The Place Promised in Our Early Days

2006; OVA

Mild violence, no nudity

Highly Recommended

STORY:  Two middle school friends, Hiroki Fujisawa and Takoya Shirakame bond share a love of two things - the plane they are building together, named the Bella Cielo,  and a fellow classmate, Sayuri Sawatari. They have pledged that, once they finish work on their plane, they will fly to the the mysterious tower located across the bay on the island of Ezo. However, time and the threat of war force them to put aside their childish pledges.  Takoya goes to work for the military, Hiroki goes to college and Sayuri falls into a sleep-like coma for three years.  As tensions build and war between Ezo and the Japanes Alliance starts - Takoya and Hiroki must revisist their previous pledge and discover what the connection lies between Sayuri and the mysterious tower.

THOUGHTS:  Director Makoto Shinkai is being lauded as the "new Hiyao Miyazaki" (if you don't know who MIyazaki is - go rent everything he's every directed, NOW!) and while I don't think he's quite on that level yet, the promise is there.  The story starts out a bit slow, letting us get to know the three main characters.  There plenty of pauses, but not necessarily in a bad way.  Watching the first half hour, you almost think it will be nothing more than a shojo style romance.  Then the science fiction kicks in - bringing alternative realities, universes bleeding into each other and the exploration of biological connections between the universes.  Once the plot got going, it was interesting and very moving.  All around this is a great film. 

ANIMATION QUALITY:  Absolutely breaktaking!  The blend of character animation and CGI backgrounds was well-done.  The quality of the backgrounds was amazing!  Every time they panned to the sky, I paused the disc, just to get a good look.  Even if you don't like lyrical anime, watch this for the animation quality. 

TRANSLATION:  The translation was good, and the English voice acting is superb.  You can enjoy this either dubbed or subbed. 

SILLIEST HAIR AWARD: I'm giving the award a pass on this anime.  Everyone's hair was in place and there was nothing out of the ordinary, which is nice for a change!

SONG TRANSLATIONS: (I commend the music in this anime - it's beautiful)

Closing Song – “Your Love”

The white clouds are blurred in the faded blue
It’s the color of that distant day
In the depths of my heart
Lies a plan I hide from everyone
The words on which I pledged my all
Are now in the distant past
In the days since you’ve gone
You still give me warmth
The light Illuminated your voice….your form
If possible
I’ll live in a way that my voice will reach you
No matter where you are
The sounds echo distantly
From those sun-baked rails
It’s the voice of that day
Even now, the promised place exists
Beyond those clouds
I don’t know since when but solitude surrounds me
And my heart creaks under the strain
I’m certain that as time passes, I will lose you
Your hair….
A world in which the clouds and the sky meet
It’s full of mysteries
Your voice….
Gentle fingers and skin that caught the wind
It bolsters my heart
The light illuminated your voice….your form
If possible
Though we live in different worlds
I want to live kind and strong

The song is pretty - but goes on forever!

DRINKING GAME:  Forego the drinking game on this one.  Just sit back, sip a nice glass your favorite red wine and enjoy a superior anime movie!

IN DEPTH EPISODE/MOVIE GUIDE  (SPOILERS!):

Our story begins with Hiroki Fujisawa, a college student, reminiscing about his middle school years. In particular, his best friend Takoya Shirakawa and the girl he loved, Saruyi Sawatari. Flashback time! It’s three years ago. Hiroki and Takoya are in middle school. They share a fascination with two things: The huge tower on the far island of Ezo and a schoolmate, Saruyi Sawatari. The boys are building an airplane, which they christen the Bella Ceilo. Once complete, they hope to fly the plane to Ezo and explore the Tower. This tower, by the way, is freaking huge – reaching close to the upper atmosphere. We learn that the union government of Ezo and the Japanese Alliance (which includes the US) have strained relations. Ezo has closed its borders and many families have been torn apart. The boys hope to fly their plane under radar and sneak into Ezo.

One day, coming home from school, Takoya invites Saruyi to see the airplane. The boys end up inviting Saruyi on their journey. Saruyi agrees, if only to see the island, as part of her family is from Ezo. The trio bond, with Hiroki and Saruyi becoming quite close. Unknown to the two boys, Saruyi is having the same dream over and over where she is trapped in a world by herself. She also having waking visions of war, with the tower exploding.

We cut to three years later. Hiroki voice-overs that it’s been that long since he has seen Saruyi, that she simply disappeared one day. Takoya is working for the Alliance military, researching parallel universes and their relationship to the tower on Ezo. It seems the man who built the tower, also discovered the existence of parallel universes. The military is performing experiments where they replace minute fragments of our universe with matter from a parallel universe. The tower on Ezo is also replacing matter, but with a much greater success. In fact, the tower is surrounded by matter from alternate realities. The military wants to inspect the tower, to make sure that the alternate reality matter is not spreading, but Ezo refuses. The military posits that what we consider “premonition” is simply a brain reaching into a branch universe. Certain people are much better at this than others. Which bring us to Saruyi…

Saruyi has been in hospital for the last three years, ever since she fell asleep and didn’t wake up. She’s been dreaming for all that time. In her dream, she is alone, searching for Hiroki. Which brings us to Hiroki…

Hiroki is in college, but doesn’t seem to enjoy it. He’s become a bit of a loner. Once Saruyi disappeared, his relationship with Takoya withered. He dreams of Saruyi, alone in her own universe.

Takoya becomes part of a covert mission to explore the tower on Ezo. The mission goes awry and Takoya is injured. However, they do learn that the union on Ezo is hoping to use the tower as a weapon, replacing our world with one from a branch universe. They also learn that Saruyi is linked to the tower (her grandfather built it). Keeping her in her dream-like state is the only way to keep the alternate reality surrounding the tower from expanding. Saruyi is transferred to a secure military base. The Alliance decides that the best way to protect the world is to destroy the tower, even if it means sacrificing Saruyi.

Hiroki and Takoya meet for the first time in three years. Hiroki explains his dreams of a lonely Saruyi to Takoya. He says he wants to do what they promised so long ago. He wants to fly the Bella Ceila to the tower on Ezo, bringing the sleeping Saruyi with him. He believes this will wake her up. They fight, but both realize that Saruyi may just be worth risking the world for. Takoya kidnaps the sleeping Saruyi and takes her to Hiroki and the Bella Ceila. Hiroki agrees that, once Saruyi is awake, he will blow up the tower.

War erupts as Hiroki flies toward the tower. As he closes in on the tower, the alternate reality expands drastically. Saruyi realizes that, once she wakes up, she will lose her memory of her dreams of the past three years and her love for Hiroki She cries as she awakens, knowing that she has forgotten something very important. Hiroki destroys the tower and the expansion is stopped. The melancholy ending is tempered somewhat by Hiroki vowing that he and Saruyi can start their relationship anew.  Not a blissfully happy ending - but amazingly light for an anime of this sort!