It is natural to grieve when losing someone. However, it is unhealthy when grief is prolonged, and the only thing that can help us move on from grief is connection.

Directed by Makoto Shinkai, the anime film Suzume was released in 2022. Although it is fairly new, it has already made over $300 million internationally, making it up to the list of the highest-grossing Japanese films made (Top 4 currently, I believe). In 2023 and 2024, Suzume was nominated for awards like Annie Awards, Golden Globes, and Awards of the Japanese Academy. The anime film has won awards like the International Animation Award, Silver Raven, and Award of the Japanese Academy for Best Music Score.

I recommend Suzume, especially to anime beginners, because it has a similar story structure to most of the movies we have seen before – the Hero’s Journey. Furthermore, Suzume shows Japanese Mythology and Folklore in a really enchanting way for those who are interested in other cultures. Similar to this mythology and folklore, the movie is both mythical and majestic, yet grounded.

Although you may think that the film is not good due to preferences or clichés found in the Hero’s Journey, Suzume still surprised me and nearly made me cry even though I could see the patterns of the Hero’s Journey. The coming-of-age anime film mixes both romance and fantasy, yet it mostly fixates on the fantasy element. In my personal opinion, Suzume has a strong beginning and ending with fantastical entertainment and intriguing mystery in between.

Suzume follows the story of Suzume Iwato. One day, the 17-year-old titular character meets an interesting young man who asks for the location of an abandoned place. A little bit later, on her way to her high school, Suzume gets curious about the young man’s intentions, so she decides to go to the abandoned place herself. As she searches for the man, she finds a lone door.

Upon opening the door, she finds an alluring scene of a grassfield under a beautiful starry night sky. She tries to go to the scenery but she passes through the other side of the door, not being able to reach the grassfield. Although perplexed by the weird situation, she decides to leave and go to her high school.

Later in the day, Suzume suddenly sees a gigantic worm forming and ascending to the sky. She realizes the worm is coming from the abandoned place. After she reaches the abandoned place and as soon as she finds the door, Suzume sees the young man from earlier who is trying to close the door where the worm is coming out from. When she sees the young man struggling to close the door, she begins to help him.

However, the worm starts to fall, and when it hits the ground, an earthquake starts. Enduring the earthquake and the worm at the same time, the pair finally close the door. The worm disappears and the earthquake stops. After the incident, Suzume begins her journey with the young man, closing entrances from different abandoned places in order to save Japan from earthquakes caused by gigantic worms. 

Suzume has a very strong beginning, hooking the audience with the first encounter with the worm, which reflects on how Suzume deals with the strong theme of human connection and grief. Besides saving Japan from leviathan worms, the film hints at the beginning that Suzume had a traumatic experience in her past that she has repressed over the years. Along the way in her journey, Suzume has to revisit this traumatic experience of the past and overcome it with the lessons she learned in the present.

Before watching the film, there is one event that you should know about first: on March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake. Specifically, in the Tohoku region, the northeast coast of Honshu – the largest main island of Japan – was where the earthquake hit. After half an hour, a tsunami then hits Honshu. This catastrophe resulted in over 18,000 deaths with thousands injured.

The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami event inspired Suzume as it was referenced in the film and likely inspired the earthquake-causing worms as well. The event made families grieve over the loved ones they lost, yet they all grew stronger from the tragedy. They rebuilt and facilitated strategies to be better prepared for natural disasters in the future. Although this seems like oversimplifying the event, the reason they were able to move past this calamity is through connection.

Japanese authorities quickly moved into action as they conducted search-and-rescue operations and evacuated residents. Japanese civilians also volunteered to help in search-and-rescue operations and relief efforts. Moreover, governments around the world from the United States and South Korea gave aid to the Japanese government by sending relief efforts of their own and personnel to help with search-and-rescue operations.

After watching Suzume, one will learn the importance of connection to surpass past grief and struggles. Throughout the film, the titular character shows kindness to others, allowing her to form meaningful connections that inspires her to heal from past trauma and reconnect with a loved one. 

The film’s strong ending will leave you with an inspiring message: the world can be a frightening and cruel place, making you feel like the darkness will not end; however, the darkness will end because the light will come and you will meet wonderful people who will care for you, love you, and help you carry on. In other words, Suzume offers hope for a bright future ahead for those who dwell on negative thoughts and view the real world as an endless nightmare.

With that said, experience the fantastical and emotional journey that is Suzume in Netflix or in the anime streaming service Crunchyroll. The anime film is two hours long and a fun watch with the family or friends. I hope you enjoy it as I have!