to prevent disasters — must track down and stop the entity.
In a twist of fate, Souta is transformed into a tiny, three-legged child’s chair (a memento from Suzume’s late mother), and together, they embark on a cross-country journey to find and seal the remaining doors before disaster strikes. Along the way, Suzume encounters various people, from a kind single mother in Ehime to a free-spirited hostess in Kobe, each offering her warmth and brief sanctuary.
As Suzume faces both literal and emotional doors from the past, she gradually confronts her grief over the loss of her mother in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami — a national tragedy that claimed thousands of lives and left deep scars on Japan’s collective memory.
In the film’s climax, Suzume ventures into the Ever-After itself, rescues Souta from his sacrificial fate, and symbolically meets her younger self, offering solace and strength. The film ends with Suzume returning home, emotionally reconciled, and Souta resuming his duty as a closer. The final scene is a tender reunion between Suzume and Souta, hinting at a future connection.
Themes and Symbolism
As with all of Makoto Shinkai’s works, Suzume is rich in metaphor and thematic depth, using its fantastical narrative to address real-world issues and emotional truths.
1. Loss, Grief, and Healing
At its heart, Suzume is a meditation on personal and communal grief. The doors scattered across Japan represent unresolved trauma — both the literal remnants of disaster and the metaphorical barriers people build to shield themselves from painful memories.
Suzume’s journey to lock these doors mirrors her internal process of confronting and making peace with her mother’s death. Her final act of meeting her younger self within the Ever-After symbolizes acceptance and emotional reconciliation, allowing her to move forward with hope.
2. Natural Disasters and Collective Memory
Like Your Name and Weathering with You, Suzume carries a strong undercurrent of Japan’s experience with natural disasters, particularly the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The film doesn’t shy away from depicting abandoned homes, crumbled infrastructure, and communities left behind.
Through these images, Shinkai emphasizes the importance of memory — of acknowledging those who were lost and the spaces they once occupied. It’s a quiet yet powerful commentary on remembrance and resilience, highlighting how people can carry on while honoring the past.
3. Human Connection and Kindness
Throughout her journey, Suzume encounters various strangers who offer her help, food, and shelter, often without asking for anything in return. These small acts of kindness underscore the film’s message that even fleeting human connections can offer warmth and comfort in times of crisis.
The bond between Suzume and Souta, though tinged with romance, is ultimately rooted in mutual understanding and shared purpose. Their relationship evolves organically, never overshadowing the film’s larger themes.
4. The Symbol of Doors
Doors serve as both literal and metaphorical devices throughout the film. They act as gateways to the Ever-After but also represent barriers between the past and present, life and death, memory and reality. The act of closing these doors is symbolic of confronting trauma, preventing it from seeping into the present and causing destruction.
Animation and Visual Mastery
Suzume is visually stunning — a hallmark of Shinkai’s style. Every frame is infused with meticulous detail, from the way light filters through trees to the realistic rendering of city streets and dilapidated ruins.
Japan’s diverse landscapes are lovingly depicted as the narrative moves from Kyushu to Shikoku, Kobe, and Tokyo. Each locale has a distinct mood, color palette, and architectural flavor, creating a vibrant visual map of the nation.
The design of the Ever-After is especially striking, a shimmering, otherworldly expanse filled with floating landscapes and celestial light. Shinkai’s skill in blending the fantastical with photorealism gives these scenes a dreamlike, ethereal quality.
Character animation is expressive and naturalistic, with subtle gestures and facial expressions conveying complex emotions without the need for heavy dialogue.
Soundtrack and Audio Atmosphere
The soundtrack, composed once again by Radwimps in collaboration with Kazuma Jinnouchi, is both evocative and unobtrusive, seamlessly blending with the film’s emotional beats. The score ranges from soft piano melodies to stirring orchestral swells during climactic moments.
Radwimps’ signature style — introspective lyrics and atmospheric instrumentals — continues to complement Shinkai’s storytelling, heightening both moments of quiet introspection and action-driven tension.
Sound design also plays a vital role. The ominous rumble of earthquakes, the creaking of doors, and the subtle ambient sounds of rural Japan enrich the film’s immersive atmosphere, grounding its fantastical elements in a tactile reality.
Cultural and Social Context
More than any of his previous works, Suzume directly engages with Japan’s history of natural disasters. Shinkai has stated in interviews that the film was inspired by his reflections on the Tōhoku disaster and its lingering impact.
The depiction of abandoned homes and memorial sites evokes a sense of mono no aware — the Japanese aesthetic of transience and melancholy beauty. Suzume urges viewers to remember and honor those lost, not as tragic statistics but as individuals whose stories and spaces still matter.
The inclusion of everyday kindness from strangers highlights the social fabric of Japan, emphasizing how communal bonds and empathy sustain people in times of hardship.
Reception and Impact
Suzume was met with critical acclaim upon its release in Japan and internationally, earning praise for its storytelling, visuals, and emotional resonance. It became one of the highest-grossing anime films domestically and achieved significant box office success abroad, particularly in East Asia and parts of Europe.
Critics highlighted the film’s balance between spectacle and sincerity, noting that while it retained Shinkai’s signature romantic-fantasy elements, it ventured into more socially conscious territory.
While some reviewers felt the romantic subplot was underdeveloped compared to Your Name, many appreciated Suzume’s thematic maturity and its subtle handling of grief and memory.
Personal Reflection
Watching Suzume, I was struck by its tenderness and quiet bravery. It’s a film about loss, yes, but more importantly, about carrying on — about how the world can be broken and beautiful at the same time.
Suzume’s determination, her moments of fear and courage, and her rediscovery of both familial and self-love resonated deeply. The film’s depiction of Japan’s landscapes, both in their splendor and decay, felt like a love letter to a country that constantly rebuilds itself in the wake of tragedy.
As with Your Name, Suzume left me with a lingering sense of yearning — not for lost love, but for a connection to places and people no longer here. It’s a reminder to honor memory, to cherish kindness, and to keep moving forward.
Conclusion
Suzume is a beautifully crafted, emotionally profound film that cements Makoto Shinkai’s place as one of the most vital storytellers in contemporary anime. Through stunning animation, a haunting score, and deeply human themes, it offers both a tribute to disaster victims and a hopeful meditation on resilience and memory.
It’s a film that speaks softly but leaves a lasting echo — a reminder that while some doors must be closed, the act of remembering and loving is what truly keeps us connected.
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