You've gotta love Shinkai and his obsession with establishing shots. If "Your Name" was any indication that he lacks the skill of directing meaningful imagery, then "Garden of Words" is a full on confession that he absolutely has no idea what he's doing. His writing in Your Name was completely absurd and out of touch, but here it's just non-existent.

There's a lingering feeling of chronic loneliness that follows our two main characters. The rain itself symbolizes loneliness. The irony of the film is that these characters only seem to find each other's company during the rain. The problem arises when the film has no idea how to develop these ideas on screen. Even if this is an understated, character-driven narrative, there always has to be some sort of conclusion or a culmination of sorts. The closest thing to a climax is that the guy makes her a shoe in the end, which he doesn't even give her.

This is Shinkai at his most amateur and aimless. The final scene is supposedly an emotionally charged one, but the lack of any proper build-up, the sappy nature of Shinkai's writing, and the sudden melancholic soundtrack just make it one of the most unintentionally funny/annoying scenes I've seen in an anime. ("you saved me" ugh just kill me please). The girl (I can never remember any of Shinkai's characters) never has a proper arc and neither does the guy. We're just left at the end with a brief understanding of their situations. The girl has moved back to her home town and is teaching again, and the guy is still trying to make shoes. We end up exactly where we started. There's no progression at all. There is a hint that the guy will try and meet her again once he learns to walk, but what's stopping Shinkai from actually showing emotional growth rather than implying it? This is such a poor excuse for the "audience creates their own meaning" situation.

The only reason why I would consider this above Your Name is because it's short and isn't as much of a torture to sit through. There's also the questionable morality that Shinkai depicts in a 27 year old teacher and a 15 year old boy falling in love with each other. Of course, you could argue that they don't sleep together, so it isn't as bad, but still, what's the idea behind including this? If the main idea is about these characters finding each other and giving comfort during their low times, why include romantic elements? If he wanted to show how love comes unexpectedly and in different shapes, sometimes outside of societal norms, why not pursue it further instead of giving it a half-baked conclusion?

The visuals are stunning. There are so many random shots of rain, skyscrapers piercing the skies, trees and lakes greener than green, people cutting up vegetables, and SO MUCH GREEN. Every shot is either of Tokyo drenched in rain or a 4K resolution shot of someone's feet. The visuals quite literally overshadow the characters, which only take up about 30% of the screen time. Aside from the animation, what Shinkai manages to capture so well are the little details of living alone. When you're up past midnight studying and the only company you have is the table lamp. For food, preparing cheap meals like ramen or rice is the go-to. Commuting the distance by train and noticing how someone distinctly smells. It's these moments where Shinkai shines. Not the overt, mawkish romance. He has a perceptive understanding of how normal people live from day to day, especially those in isolation. His worlds are a mimicry of reality, but obviously heightened. Unfortunately, inanimate objects feel more real and believable than actual characters in Shinkai's works.

Too bad nothing actually means anything in this 45-minute trailer of a film.