Swordfish23 wrote:It has two different names?
Not exactly. The Japanese release had the main title
Kumo no Muko, Yakusoku no Basho, with the subtitle
The Place Promised in Our Early Days.
Kumo no Muko... literally translates to
Beyond the Clouds, The Promised Place, but for the English release, ADV dropped the Japanese main title and used only the subtitle on their release.
As for the film itself, I enjoyed it. I liked Shinkai's previous work (
Hoshi no Koe), and was looking forward to seeing this one. Like
HnK, he has issues with his pacing, but
KnM's pacing is much better than
HnK's. I think on his next trip out, he might have pacing completely worked out.
All of the characters were interesting, some more than others, though I wish I knew more about the world they were in. Maybe reading the prequel manga
Tou no Muko (
Beyond the Tower) would have helped.
The animation, especially the computer-generated parts, is gorgeous, which is welcome, given how weak the cel-based parts were in
HnK.
I agree, the music is quite good as well. Hopefully, we'll be getting this soundtrack in the US soon.
Shinkai definitely has my attention on whatever his next project will be.