Sloth's Anime Reviews - The Children Who Chase Lost Voices 

yeah I enjoyed the film, gorgeous. but it felt like they set up so many plot points that never got resolved. Why did it seem like he knew Asuna, or that there was some sort of connection between them already? And why did he die? What was special about Asuna, and why did she have the guardian Mimi? what happened to her dad? Who were archangel and what did they want? so many questions that got glossed over

In the ending of the movie we can see shin hiding the same wound shun had on the surface with the same scarf tied around his arm,is it possible that shin was actually shun

For all those who had problem with the unresolved things(plotholes) i recommend you to read manga it have only 7 chapters and they have told each and every thing in a very detailed way .like about the father of asuna and other thing....please go and read manga

I have a theory guys...i just really want to answer why asuna's father has that calvis stone also So here it is.. There is a possibility that Asuna'a father is a argarthan, while her mother is a pure human/top sider, it's possible.. because the elder said that Mana's father is a top sider, so mana's mom is a argarthan, because if Asuna's father is not a agarthan then why he has a calvis stone also?? And why shun broke the law of argartha?? Why did he come to the human world?? For me..why he visit to the human world is because he want to warn someone and protect someone, and that is asuna.... because asuna's father died when she was 4 or 5 years old i think..and maybe that time, shun already aged also..maybe 6 or 7 years old (I think he is older than asuna, and shin has the same age as asuna) there's a possibility that asuna's father gave a mission to shun.. that he will need to save and protect asuna, and don't let her know that argartha exist, remember that shun said to asuna..that she needs to promise him that *She will live* So that's my theory.... Ps. I'm just a 14 year old curious girl🤣 so that's why i made this..i know that i'm wrong

I think it also has some influences from Ghibili's Laputa's and Naussica

I watched this twice now and cried both times. I felt basically every emotion in 2 hours. The whole movie has a nice fantasy feeling even though it's a very realistic world apart from Agartha. I love Asuna and the teacher she travels with, some people might say he's the villain but I like to think that there is no real villain in this movie. I felt real loss when the cat died tbh. My only real problem with it was the absolutely useless characters who took up too much time in the movie lol. You're also right that the surface world has too much time on screen.

Asunas dad was in fact from agartha, like you heard those creatures only hate mixed one means agartha - surface people. That's where one question has been answered. I can't really tell you guys much about the Realationships of asuna, shun and shin but I can only tell that asuna went back to the surface at the end and the teacher stayed in agartha and wanting shin to kill him since he lost his eyesight and can't live without his wife. I will re-watch the movie a few times and will answer more questions ones I got some informations together

I enjoyed the movie, but my main problem was that I left me with so many questions. Does Asuna ever return to Shin? Where does Shin go since he was no longer welcome? Why did Shun go to the surface in the first place? I wish they explained more at the end.

To me personally, I felt the pacing was too fast, but that could be because the characters weren't strong enough to keep me fully invested. The concept itself was what interested me into watching this movie in the first place; I love stories with fantasy-like settings and a hint of romance. It had so much potential to be something heartwarming and emotional with its theme of life and death! Unfortunately, I think it was the leads and glaring flaws that dragged it down for me. The teacher was probably the most developed out of everyone due to his backstory and clear motivation, but I couldn't find myself to care about him. This can be applied to the other leads too. His relationship with Asuna severely lacked (idk why she even thought of him as her father) as I feel like he was way too stoic in their exchange of words to the point that it's hard for me to believe they would even care for each other. In fact, all the leads didn't have much chemistry with each other besides to just tag along or "Oh, h/she saved me, so I need to save her/him!" which actually played a lot throughout the film. The backstory and culture of Agartha should have been better explored as well. In fact, I think the story should have focused more on the world of Agartha THROUGH the journey of the characters. Instead, it felt like they're just going from point A to point B with pretty backdrops and the occasional random exposition dump that doesn't really lead to anything important. Unanswered questions are fine as long people can easily overlook them, but the problem with them in this film is that they tie DIRECTLY into the narrative. Why does Shun seem to have a connection with Asuna? What happened to Asuna's father? How did her father get the clavis crystal? Who were the Arch Angels exactly? What happened to the Arch Angels afterward? Why did the Izoku take Asuna away instead of immediately eating her? Why didn't the Izoku didn't attack the teacher? Why did the teacher stay behind in Agartha? And so on. I also feel like a few scenes should have been dived more into instead being glossed over. The ending felt underwhelming since I feel like none of the leads really took away anything significant (maybe except for the teacher). Not only that, but we didn't even see a proper final goodbye between them since there was no dialogue in the scene at all. I could keep on writing about the other flaws in the movie, but these are just my main complaints. I feel like Shinkai wanted to tell a grand story with all these setup and characters, but couldn't find the best way to mesh them together to form a coherent plot, even with the movie's 2 hour run time. Overall, the movie is kinda messy, but I don't hate for what it tried to do. It succeeded in hooking me in to watch its entirety, and I enjoyed the beautiful visuals. It's just a waste of time and forgettable.

