Beyond the Clouds -The Place Promised in Our Early Days- | |
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| | Alternate title : Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho
Studio : CoMix Wave, Inc.
Licenced by : ADV Films
Length : 1 Movie
Year : 2004
Genre : Drama - Science-Fiction
Synopsis :
From the works of Makoto Shinkai, the producer of Voices of a Distant Star, he brings us yet another memorable title.
In present-time Japan, a mysterious tower which stretches into the depths of space is the cause of problems in international relationships. Information of this tower is very limited, so most of the knowledge is based on hypothesises. It's said that the tower has a connection with a "parallel universe", and that the inhabitants of the alternate world created the tower for the sole purpose to destroy the earth's inhabitants and everything that exists on it. As tension ensues, war between the nations become more likely.
Enter Hiroki and Takuya, two students and best friends who are building their own plane during the summer vacation. Their goal is to fly that plane to see where the tower ends. As time passes, they meet a new friend, Sayuri. When she finds out about their plan, she gets excited and the trio makes a promise; a promise that would eventually be broken. In 3 short years, everyone went their separate way. Hiroki went off to study in Tokyo, Takuya remained behind to work for a government intelligence agency that focused on the tower, while Sayuri went into a coma.
What happened to the special promise they made 3 years ago? Does Sayuri have any special connection with the tower?
Added : 2005-10-30
Synopsis by : ForeverGoNe
Last update : 2010-06-27
Last update details : Modify info
Score : 8.79
Number of reviews : 24
Link(s) :
Official #1 : CW Films Presents The Place Promised in Our Early Days (Jp)
Official #2 : Makoto Shinkai's Homepage (Jp)
Official #3 : The Place Promised in Our Early Days Site (Jp)
Song(s) :
Ending #1 : Kimi no Koe / Your Voice
Release(s) :
2006-04-29 -- Episode(s) 0 by KickAssAnime. BT Link
2005-05-15 -- Episode(s) 1 by Anime-Kraze. BT Link
2005-03-07 -- Episode(s) 0 by Katana. BT Link
Found 8 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
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Posted by : Terentius 
Posted on : 2008-05-15 
I became intrigued with this work after watching Makoto Shinkai's incredibly moving "Voices of a Distant Star".
Animation
Gorgeous backgrounds with immense attention to detail. I’ve not seen better animated clouds since watching this. The character designs are not the most varied, but the other aspects of the show makes up for it. The animation was perhaps the best aspect of the show.
Story
It had its good moments, interspersed with some very slow interludes. Some scenes almost seemed extraneous and unnecessary to the main story. Fairly useless dialogue was featured between some minor characters that detracted from the overall enjoyment I derived the story. Incredibly moving and emotional, those who crave heart-warming anime would love this.
Characters
For a small cast, the 3 main characters carried the show adeptly. I didn’t care for much for the peripheral characters. Realistic character growth couldn’t normally be observed in a one-off show, but the interactions between Hiroki, Takuya and Sayuri most certainly made up for it. I ended up genuinely caring for the main trio. This short character development was excellently conceived and executed.
Summary
It was quite an experience watching Beyond the Clouds. I hadn’t expected to see something as entertaining (or visually appealing) as this. I don’t think it would be something that would be perceived as a classic, but it wasn’t bad either. It lost out on its 4.5 star rating because of the unnecessary slow scenes and pedantic pacing. Overall, it would be very good rental material but not quite something I would go out and buy.
Posted by : Xristyan
Posted on : 2007-06-17
One look at this anime and you shall be blown away with its superb animation and background art. You could contemplate on it but in the end you will give up and just ogle at it. Too bad the story can't match up with the stunning art, and it seems like the characters are done by a different animator since the level goes way way waaaaaay down...
Animation (9)
Hands down you won’t find any better scenery than what Makoto Shinkai has done with this. The colors, the tone, the details, it's all top notch. I have insufficient vocabulary to describe how good the backdrops and other details of the animation are. What probably brought the rating down by a notch were the character designs, compared with the rest of the animation it was all blah. Yeah, it was that bad that it actually dragged the rating down by a level.
Characters (7)
Some of them were outright boring. Though there were a few decent scenes nothing really caught my attention or made me empathize with the characters much.
