#Takao x Yukino

[rhetorical-ink]

Rhetorical Ink Reviews: Garden of Words (2013)

 ** SPOILERS BELOW**

I saw this on Netflix last night, and, seeing it was only 45 minutes, thought it would be a nice little short film to round out my evening. 

Holy cow, wow. I am still reeling from this. 

My Top Ten Thoughts on Garden of Words:

10. If you couldn’t tell by the various gifs in this review, the animation is a smorgasbord of AMAZING, jaw-dropping combination of CGI and hand drawn animation. It’s an eye-gasm of beauty from the first frame until the end, and should be viewed just based on that alone. Luckily, that’s not all this film brings to the table. 

9. We follow our protagonist Takao, a very relatable high school student who has a habit of skipping classes on days it rains to go to a garden in his hometown to practice his shoe sketches (he wants to be a shoemaker after graduating). It’s here that he stumbles upon a mysterious woman who comes to the same spots on days it rains as well. 

Takao is instantly a likable character, with his innocent kindness, passion for his shoe-making, and his naivety is something any adult can relate to at that age. 

8. The mysterious woman is at first a very unknown force for Takao -- she seems to only have beer and chocolate with her, which strikes him as odd, but she also seems harmless and actually very kind. He claims he’s recognized her somewhere, an important item to note for later on, though she denies knowing who he is at all. 

Over the course of one month, June (which is Kanto’s rain season), the two slowly start to connect with one another and end up meeting on several occasions at the same spot on any day it rains. For us the audience, there slowly seems to be a point become clear with our protagonist...

7. It becomes painfully obvious from early on in the movie that Takao likes this mysterious woman, as he, in a beautifully done series of silent scenes, starts to sit closer and closer to her; as well as share meals and start to engage in conversation with her. 

I love how he describes her as a representation of the adult world, which he believes he has an understanding of...but doesn’t. At first, I was all for their relationship developing...and then when he says he’s only 15, my heart instantly started to sink, thinking, “Oh....oh no, this is just a boy.” 

It was only compounded when we find out that the woman is 27...there’s quite a gap there. Although, I LOVE her line, “I don’t feel any smarter at 27 than when I was 15.” That line. I think it’s so true for many of us...maybe not smarter, per say, but the maturity and understanding of our world definitely shifts in that time span of 15 to 27. The realization of this gap between them definitely shifted the tone of the film, which only gets more complex as it goes.

6. I love the duality of adolescence and adulthood represented in this movie, in such subtle, simple ways.

 Takao’s home life seems complex, in that his mother has moved out to live with her boyfriend, the father is absent from the family “picture,” and Takao’s older brother is moving into a new apartment with his girlfriend, leaving Takao alone with his own place. Which to me, seems like such an odd move, given this IS a 15-year-old boy we’re talking about, but Takao also seems so mature, focused, and driven for his age, that it’s easy to let this slide.

Take that in contrast to our mysterious woman, who seems on the surface to have it all put together, but we find out she’s about to be let go from her job, is struggling to “taste” things (she states she can only taste alcohol and chocolate before meeting Takao -- which is why she consumes only that in the beginning of the film), and seems to be hitting an empty snag in her adult life.

As we see a montage of Takao being inspired by the woman to pursue his goal in making a set of women’s shoes and seeming so motivated and determined, we get the heart-wrenching contrast of the mystery woman having a conversation with her former boyfriend. He seems to still be considerate of her, offering her encouragement...and then we get the reveal that she’s lied to him and told him she’s been meeting up with another “woman” for lunch, and that “woman” has been helping her through her current crisis. 

It’s a beautiful tragic duality between Takao -- who is steering forward towards his future post-high school with such optimism and drive, despite the seeming complexities going on in his personal life -- with this woman, who despite appearing to have it put together on the surface, is struggling to cope with the complexities of the adult world and her own personal life.

5. One of my favorite details about this movie is Takao’s doodles of feet and shoes. I could seriously re-watch this film to see the meta animation of characters...drawing characters. It’s so gorgeous and I love that there’s this underlying sexual theme with how feet are used in this movie. At one point, the woman tries to sneak a peek at his drawings, which he’s embarrassed for and urges her not to look. He also begins to have her model her feet for him to get as a reference for the shoes. 

It’s these little moments that further hint his attraction to her, which we as the audience knows isn’t going to end well down the road...and spirals to a head, when...

4. The moment those two see each other at the high school, I gasped. It comes out of nowhere, and hits you HARD. 

We learn from Takao’s classmates that the mystery woman, Ms. Yukino -- finally given a name -- is a literature instructor at the high school, just one Takao hasn’t had yet. Apparently, some girls in one of the classes spread rumors that Ms. Yukino was sexually harassing a male student -- which Takao’s classmate denies actually happened -- and several parents complaining has cost her position at the school.

Having personally known an actual teacher go through this same scenario, the revelation Takao gets hits home. You can’t help but feel so sorry for Yukino, especially when her students meet her outside the school for a final farewell, several of them crying. And it makes the next scene, when Takao confronts the girl who spread the rumors, all the more satisfying -- but also gut-wrenching -- as Takao gets beaten up by the students supporting the girl. 

And just when you think it’s the climax of the film...it’s not.

3. Takao finds Yukino at their garden spot, and after they get caught in a gale, he goes to her apartment for them both to dry off. Despite how painful it was to see Takao get beat up, to see Yukino fired from her job when she was seemingly innocent...

... THIS SCENE is what hurt the most.

To see Takao and Yukino so happy together, sharing in each other’s company, and seeming to have a relationship with one another that most characters and ourselves only dream of...to also have the heart-shattering realization as the scene continues that....this can’t work. He’s 15 and she’s 27...there is too large of a gap right now in their age and maturity and it just can’t work as it stands now.

So, when that moment comes, when Takao confesses that he might be in love with her, and Yukino is forced to reject him...it is SO painful. Because you can see how happy they make each other...it’s just not socially or realistically feasible for either of them...or, at least that’s what we’re led to believe.

2. Because Yukino, as Takao leaves her, makes the conscious decision to chase after him. To confront him about her own demons, how he helped her “walk again” after such a critical juncture in her life, and that he does matter to her, despite the obvious hurdles placed in front of them and she doesn’t want him completely out of her life.

Takao’s retaliation is so heart-wrenching and beautiful, and her response is equally so -- these two characters laying everything about themselves to bare. It’s an amazing climax and scene in this movie, and one that I was just staring at agape the entire time -- wanting the best for these two characters, but knowing how delicate and hard their situation was. It makes the next moment all that much more rewarding...

The shot of these two, both in the rain and the sunlight, is probably my favorite in the whole film. I love it because it’s an old wives tale where I’m from that if it rains in the sunlight, that means it’s going to rain again the same time the next day. I love that detail, because it makes me think that their story isn’t over...they’re not going to just abandon each other, even if they can’t do anything about their relationship further right now.

1. I was sad during the credits, because I thought the film would just end there, and I wasn’t ready for it to be over. But please, stick around to after the credits. 

There is one more scene, that shows that Takao is still working towards his goals to be a shoemaker. He still keeps in contact through letters and communication with Yukino, who has moved and re-started her career as a teacher, and that, one day down the road, he knows he’s going to see her again in person. And give her the shoes he’s made for her. 

And it’s that hope, that knowledge that he’s still going to maintain that friendship, that potential relationship, that did make me feel a lot better about the ending moving forward. 

Seriously, see this short film.

 I am so glad I did, and I’ll probably be going back to watch it in the dub version, just to have an excuse to get transported by it again. 

[reallysaltykou]

Relationship

Yukari Yukino and Takao Akizuki (The Garden of Words)

[suckerforsunshinecharacters]

Haven't been watching any anime recently (haven't been in mood really lol) BUT i did get to watch an anime film that's been on my to-watch list for so long. Specifically,

✨ The Garden of Words ✨

or (Kotonoha no niwa)

Here is my honest review (which NOBODY asked for, but I still want to share because why not)

Initial thoughts

seemed interesting - honestly this was based on just seeing the poster online (so pretty) & all the hype it has on anitwt

Pretty short - It's only 45 MINUTES?? This has got to be the shortest anime movie I've watched

Final thoughts

Story-wise - its pretty easy to follow along, its simple enough. There was some conflict, but not really enough to have a "satisfying" denouement. But its okay I guess, for a 45-minute film . I'll delve deeper into this on the character arcs. The characters - there were about 3 main characters: Takao Akizuki, Yukari Yukino, and Shoko Aizawa. In general, their character storyline weren't really that fleshed out, again it is due to the short time of the whole film, so I guess they chose to place only the details important to the overall plot.

