The Place Promised in Our Early Days

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The Place Promised in Our Early Days

2004

1h 31m

Drama

Anime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

The feature film debut from Makoto Shinkai, the acclaimed director of Weathering With You and Your Name., is a haunting and beautiful story of friendship and loss, with stunning visuals and the emotional approach to science-fiction that would become the director's trademark. In an alternate post-war Japan, three teenagers become obsessed with a mysterious tower across the Union border, which reaches far into the sky. Hiroki and Takuya work on a makeshift airplane, which they promise their friend Sayuri they will use to visit the tower together someday, but she disappears before it is completed. Several years later, the tower suddenly activates, starting a phenomenon that threatens the world. And the young men now discover their long-lost friend Sayuri may hold the key to it all...

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Jeff Shannon

Seattle Times

Jun 17, 2005

3/4

By any standard it's impressive anime; as a feature debut it's a remarkable achievement.

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Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

Jul 12, 2022

3/5

This was the debut film of director Makoto Shinkai, and the high quality of the animation and his strength in using vibrant imagery to convey story comes alive in nearly every scene.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jun 12, 2022

2.5/4

Takes an intriguing idea and puts it through middling paces.

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Gabe Leibowitz

Film and Felt

Jun 28, 2009

62/100

I suspect that in 20 years, film buffs worldwide will be pointing to The Place Promised in Our Early Days as the introductory work from one of cinema's first-rate directors.

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Phil Hall

Film Threat

Jul 20, 2005

4/5

Superior anime offering.

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Bill White

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Jun 17, 2005

B+

Shinkai Makoto, who made the 30-minute 'Voices of a Distant Star' by himself on a laptop computer, has written and directed an anime that favors human emotions over robot battles.

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Logan D

@Greynomad38 Apr 4, 2026

In an alternate reality, following WWII the USSR controls the northern part of Japan and the USA the southern. In the 70s, a ridiculously tall tower appears and three childhood friends promise to journey to see it someday. Shinkai has quickly become a close second to Hayao Miyazaki for producing high quality emotionally engaging animated films. This is his feature film debut. While not as polished as later offerings such as Your Name it's still a work of visual beauty and constructs a strong atmosphere. A story of longing that's vibrant with color and detail.

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Liam D

@Mediawatcher2003 Mar 13, 2026

An beautifully animated romance that is both tragic and engaging with an great story and wonderful voice acting

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Jay W

@RT52162311 Dec 9, 2025

This was Makoto Shinkai's first feature, and already Shinkai's signature style is on display. There are star crossed loves that share a supernatural connection. Combine that with his beautiful animation, and some lovely violin music, and you got yourself a good time. There are other elements that Makoto Shinkai clearly improves over his time as a filmmaker. This movie has a lot of narration, a lot of exposition and can be needlessly confusing. There was a major character change that happens off camera. With a change like that, it should be paramount for the director to communicate why it happened. Any romantic chemistry is hard to believe because most of the time is spent with three of the kids as opposed to any one-on-one time. Likewise, they are middle schoolers, which lessens any romantic vibes that they might have. Oh... and a major part of the story involves the heroes taking a stolen plane and crashing it into a tower. Which...given its release year, is a bit awkward.

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Zip D

@RT14019096 Sep 12, 2025

This was sloooooow moving film. While pretty, it lacks a moving plot or even characters to care about. I couldn't even finish it after 4 tries.

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Holly S

@RT23883946 Mar 5, 2024

eu tbm não lembro desse, mas na época ainda não tinha visto muito animes então não goste muito, hoje aprecio mais os filmes japoneses

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Nov 4, 2021

a good movie with excellent animation for the year of production with an engaging story that makes you create a certain affinity with the characters and the situations they face

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Makoto Shinkai

Director

Chris Patton

Hiroki Fujisawa

Jessica Boone

Sayuri Sawatari

Kalob Martinez

Takuya Sawatari

Illich Guardiola

Ariska

John Swasey

Okabe

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Synopsis

The feature film debut from Makoto Shinkai, the acclaimed director of Weathering With You and Your Name., is a haunting and beautiful story of friendship and loss, with stunning visuals and the emotional approach to science-fiction that would become the director's trademark. In an alternate post-war Japan, three teenagers become obsessed with a mysterious tower across the Union border, which reaches far into the sky. Hiroki and Takuya work on a makeshift airplane, which they promise their friend Sayuri they will use to visit the tower together someday, but she disappears before it is completed. Several years later, the tower suddenly activates, starting a phenomenon that threatens the world. And the young men now discover their long-lost friend Sayuri may hold the key to it all...

Director: Makoto Shinkai
Producer: Makoto Shinkai
Screenwriter: Makoto Shinkai, Steven Foster
Production Co: CoMix Wave
Genre: Drama, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Runtime: 1h 31m

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