Most critics like Suzume, and the spread is narrow: nobody dismisses it, and the reservations are all of degree. Praise clusters on the animation, on Shinkai’s eye for the detail of contemporary Japan, and on the three-legged chair, which several reviews single out for its physical comedy and treat as the film’s warmest presence. Nearly every review takes the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake as the film’s real subject and credits Shinkai with handling grief and disaster in a way that stays accessible. The doubts gather in one place. Several critics find it less affecting than his earlier films, with The AV Club, Collider and The i Paper saying so directly; Sight and Sound adds that the plot lacks momentum. The Times finds it a little too worthy, and The Skinny, the lowest score here, thinks the road-trip scale costs the film the intimacy of his previous work. Time Out is alone in objecting to the product placement.
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Vulture
14 April 2023 · Alison Willmore
85*
The review calls it the best animated movie of the year so far, praising its openhearted romantic adventure about inheriting a broken world and its grounding in contemporary Japanese life and loss.
It's a visually stunning crowdpleaser with the usual Shinkai formula of romance and disaster, though some plot elements and product placement are distracting.
The critic notes it lacks the full emotional punch of prior films but singles out the genius animation and humor of the talking chair character and its Ghibli-esque qualities.
The critic affirms Shinkai’s auteur status with shimmering visuals and a sweet, strange story of a girl making peace with her past, though the narrative feels slightly crowded.
The critic finds the apocalypse visually appealing in this painterly coming-of-age anime shadowed by the 2011 tsunami. Shinkai excels at vivid details of modern Japan but the fairytale script feels less nuanced and grounded than his earlier work.
The critic describes it as an entertaining epitaph to the 2011 Tōhoku disaster, with a realist approach to national trauma despite the fantastical chair element. They praise the comic relief from the three-legged chair and the film's blend of hilarity, frenzy, and emotional resonance.
The review describes an epic, moving story simultaneously about saving the world and confronting grief, hailing Shinkai’s natural disaster tale as wondrous.
The piece presents the film as worth seeing for its lush visuals and magical-realist take on disasters, following a girl’s journey to seal portals and confront her past. It notes the director’s personal connection to real earthquakes and the addition of comical elements like the sentient chair.
23 February 2023 · festival review · Leslie Felperin
The critic calls it a keeper despite familiar tropes, praising its emotional depth from the 2011 disaster, vivid characters including an expressive chair, and detailed animation of real and fantastical worlds.
The critic finds it an ambitious tale of living with loss that delivers the expected visual grandeur but feels hurried in its pacing and character development. They single out the road-trip quest and talking-chair gag as imaginative yet note it falls short of Shinkai’s usual emotional impact.
The critic finds Shinkai’s latest film an engaging mix of myth and contemporary elements, praising its ethereal animation and the story’s adventurous cross-country journey. Particular note is made of the effective physical comedy provided by the three-legged chair character.
Hormone-fuelled teenagers confront environmental destruction and personal grief in this ambitious fantasy adventure focused on the 2011 earthquake. The film has boundless ambition and courage in tackling weighty issues but can feel a little too worthy.
The critic calls it a rich, spectacular fantasy that honours Miyazaki while forging its own path with photorealism, whimsical elements, and a road-trip narrative. They highlight the poetic commentary on rural depopulation and the traumatic link to the 2011 earthquake as standing out.
23 February 2023 · festival review · Peter Debruge
The review describes the film as a relatively funny and streamlined fantasy epic that tackles earthquake trauma in an accessible way. It highlights Shinkai hitting his stride with emotional depth and strong visuals amid the door-closing adventures.
The critic calls Suzume Shinkai’s strongest film to date and an emotional triumph that synthesizes his recurring themes. They single out the inventive road-trip premise involving supernatural doors and worms as a highlight that blends environmental awareness with personal growth.
The critic hails Suzume as one of the year’s best films for its intimate focus on grief and self-discovery alongside entertaining fantasy elements. They praise the charming voice performances, anthropomorphic animation, and emotional payoff while noting its avoidance of deeper real-world climate critique.
The critic praises the film as beautiful, elevating and terrifying, a celebration of the ordinary and resilience in the face of disaster. They single out the personal response to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the Easter eggs for anime fans.
Shinkai has crafted another crowd-pleaser that blends supernatural threats with everyday human relationships, though it lacks the emotional impact of his prior films. The road-trip structure and character connections are singled out as strengths, while the ending and some CGI elements draw criticism.
The critic finds the story beautiful and emotionally resonant, praising Shinkai's ability to blend teen drama with larger themes of loss and natural disaster. They single out the seamless connection between the real world and magic, along with the animation.
The critic finds Suzume visually astonishing with lush animation and witty moments but criticizes its overly long, epic, and cheesy narrative. They single out the immersive visual grandeur as the film’s main strength while lamenting the loss of intimacy compared to Shinkai’s earlier work.
Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate
