Anime Review: Beyond The Clouds (Movie)

I am conflicted whether to recommend this anime to my fellow readers or not. Personally, I extremely enjoyed the movie. Created by Shinkai Makoto of the revered Hoshi no Koe, I was extremely impressed by the artwork, attention to detail, relatable characters and overall ambiance to the scenes. Set in an alternate-world Earth, the story is about three school friends who spends one Summer together fixing a military flyer. There is a slight sci-fi element to the plot but what takes centre stage in the story are the three teenagers and their friendship, as they strive to fly to a mysterious tower.

In this anime, particular attention to detail is put in the lighting of the scenes and ambiance. The artwork on the sky landscapes are breathtaking, probably the best in any anime to date. Those familiar with Shinkai Makoto's previous masterpiece, Hoshi no Koe, will most probably enjoy Beyond the Clouds as the anime has a similar feel, yet much improved in terms of animation, sound, characters and length (Hoshi no Koe was only around 30 minutes, this movie is 90 minutes long).

Where I think the movie may not appeal to the masses is probably the pacing. To most people the pacing of the movie may seem slightly slow deliberate. Personally, I enjoy the movie as it is, and I appreciate it that the pacing helps the creator's desire to convey the nostalgic sense of childhood friendship.

Anime lovers would love this movie for the nostalgia and beauty, but the pacing may not be for everyone. This movie does not succeed Hoshi no Koe in terms of impact. But if like me, you're a fan of Shinkai Makoto consider this movie a 4/5, recommended.

Note: it may seem at this point that most Anime I post on this blog gets a "recommended" review. I do watch other animes of less quality, I just feel it's a waste of time writing reviews about animes I don't enjoy. An example of an anime I didn't like would be DeaRs. I would give that a 2/5 - avoid!