Plot (8)
For an OVA with this high caliber animation you would expect a storyline that would match it, but the story they give us fall short to what I was expecting. I guess it's just me but the story was meh. I guess the topic was fairly interesting, but it wasn't all that...
Music (9)
This put up a good front for the show and at least was at par with the level the animation is at. Fairly good but nothing that I would be falling over trying to download and put in my mp3 player.
Overall (8)
Watch this for the animation and background sceneries; it would probably more than make up for the not so good character design.
Posted by : chile25
Posted on : 2007-05-15 
This anime was an absolute marvel in terms of practically everything. The story was weird but it gave off enough to keep yu watching while the excellent animation was a grat sight to see. This movie has to be one of my favorites now after watching it!
10/10 story- The whole story of the movie is about 3 young kids in there middle school days and a giant tower on the other side of the border. Two boys begin to build a ship to travel across the border to go the tower because for some mysterious reason they are drawn to it. While they are building the ship a young girl tags along and is asked to accompany them to the tower as well. Suddenly 3 years have passed and the young girl is in an eternal sleep as her mind or other body is in an alternate universe by herself. We later find that she is connected to the tower. Now her two friends from the past come to save and wake her up. I have barely even touched the surface of what the story is really about but im writing too much.
10/10 animation- The animation in this anime is just amazing. Everything is so detailed and you can tell the creators really worked hard on this. This anime is an absolute marvel when it comes to animation. I haven't seen animation this good in any anime.
Overall this was a great movie and I recommend this movie to anyone that wants to see a really good movie. I absolutely loved this movie and I say that is a must see for any true anime fan.
Posted by : GRC
Posted on : 2006-04-25
Overall - 8.2
Animation - 9.0
Sound - 10.0
Story - 7.0
Character - 8.0
Value - 8.0
Enjoyment - 7.0
True friends are one of the most precious assets in humans' lives. We all know lots of people. We hangout with tons of friends. But among those people, how many of them actually do love you ? How many of them would sincerely care for you and are ready to be there when you need them to lend you a shoulder to cry on ? The Place Promised in Our Early Days is about friendship : the bond which will not break no matter how long time has passed. A touching story about how true friends will go an extra distance to help their beloved ones once they are in need without expecting anything in return.
Animation
Although the scenaries are breathtaking, but character design is the reason I took off one point in this category. Some characters look terribly familiar to one another. In the middle of the movie I was actually quite confused as to who is who. Apart from that, animation of this movie is of exceptional standard for 2004 production.
Sound
I had very low expectation in sound department from Shinkai's works, considering that he is famous for being a "one man show". To my biggest surprise, not only the music of this movie exceeded my expectation, I'd say that it's outstanding. The violin tune which Sayuri played is beautiful, and the same tune is being used as BGM as well as the music in the DVD menu. The ending theme is also very good. Voice acting is simple and natural, but that's why I love it. Those harem anime with unnaturally high cutesy voice acting could learn a lesson or two from this movie =p.
Story
Though undeniably excellent, Kumo no Muko does not come without dull moments. There are many scenes in the middle part of this movie which are insignificant to the story and they are quite boring. The most notable scene is when Maki started babbling about her personal life after she finished explaining about the 'parallel world'. I don't care to know about her life. Why spend so much time on her ? The scene afterwards isn't much better. Hiroki's employer and another dude were having a long conversation and apart from the last few sentences of their talks, the rest are drivel. Though I didn't fall asleep, but I was pretty damn close of doing so. Those scenes should have been left out and this movie might have been even better.
Thankfully, the rest of the movie are quality. Although slow paced, the development of friendship between the three major characters are naturally portrayed and heartwarming. The everyday's lives of Hiroki, Takuya, and Sayuri are precious moments which remained in their memories even three years had passed by. Hiroki's and Takuya's altruistic decision of choosing to save their friend over anything else impressed me. One of the best scenes in this movie is when Takuya asked Hiroki to play the violin and Hiroki played the same piece of music Sayuri played three years ago. I was hit hard with how powerful that nostalgic scene is. Needless to say, I was glued to the screen watching the climactic final ten minutes of this movie. And I wasn't disappointed. Even better, Kumo no Muko has got one of the best endings I have seen in animated movies in some time.