I understand the plot holes and stuff and yeah, it did drag this movie down. BUT, I remember so clearly watching this movie on an airplane and literally crying my eyes out when it finished (and the stewardess asking me if I was okay o//o). Years later, I now realise that this is a movie where you can't fixate on plot and the storyline, and that its sparkle lies in the emotions portrayed by the characters. For example, the sudden loss of someone who you thought you made a strong connection with; the helplessness of wanting to find a purpose in life; the madness of ressurecting a loved one back to life. These were the emotional themes that made me cry. This is definitely a cult favourite amongst Shinkai fans. I don't think many western fans would understand this movie as the atmosphere is heavily cultured in eastern aspects (where freedom and free will are not easily exercised). It is definitely easier for asians to make a stronger connection to this movie, and for culture reasons only. On the asian forums, I'm beginning to notice that many youngesters are finding it hard to understand this movie as well- which I expected, since this is a movie that probably resonates well with those born in the 1990s, where oldschool themes of emotionally focused animes were made (and plot did not dominate, people watched for the feelz).

This anime reminded me of my grandma.The end of it made me that even if you beg to see your lost one you can never do that.It...basically made me bawl my eyes

This movie addresses a visceral spiritual issue. Made me cry and I'm a big, bad dude.

i really wanted a scene of her mom to hug her after being gone for weeks... without it, It feels incomplete.

I definitely disagree with you regarding the pacing of the film and the central theme, is the long "seemingly unimportant " scenes that make it what it is. Without those scenes filled with exaggerated drama and sometimes "lack of understanding" the film would have lost its petit emotional impact with the characters. I mean, even though some scenes that seemed to much "extra" regarding music and everydayness, those ones helped build the plot and emotion for the end: without the long part on the real world, the journey itself wouldn't have mattered, because Asuna was longing to be accompanied in the real world by Shun, who took her out of her solitude and monotony. As well the main theme in the movie is not about trusting in your friends no matter what, is about mourning the deceased and accepting life with its shitty parts. Greetings!

I think the movie wasn't finished. I want there to be a sequel, one were something urges Owsana ( spellings wrong I know) to go back to Agartha a couple years after this movie. And I kinda also... want it to be..a bit of romance maybe

dang I just watched this movie today it was good :)

Fact that Morisaki is still able to smoke those cigarettes after going through that water that yes was still very wet.. Is beyond me. WTF were they made of. How was Asuna lonely she had a friend that was reaching out.. ffs

I did think it was a bit shallow, the character relationships just didn't really make any sense...

The only explanation I can think of is Shun/Shin being the reincarnation of her father, who came back after the death of the teacher's wife? For some reason? I'm not sure, but the idea of reincarnation and life from death was echoing in my head throughout the film. I think there is a powerful message/concept within this story, but it is really hard to comprehend, as it is in real life. I will definitely watch it again, and again, analyzing it, until I get to connect the dots and fully understand what happened

I am happy to have started my journey watching anime movies with Five centimeters per second and it's true... The art is beyond beautiful ❤️

very nice review but i would give more then just 7/10 acually it is one of my favorite anime movies and (in my opinion) what makes this movie so great are this long and atmospheric scenes and i would cut nothing out of it

Came to find some answers to my questions: Why shun came to surface and to meet whom?If asuna then why How Asuna's father got that clavis? and why the teacher lastly remained in agarthas,anyways main question is why shun died? aaa these questions confuses me soo much

I wish they went in depth more about Agartha. I felt wanting to know more

This made me cry

I loved this film because: 1. You really feel for asuna and become so attached 2. ART IS BAE 3. It's relatable even though it is a fantasy movie 4. I also loved shin, because it show that he's only a boy fighting for his world and he tries so hard to be more mature than he is 5. It ties in fantasy and slice of life ( kinda) in the beginning of the film it really show that not every family is perfect and there's lots of kids growing up not really having the feel of true family But there are some weak points to this movie yes 😖

nice review，well done！

Great review! Subbed :D

Aside from all the unresolved questions the one thing that bothered me was that they named the guardians quetzalcoatl and none of them were feathered snakes, everytime they mentioned a quetzalcoatl I had in my mind something different than a deer and a humanoid looking creature.

i don't know why people from agartha can't survive from the surface. What is the connection of that?.. why they can't survive, just like what happened to shun.

He mentioned every anime I loved

I loved the visual style and animation and even the music of the movie. The two things I disliked were the plot holes which were left (like why did Mimi die, why did the teacher guy stay in Agartha at the end, why did the big brother die and many more) and the other thing was I didn't get too emotionally (yes I loved all the characters in the movie) connected to most of the characters unlike in most of Shinkai's movies. But overall it was a good movie with a clesr message it was try to show us (how everyone eventually dies one day and how we should move on to find happiness in our lives having that loss in our heart). It's one of those movies which deserves a remake to fix these major issues.

