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The Place Promised in Our Early Days

The Place Promised in Our Early Days

Animation · Adventure · Drama · 2004

In a post-war alternative timeline, Japan is divided into the North, controlled by the Union, and the South, controlled by the United States. A mysterious high tower rises within the borders of the Union. Three high school students promise to cross the border with a self-built airplane and unravel the secret of the tower.

Movie details

The Place Promised in Our Early Days

“Against all odds, a promise will be kept.”

2004 Animation · Adventure · Drama 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

In a post-war alternative timeline, Japan is divided into the North, controlled by the Union, and the South, controlled by the United States. A mysterious high tower rises within the borders of the Union. Three high school students promise to cross the border with a self-built airplane and unravel the secret of the tower.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Place Promised in Our Early Days?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Makoto Shinkai

Written by

Makoto Shinkai

Hidetaka Yoshioka

Hidetaka Yoshioka

Hiroki Fujisawa (voice)

Masato Hagiwara

Masato Hagiwara

Takuya Shirakawa (voice)

Yuuka Nanri

Yuuka Nanri

Sayuri Sawatari (voice)

Unsho Ishizuka

Unsho Ishizuka

Okabe (voice)

Kazuhiko Inoue

Kazuhiko Inoue

Tomizawa (voice)

Risa Mizuno

Risa Mizuno

Maki Kasahara (voice)

Hidenobu Kiuchi

Hidenobu Kiuchi

Arisaka (voice)

Court is in session

Put The Place Promised in Our Early Days on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.