It took me 3 tries for Hoshi o ou Kodomo, so if it takes 3 times for Kotonoha no Niwa then at least I can do that in nearly a third of the time. It’s at least gorgeous enough to warrant watching it three times.

But yes, I’m still not sure how to react to the film. My initial feelings are both somewhat moved and yet slightly enraged at the odd composition of the romantic relationship. It all came together in a way that just felt a little wrong. It doesn’t, thankfully, take away the underlying emotions and the way The Garden of Words wraps around you and moves you.

I think you really have to go into this show without knowing what it is. The revelation later on int he film is a little disruptive and even if you’re a big fan of indie Japanese cinema you might not quite have it all planned out. And if you’re not, then this is probably not the kind of anime you expect.

It is the kind of anime Shinkai fans expect however. Visually it is beautiful. Tokyo has never been this gorgeous. Short of flooding this post with caps let’s just say that the Blu-ray can’t come to my house soon enough. [Especially since it’s in an order with the Festiv@l of Winter blargh, which means it’ll probably get here when I’m not home @ AX.]

So many rainy sunshine cuts, so few rainbows. It’s not Shinkai to do rainbows, I guess.