For everyone here are some answers you were looking for... 1. Remember the very first scene of Ausuna, she was on the cliff listening to the radio and heard a strange song, it was Shun's song befor his death. He somehow got to know that Asuna heard his song and came to find her. This created a unknown bond between them. 2. The main reason I think why Shun died is because he knew life was short. He was afraid to live the life he got and hence judging from the uncertainty of it he decided to go on the surface. And also because of no.1 point. 3. As of what I remembered from reading the manga, that Asuna's father was someone from Agartha and he was Shun's teacher. Hence Asuna belong half to the underworld and thats why she had the sprit to discover it. He also gave Asuna the crystal. 4. Mimi was a yodoriko, creatures who were ment to guide. She was there to help Asuna. Perhaps she was Asuna's father's pet. She was also requested by Shun before he died that he wants it to guide Asuna to a better place. 5. About Arcangles, they might be mithologists or reashers who wated to prove the existence of Agartha, after finding some evidence. But had done it secretly as the government may not allow.

Really good review, subbed! :)

i would give it a 8 or even a 9 because I think the message is not only to never give up and believe in yiur friends but more like that you shouldnt let yourself down on hard times

Makoto Shinkai clearly is not "the next Miyazaki". No one is... but he sure will cushion the blow of Miyazaki's eventual actual retirement or inevitable passing. He captures much of the same charm that is the key ingredient of Miyazaki's films and the most difficult to imitate.

The movie isn't dragged on! I like the length of the movie

I don't agree with he's opinion on the music. I think the music was amazing

Really struggled with this film. It looked great and the music fit wonderfully, but that was where my interest soon ended. The characters were bland and their motivations one dimensional, so for a such a thin narrative, the movie plodded along at a pace far too leisurely for it's own good. The back story of Agatha raised far more questions than the exposition dumps answered, and I was given little reason to relate to or root for any of the leads. By the end I was pretty indifferent to what happened to any of them. The obvious Ghibli inspiration was not a problem. Far from it. The visuals and musical cues were pretty much the only memorable aspects of what was for me a largely forgettable film. This is just my personal opinion, though. Nice review, and I'll check out some more of your videos. :)

where did asuna's father found the stone something?

Idk why but i really like this movie, like it's not ground breaking yet its amazing.

Spoiler but not really.. Just wanted to say that it is very similar to Mononoke and spirited away.. Mononoke the massive god like creature down to the fancy patterns on it etc and spirited away magical land with strange creatures. I love the idea and was surprised when they reveal about agartha. I thought so the moment the Military saw the the bear thing later. But those that are interested if you look up operation highjump.. you'll find very interesting..They kinda touch on it for a brief second when show pics of hitler in this movie

I subbed!

more people should definitely watch your reviews they are really well done!

shinkai should do a series cos stories like this and Silent voice/shape of voice been better if they extended bits. 5cm per second fell flat for me, It was decent but fact that he could have stayed in touch one something about it and I just wasnt feeling the connection with the characters at all

asuna dad it is from agartha, right?? 😌

I just don't understand why would Asuna's father have a stone of whatever it's called? It's either he himself was an Agarthan(which would mean he stole it from them) or he found it somewhere randomly(which doesn't make any sense, cause except for Agartha, there is no other way or place to find that stone. And if Asuna's father was indeed an Agarthan, Asuna would have been welcomed there, but she wasn't. And if her dad really stole the stone, they would have to realize at some point, like "hey she has a stolen stone, she must be his daughter" But no. They just wanted it back, and in the end they didn't get it. And also why would the "teacher" stay in Agartha? Why didn't he leave? And if Shin was bannished, he should have leave too, and go with them... They needed to explain it better, but no.. They made a beautiful movie, with a bad rushed ending...

I think this movie is not finished it deserve a 2nd part but love it

And this is why we should accept death and move on 😔

I honestly disliked this movie, without the beautiful art style no one would like it. I couldn’t get emotional because I knew barely anything about the characters and their personalities. The movie also has TONS of plot holes and the story doesn’t feel complete. Moreover, the story feels rushed and the plot is bland.

Make more video's please! I liked this one, it's really well done.

WTF I just seen this movie and some of the things in this video wasn't shown. Is their like a part 1 and 2 or something?

So if i'm understanding this correctly Shun was a Quetzalcoatl, so would that make Shin a Quetzalcoatl. You know cause of that whole "Hey we're related thing". Then would that thing on the train tracks also be a Quetzalcoatl, and the deer, and Mimi. I'm not trying to be a dick about it i enjoyed the movie and hated that Shin was excommunicated as well as Morisaki having to sacrifice more than just his eye. It's just i wanted more clarification on somethings.

300th sub

I'd say this movie had more elements from Laputa and Princess Mononoke than Spirited away.

I thought it was a series? I looked it up on a website and its in episodes

Shun = Howl Shin = Ashitaka

1:15 you spelled synopsis wrong Lel

I love wet socks.

THIS ANIME MADE ME CRY

And denmark fucked up the titel despite we kept it on english Agatha: The children who chase lost voices from deep below As said. They fucked up.

Still alive?