Line #29 Anime/TheGardenOfWords


1	[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garden_of_words.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:349:''We have met, for each of us to walk forward.'']]
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4	Released in May 2013, ''The Garden of Words'' is the fifth film Creator/MakotoShinkai has directed. The film follows Takao Akizuki, a fifteen-year-old student aspiring to be a shoemaker. On rainy days, Takao skips his morning classes and spends his time in Shinjuku Gyoen, a Japanese-style garden. During one of his excursions, he encounters Yukari Yukino, a twenty-seven year old woman. As the two encounter each other more frequently, they gradually open up to one another and confide in one another their problems, finding comfort in the other's presence in spite of their age differences.
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6	''The Garden of Words'' marks a return to the style Shinkai employed in ''Anime/FiveCentimetersPerSecond'', illustrating how factors such as age may contribute to separation and the loneliness that individuals may experience in their lives. The soundtrack is composed by Daisuke Kashiwa.
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8	A manga adaptation written by Shinkai with art by Midori Motohashi was released in 2013, with English release by Vertical in October 2014. A novelisation also by Shinkai was initially released serially in September 2013 to April 2014 in ''Da Vinci'' magazine and published as a whole in April 2014. Its English release by Yen Press was in August 2020.
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10	----
11	!!''The Garden of Words'' provides examples of:
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13	* AccompliceByInaction: Takao's friend Sato, considers the school administration to be ''worse'' than Aizawa for not doing anything to help Yukino.
14	* AdultsAreUseless: The adults present in the film do very little to assist Takao; his mother is an oft-absent ditz prone to chasing romances rather than contributing to household finances, while his brother is well meaning but somewhat condescending, moving out halfway through the film. Despite her age, Yukari does not fit in with the adult world, finding herself unable to solve her own problems, and her coworkers did nothing about the rumors that forced her out of the school.
15	* AirplaneOfLove: Near the end, as Takao thinks about Yukari, an airplane flies over the school rooftop he and his friends are on.
16	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Takao is an all-round NiceGuy who sympathize well with Yukino and even when he becomes aware that she's a literature teacher at his school, he's willing to stand up for her when he confronts [[AlphaBitch Aizawa]] who spread malicious rumors about Yukino so students will bully her and slaps her for her mistreatment and get involved in a fight between himself and her friends.
17	* BittersweetEnding: Despite Takao and Yukari's time together allowing them to inspire one another and provide the other with an emotional outlet, [[spoiler:the two eventually go their separate ways. Yukari moves back to her hometown in a southern part of Japan, and Takao continues to follow his dreams of becoming a shoemaker, resolving to see her again in the future]].
18	* BlatantLies: Yukari states that she's meeting an old woman in the park when one of her former colleagues inquires about what she's doing.
19	* CaughtInTheRain: Takao and Yukari only meet when it rains; after several weeks, the two run into one another underneath a gazebo at the garden, and a storm picks up, prompting the two to return to Yukari's apartment.
20	* ComfortFood: Because she has a taste disorder, Yukari binges on beer and chocolate, the two foodstuffs she can taste. However, after she begins meeting with Takao, her taste gradually returns, and her diet diversifies beyond these items.
21	* CooldownHug: Yukino embraces Takao at the film's climax (the first contact they make in the film), stopping the latter's [[spoiler:TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and tearfully thanks him for helping her learn to walk again in the darkest time of her life]].
22	* CueTheSun: A momentary break in the storm allows sunshine to illuminate Takao and Yukari [[spoiler:after the former finishes venting his frustrations to her outside her apartment. The sunlight falling unto Yukari's face mirrors her finally opening up to Takao]].
23	* EmpathicEnvironment: [[EnvironmentalSymbolism The weather directly mirrors the mood within the story]]. Takao and Yukari spend gently sprinkling mornings peacefully together. When he takes her measurements to make her shoes, the rain is distinctly more scattered as light breaks through. Later, a storm rages on outside as the two come to terms with their emotions, and golden sunbeams are cast upon them after the two [[spoiler:reconcile at the film's climax]].
24	* EvilIsPetty: Aiwaza effectively forced Yukino to leave her job... just because Aizawa's boyfriend said she was hot.
25	* FalseCameraEffects: Raindrops dot the camera in a handful of scenes to enhance the sense of immersion.
26	* FlyawayShot: The camera pans up from the park into the sky before the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue.
27	* HairColorDissonance: Yukari's hair has a slight green tint to it here, but she is shown to have black hair during her appearance in ''Anime/YourName''.