Okay, I'll start with Aizawa (because she's literally almost a side character here but obviously we had to put a "leader of the bullies" for the main character to have someone to confront). As the sort-of antagonist in the story, her character was the typical bully - bitchy to one of the main characters (Yukino), popular (?) and didn't know the other main character that came to defend the mc's honor (Takao - but why would she anyway? lol). BUT can I just say, slapping someone you DIDN'T EVEN KNOW prior a few HOURS AGO is rude.

Now, onto one of our main characters - Yukino aka the "mysterious woman" Takao knows nothing about but likes hanging out with on rainy days. Her character development was rushed, I'd like to say. We see glimpses of why she's always at the park drinking beer & eating chocolate - her apartment being messy could be an indication of how she feels the state of her life is currently. Although, the call to this man (maybe ex-boyfriend??) hints that she's been off from work for a while now. I think she was fascinated at first by how long Takao would take to recognize her as the teacher with an "issue" with some students at his school, but then Takao became a consistent presence which she needed at a time when she was lonely and sad which is why she kept going back to the Garden (the park was referred to like this) during rainy days. However, I also think it's quite unethical of her to develop feelings for a STUDENT - an underage one - mind you, even if she isn't necessarily Takao's teacher. Props to her for actually saying no to him at first tho.

Takao aka the main character of the whole thing - his character arc was alright, a high school boy that has a dream of being a shoemaker, skips classes on rainy days to draw. He's relatable on the fact that he's almost always lost in his own world. But to the point he misses a WHOLE SCHOOL ISSUE between a teacher and students from a year above is freaking hilarious 💀 LMAO. Anyways, his family situation was pretty interesting too, the fact that it was just him and his brother (who eventually moved out with this gf) and their mother (who was divorced (?) with their father and had a bf she was always with) is telling why Takao seems to be lost in his world half of the time. Takao being left alone most of the time explains why it makes sense how he would draw close to Yukino as they continued to spend the rainy days at the Garden - she was the one person who was consistently present in his life and paid attention to him. Overall, I think he was just looking for a companion, even if he didn't know it, and he found it in Yukino. Although this student x teacher relations deserves a new paragraph lol.

The Student x Teacher Relations??

OKAY, at first the movie was pretty cute - two people who need someone because they obviously have no one that checks up on them enough. Then as the movie progressed and Takao and Yukino grew closer, it was expected honestly. What I did not expect however is that Yukino was a teacher at Yukino's school, like what are the odds that this person you've been seeking out during rainy days and somehow want a friendship or any relations is an adult that works in your school? It was quite a shock for me. BUT Takao being unaware of who she is because he's lost in his head most of the time is still hilarious to me.

Anyways, when Takao found out that Yukino was a teacher at the school, I do feel like he should have stopped whatever was happening between them. Especially when they went to HER APARTMENT?? Then Takao confessed after hearing how Yukino was moving, was a NO for me. And when Yukino actually followed him when he ran away distraught was again, unethical. I am not quite sure if they did get into a relationship at the end of the movie, because I was confused with Takao graduating? Honestly, that whole sequence confused me. So I might research about that more and edit this post when I get around to do it lol.

Let's talk about the VISUALS...

It was honestly good considering the year it was made (2013). Loved the details of the animation, like the raindrops and some closeup of the flora/nature.

Alsoo, I'd also like to add that the movie is apprently based on a manga of the same title, Kotonoha no niwa (2013). I don't know if the manga is any different, and I might check it out to see if there are notable differences to it.

Overall, I think the movie was alright, considering its duration. The story was meh (in my personal opinion) but the visuals of the film made up for it.

[aineji]

Kotonoha no Niwa「AMV」Takao x Yukino