Character
Although there are a few characters whom I couldn't have cared less about, the three major characters are excellent. Though their interactions are simple and understated, the results are surprisingly convincing. There is one scene when Hiroki was walking back to his apartment and said that although he is in a city of thirty million people, he is even more lonely than when he was in a countryside because he does not have any 'true' friend. Though his reaction was absolutely natural, the scene itself is much more powerful than many other 'drama' series. KgNE, Air, and Kanon could learn a lesson or two from this movie =p.
Value
The Place Promised in Our Early Days is well deserved of its 'Best Animated Film of 2004' award and of course, I recommend it. Bear in mind, though, that if you like Shinkai's works because 'every second counts', you should not expect this movie to do the same thing or you will be disappointed. There are some yawn-inducing moments in this, but when it's brilliant, it's damn brilliant. So don't give up at the middle bit. Keep watching and you will be well rewarded. Makoto Shinkai is certainly getting better and better in anime making, but at least for now, I shall remain firm in my opinion that Hayao Miyazaki is still the best filmmaker when it comes to making animated movies.
Posted by : ariq
Posted on : 2006-01-26 
This movie had a very interesting begining, leading from this the movie was excellent, except they should have toned down the drama a little.
Plot to this movie was about a dream,promise, and relationship. Two friends were building an airlplane to fly into this tower someday, this was their dream. Then there was this girl who befreined them and their relationship grew stronger and stronger. Later one of the friends promised the girl that he would take her up to that tower some day when they finish of this plane, unfortunately the two friends parted later, and their project was left incomplete, with that the girl also fell into a strange coma. The plot to this movie brang a lot of hope, and also showed that promises are not meant to be broken, they are supposed to be fulfilled, we see a guy that does so much to fullfill this promise. As you can see that the story line to the movie is excellent.
The animation in this movie was flawless. It was a delicious, that is how i would describe the animation. The snow looked great, probably the best snow effects i have seen, winter never looked this awsome also. The character animations were great, the sun reflection on them was very nice, even the fighter jets that you see later on for a brief period of time looked amazing.
The characters in the movie was good and everything. The only thing i hated was that they kind of looked too young to be put into so much drama. I even kind of thought they were kind of makeing this movie alittle over dramatic and depressing. The good thing about the characters were that they showed a great amount of strength, as i have said before one guy is not about to break his promise, i know that kind of sounds cliche, but this turns out quite well, and also you dont really get that
Posted by : Tevesh
Posted on : 2006-01-03
Beyond the Clouds feels like Wings of Honneamise revisited. They share complex storylines and the flight of man being a metaphor for our plight. Once I entrenched this idea in my mind, Beyond the Clouds wasn't better or worse than Wings of Honneamise but different. Some differences I liked more, others not so much.
Beyond the Clouds is a more refined and novel idea compared to Wings of Honneamise, such as the improved animation that comes with time. There were themes in Wings but I actually felt them in Beyond the Clouds, with nostalgic colouring and emphasis on time passing. Hands down, the story and animation were superior but Wings had something that I felt Beyond the Clouds was missing.
The characters in Beyond the Clouds did important things, but the way they presented the actions made it seem trivial. They did some political maneuvering and had important talks, but the actions of the characters were made to seem unimportant. I didn't like this aspect. In Wings of Honneamise, you saw an attempted assassination and even a war started over the protagonist's decision; the audience was given empirical proof of the importance of his actions.
Beyond the Clouds brushes over the external conflicts between nations but I can't say that this is a wise move. Drama exists between the characters yet the display is minimized, it feels as if drama is created to fill time. Beyond the Clouds wasn't about our actions but our feelings. However, it did not commit itself to any sort of epiphany or lesson so I feel slightly robbed when Beyond the Clouds finished.
Beyond the Clouds is a modern Wings of Honneamise, and honours the legacy of philosophical anime. Beyond the Clouds stays within the mind compared to the physical reactions in Wings of Honneamise, but doesn't dive into the mind like Serial Experiments Lain or Neon Genesis Evangelion. This hesitation is Beyond the Clouds' flaw and does not allow it to surpass Wings of Honneamise. It left me with a strong unidentifiable emotion, and that earns this anime four and a half stars.
