Makoto Shinkai's movies have always run on pure, heartfelt emotion, and Garden of Words as the latest addition to his works is no exception.
The storyline is a bit simple and kind of unrealistically clichéd, however the characters actually have personality and are pretty relatable in an odd way. The dialogue works very well conveying the main characters' growing relationship and their emotion. It's a bit open in the end; not in a way that I tore out my hair wanting to see more, it's just a feeling of unfinished-ness present in all of Shinkai's works.
More remarkable however are the art and animation, the latter being flawless, the former detailed, realistic, and beautiful. Garden of Words has absolutely catching music as well, calm yet it adds to the storyline and the emotion. It's probably what primarily causes the heart-tugging relatability of this movie, since the storyline is a bit simple, yet the main characters are oddly relatable, and the emotion is definitely there and gripping (and somehow sad, as all of Shinkai's movies are).
I guess I would have appreciated some more complexity in terms of story, however as all Shinkai movies, Garden of Words seems to strive towards being friendly for all ages (and probably having a piece of wisdom for all ages, though I must admit I didn't really get it yet), and if nothing else, it's beautiful in regards to art, animation, and sound, and the emotion's pretty sure to get across to almost anyone.
9.5/10 from me. (show less)

This movie was beautifully constructed, and I loved everything from the storyline to the animation. Although it seems like a cliche shoujo story the animation and dialogue compensate for that. I love how although the plot is the unnatural relationship between a 15-year-old student and a teacher, this movie definitely strives to be a child-friendly movie. There are no kissing or dramatised scenes; just purely human feelings from which we can all relate to and cry about. I really liked the bittersweet ending but some viewers might find it a bad ending.

~ reviewed by izzymcfrizzy (show less)