I really like most of his work, but maybe I made a mistake by watching it out of order with this one being last. But then again, if I started with this one, I'd probably not watch the other ones.I have therefore no choice, but to judge this movie with the eyes that have already seen Garden of Words, 5 Centimeters per Second or Your Name.There are two sides to this, first one sees all of his moves that I mentioned as basically iteration of the same story, always being said the same way with same basic heroes, beginning and ending. It makes those movies kind of predictable. The second one is that because he makes them the same way, he can make them better and better. I'm on the fence with this one.What about "The place.." then? To cut it short, it was boring. I know his movies are convoluted, but his one made little sense to me, story wise. Emotions were not as neatly drawn as in the others and whole experience was basically dull, watch and forget.Mandatory for Shinkai fans, everyone else should probably sit this one out and watch "Your name" instead.

I gave 4 stars just for the art and the music, but I really got bored a lot watching this, the story makes no sense, it's all so dreamy, so epic, the author wants you to deeply feel all this emotions but to me the result it's an hollow movie with hollow character. I've never fallen asleep watching something, but with this I barely succeeded to end it. I definitively suggest not to watch it, there are so many other beautiful anime to see out there. One thing I've enjoyed is the artwork, the landscapes are really intense and make you dream, but also there sometimes there is too much over production, too many light effects, it seems like a punch in the eye. And I hate when authors use science fiction in this way, by throwing here and there some gibberish theory and then making a mess with a convoluted plot, so that people at the end can say that it leave you with the freedom to interpret it, I find this technique over abused lately, and by the way I've never seen using it so badly like in this case

The first thing to emphasize is that, regardless of what the plot summary may sound like, this is not and should not be regarded as true science fiction. While there are definitely sci-fi elements in the show, the approach that the director takes uses them more as a backdrop for the main plot line than as an actual focus to the show. As a result, a lot of criticism is generated because the anime doesn't "explain enough," when in fact they're missing the point entirely. The science-fiction is used to aid a story of love and friendship, not the other way round.The second thing to bring out into the open is that truly appreciating the storyline requires both a tolerance of a deliberate pace and an appreciation for what at heart is a rather simplistic story. Both of these elements seem to have turned more than a few people off, but for me they only added to the film's elegance.Unfortunately, the narrative admittedly falters when the anime wanders into superfluous details that distract from the main focus of the show. Although such moments are thankfully rare, the times that they occur feel messy and muddled. These flaws in the story can most likely be attributed to the extra length of the movie; in Voices of a Distant Star, the limited running time forced the director to focus on what was most important. Here, however, he feels free (or even obligated) to diverge into places not relevant to his main plot line, and the result is never helpful.However, barring each of these points, the anime offers a truly moving experience. Essentially, the basic storyline can be distilled to three characters learning the importance of their childhood promises and feelings. While the story is simple, the director is able to give immense depth and power to it. The message is also relatively straightforward, but at the same time thought-provoking and moving. The storyline is aided considerably by some absolutely beautiful animation, which sparkles with light, color and detail.As a whole, Beyond the Clouds is a soaring work, a stunning accomplishment that is basically a must-see for this year. As Makoto Shinkai's debut into the world of film, this is a landmark achievement, and I dream of the day he surpasses this work. No other anime released in 2004 has resonated with me more.

Makoto Shinkai came back. And this time he is not alone.'The Place Promised in Our Early Days' is a pure and beautiful piece of work. This has probably the most beautiful visuals of all animations that I've seen ('Please Save My Earth' and some others are also beautiful but they all have different characteristics, I must say). Pictures themselves are beautiful, and it is no wonder how people call him the 'magician of light'.My overall impression of this anime is that it's like a poet but with Sci-Fi to match with it. 'Voices of a Distant Star (Hoshi no koe)' was quite boring for me honestly. But with a similar structure and image, 'The Place...' seems to deliver much better what Makoto Shinkai wanted to deliver, even though its story is slightly loose here and there.I do think, however, that it is 'too' consistent throughout - from Makoto Shinkai's authentic poetic and solitary, pure atmosphere to its story/drama, visuals (e.g. lighting), music etc (I must say that sound aspects outside music is not very well done but let's put that aside), pretty much everything. This strengthens the sense of purity this anime represents, but I really think it would be better to have more 'bandwidth' to it, so it can have more dynamics and life in it. It is great how Makoto Shinkai pulled it off gracefully knitted altogether, though. I'd say that 'The Place...' stands on its very own ground, really. I think it is something that's quite different to all the rest, and don't really think it's appropriate to judge this by typical standards.To hold it together for a much longer period of time, and to do it well, he has effectively implied editing (if I could say that) and careful laying out of the story. But the biggest difference I witnessed from 'The Place...' was how Makoto Shinkai has casted much more characters than before - though characters lack in variety as well. This enriches the story as well as adding complexity and depth to it so you don't get bored out easily.But after all, it is superb how well Makoto Shinkai has put the whole thing together so well. I was very fascinated and captured while I was watching it - which didn't happen for quite some time. I think this is one piece of work that overwhelms viewers by its beauty and sense of purity.P.S. Although I can understand how some animatings are not up to the feature animation quality, I personally think it'd be better for Makoto Shinkai to get somebody good to retouch on his characters' faces.