Posted by : jsy3k
Posted on : 2005-10-18
Introduction
When I first found out about this series, I wasn't interested until I found out that the creator of this anime is the same one who created Hoshi no Koe: Makoto Shinkai. In the end, I enjoyed the anime after the download and I was completely in awe at how the art and the story came together.
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Storyline: Good!!
The storyline was surprisingly good, but really, it is still too fast for me to fully enjoy the anime. This can be considered the only down point for, but well, I definitely felt satisfied with the ending although some of the things were still left unanswered. Other than that, it is definitely one solid storyline.
Other things that made it confusing were the constant flashbacks and the dream world, away from the reality. Sometimes, it can get a bit confusing, somehow, I was lost whether the scene was a dream or the reality. That is another down point that can trigger some confusion for some audiences.
Graphics and Animation: Awesome!!
For a one-man work, this definitely holds incredible graphics which can outbeat other short OVAs that sometimes have crappy graphics. The 3D CG and the 2D animation are mixed in perfectly in most of the scenes. Jerks may exist in some places, but hardly noticeable for most audiences, and it definitely does not take out the enjoyment in viewing the anime.
Sound: Incredible!!
Another amazing department that does an incredibly good job. Most of the BGM are OK and the theme song, Kimi no Koe (Your Voice) definitely fits in perfectly with the anime. The instrumental used in the song are combination of piano and violins only. Overall, nice sound.
Opinion: Incredibly Positive!!
Definitely one of the anime which you should not miss. It may be only one episode, but it is definitely much better than some animes that sometimes can drag to a lot of episode, but with no real good storyline. I really recommend this anime to all people who loved Hoshi no Koe, and also to all drama lovers.
Rating: 9/10
Posted by : eno_neddih1989
Posted on : 2005-09-01
Well, as a relatively casual anime viewer, this movie blew me away. All this time I was told about the "storytelling aspects" of manga/anime which were incomparable to western movies, but it was after watching this movie that I was sure that anime didn't consist solely of harems, taboos, unbeatable kids, and pretty men.
The movie is like a sci-fi movie without the sci-fi. (hmm.. does that make sense?) It begins as a flashback of a man who remembers his past with his friend and a strange girl he liked, Sawatari Sayuri. With a subtle love triangle developing between the three characters, as well as a shared dream that would never suffice (ooh, romance drama stuff here), "The Place Promised in Our Early Days" would have been a normal drama without the futuristic structure towering over their memories or the entire second half. Perhaps it is because of the greater focus on the characters than the sci-fi aspect of the plot revolving around the mysterious tower that I thought that the movie was really lacking in answering all the questions and ended too abruptly. I also thought that the movie, which I heard took a long time to make, took a strange turn at the end- with the setup at the beginning, where the guy has a moving flashback about the girl, as well as the voiceovers throughout the movie which led towards an "unaccomplished dream", the ending with (spoiler alert ahead-) Sayuri waking up with only minor amnesia (not death, to be honest with you, as I expected) and ending up with the guy seems like a abrupt drift towards Sappy-Ending Land. Didn't the beginning of the movie seem like the guy was remembering the girl as a fragment of his childhood memories instead of a past version of his present wife?
Meh. The greatest setup in a anime movie I've seen so far, and the ending was a bit strange.
Everything else about the movie, however, is good. While tilting towards the stereotypical side, I thought that the characters were well developed and that I could relate to them pretty well. The movie portrays a struggle between childhood idealism and adult "reality" which I thought was done well. The animation, with its great attention to small details, was the best I
Posted by : forevergone
Posted on : 2005-09-01
It
Posted by : Ajikan
Posted on : 2005-07-14
This anime really moved me.
I had to calm down before writing this, my tears just stopped.
Its been a long time since I have seen such a good anime. This is one of the few animes that has caused me such big emotions, there aren't many of them.
The first thing that hit me was the artwork, I dont want to call it graphics, few animes have this quality. I could not find one single thing wrong with any scene, every background was like a painting, and the characters were beautifully made.
What I liked the most was the feeling/mood.
The story was really good, it didn't cover much background on the tower, nor did it cover much story outside the main characters, but they gave hints to a lot of different things.
The sound accompanied the animation well, and fitted in with the mood.
I give this the highest grade. It is a masterpiece because the artwork is flawless and the characters are very lovable.
As a side note, I find it ok for guys to cry, because I did, and I'm sure a lot of people did, not from sorrow but from joy over seeing such a good anime.
Posted by : glidedream
Posted on : 2005-06-18
This movie is not as good as Makoto Shinkai's other work, but it's still a pretty good anime.
The background story allows the director to get the whole war is painful mindset, and it's pretty easy to root for the main character to get the girl in the end. The supporting cast is pretty understated, but does a good job in the few scenes they are in. Some of the better parts of this movie are in the flashbacks to the childhood of the three. These scenes do a good job making the viewer sympathize with the characters, and the scenes are easy to relate to. The girl character is pretty powerful in the scenes where she is calling out for the main character, even though it's not original. The sci-fi element makes the movie a little hard to get a grip on in the later parts. It's easy to get lost in the terminology being used, but I admit that it probably adds to the sense of wonder felt by the audience. The voice acting is very solid and the animation is high quality as Shinkai's work always is. Unfortunately, the music isn't really memorable.
I think the biggest complaint I have is that halfway through the entire story telling method changed and it seemed like I was watching a different anime. Other than that, it has a pretty moving story and likeable characters.
Watch it, but don't expect Hoshi no Koe quality.
Posted by : ibarbar
Posted on : 2005-05-01
Makoto Shinkai is an artist, Beyond the Clouds beeing a succesion of beautifully painted stills. Every image is perfect graphically speaking, the colors and the composition are spot on, you can't criticise anything about them, you just watch in awe.
Real beauty and art.
Posted by : winglez_drifter
Posted on : 2005-04-27
I really liked this movie. As many has mentioned, the story is on weaker side. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story, but the unfolding of it could've been better in my opinion. However, I think the mood the anime was set around made it for the better. Thus, in the end, how the story unfolded and and the mood at which it unfolded combined made the movie very enjoyable. But I love the ideas presented in the movie. They are very scientific and philosophical. Too bad they weren't further explored. But all in all, I thought it was very well worth watching.
Posted by : mrhappyface
Posted on : 2005-03-31
I'll be fair on this one.
The story isn't too clear... It may seem straight forward that two, yes two, dreams are being fulfilled. One, Hiroki, the "main" character ( I figure ), being able to fly to the mysterious tower with his childhood love, Sayuri. Two, being the longing for the destruction of the tower, for it seems threatening. However, I can't figure out any meaning or purpose of the story. Perhaps the theme of the story is that love is without boundaries. It's just not clear.
The animation, however, is really beautiful. The detail put into it is riveting. I can't complain. I really can
Posted by : Himitsu
Posted on : 2005-03-25
I'm sorry, what did I just watch?
Beyond the clouds clearly brought the same type of emotions as Saikano. There was the silent suspense, the "war" story, and the love~. The same form of questions arised as well, the main question: "why?". This movie is not light-hearted, nor would it be labelled as horror. It's pure suspense, it'll get you thinking. This trait definitely shows in the use of colours and the character designs.
The art is the best point to Beyond the Clouds. There is exquisite detail in the most insignificant things (I'm not saying this as a complaint). At times I saw things like the faded reflection at the window, or the lights passing when taking the subway, or even the blurriness of the outdoors - indicating that it is humid. The characters look about average, especially their hairstyle and the shadings. But look harder and they seem very attractive, especially with the helpful nudge from the creative writers. Which brings me to the next point.
I liked how there were a small number of characters, with something so short, you don't really get to look into every character deeply (if there were alot of characters). But Beyond the Clouds did a wonderful job with each character's behaviour, expression, and actions.
The music brings the softest touch. The ending song and string instruments are beautiful. It presents this anime as refreshing and soothing, even when there's much more with deeper analysis. Although concepts such as the "Parallel Universe" and Sayuri's dream were not explained further (well, enough for me to understand), at least it allowed me to form my own thoughts on reality. In my opinion, I thought of the mysterious tower as something like a metaphor concerning the irrational behavior of war etc...
The story, quite confusing. There are many leaps of time, flashbacks, and "dreams". Actually, sometimes I didn't even know which were dreams and which were the reality. The good points of Beyond the Clouds is the art, animation, and characters, but the story didn't interest me much.
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