28	* HappyRain: Takao and Yukari enjoy rainy days more than sunny days and only meet when it rains.
29	* HateSink: Unlike earlier films, Aizawa is the first character written by Shinkai to have no redeemable traits and entirely for audiences to loath as she spreads gossip to get most students to bully Yukari just because she was [[DisproportionateRetribution interacting with her boyfriend.]]
30	* InternalHomage: After Takao learns the truth behind [[spoiler: Yukari's identity]] and gets into a fight with some seniors, he is seen disembarking from a train and walking to Shinjuku Gyoen in the same manner that he did at the film's beginning, save a few bandages.
31	* IWillFindYou: Takao resolves to [[spoiler:find Yukari once more after the credits finish rolling]].
32	* KarmaHoudini: Aizawa and her gang of friends manage to escape the repercussions of spreading rumors [[spoiler:about Yukari]], getting away with it because their school regarded its reputation as more important than the well-being of one of their teachers. They go unpunished even after Takao gets into a fight with them, although the real damage had already been done by that point.
33	* LeavingYouToFindMyself: After the events at the film's climax, Yukari and Takao have gone their separate ways and begin pursuing their own dreams and aspirations.
34	* LonelyPianoPiece: Save the ending song, the soundtrack is composed entirely of melancholy piano songs that speak of loneliness.
35	* LoveConfession: [[spoiler:From Takao to Yukari. It proves to be something of a breaking point in their time together as she can't legally or ethically reciprocate, and her indirect rejection makes Takao reconsider his feelings.]]
36	* MaybeEverAfter: The epilogue presents Takao and Yukari's fate ambiguously: despite being on good terms with one another, they are separated. [[spoiler:Even though Takao resolves to see her again after they've matured further, whether or not Takao will go about doing so, and its outcomes, are left to the viewer's imagination. The Light Novel adaption epilogue of the film has a 20 years old Takao meeting up with Yukari at the Shinjyuku Gyoen park where everything started.]]
37	* OppositesAttract: Takao is a wistful teenager who falls in love with the excitement and the mystery in Yukari's maturity, whereas Yukari is a burnt-out adult who is inspired by Takao's childlike passion.
38	* PrecisionFStrike: In the English dub, when Takao confronts Aizawa over what she did to Yukino, her boyfriend punches him out and at one point asks him "What the fuck is your problem?" This is the only F-bomb dropped in the movie.
39	* ProductPlacement: Fila and Ginza Diana, two apparel brands depicted in the anime, are real. Fila is a sportswear manufacturer and Ginza Diana is a shoe company that advises their customers not to wear their shoes in the rain. Few shots with Neutrogena skin creams are present, drawn in great detail - ''and deliberately misspelled'' to avoid this trope.
40	* RaceForYourLove: In the climax Yukari races down the stairwell to catch Takao on his way out.
41	* RealPlaceBackground: The garden where Takao and Yukari meet is [[http://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/shinjuku-gyoen-home-of-the-garden-of-words/ Shinjuku Gyoen]], a park located in the Shinjuku and Shibuya districts of Tokyo.
42	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Takao delivers one to Yukari at the film's climax, citing her [[spoiler:cowardice, incapacity to speak for herself, and how she had taken advantage of a student to assuage her own troubles]].
43	* TheReveal: While initially appearing as a mysterious older woman, Yukari is in fact [[spoiler:a former literature teacher at Takao's school]] who left in psychological shambles due to false rumors about a relationship with a student.
44	* SceneryPorn: In keeping with Creator/MakotoShinkai's style, ''The Garden of Words'' features incredibly vivid and detailed settings, making use of the weather and lighting to [[https://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/revisiting-kotonoha-no-niwa-the-garden-of-words-another-review-and-reflection/ accentuate the gardens, cityscape and even the interior shots]].
45	* ShoutOut: Much like ''Anime/ChildrenWhoChaseLostVoices'', fridge magnets patterned on Chobi from Shinkai's ''Anime/SheAndHerCat'' are briefly shown in Takeo's home.
46	* SlaveToPR: The school principal and administration let Yukino suffer instead of doing something to deal with the rumors, just to preserve the school's reputation.
47	* TheStinger: A scene after the credits shows Takao at the meeting place in the park at winter, leaving a pair of new shoes and a letter for Yukari.
48	* TeacherStudentRomance:
49	** Takao initially sees Yukari as an interesting individual who lives in a more mature and adventurous world than his own. Even after discovering that [[spoiler:she's a teacher at his school]], his feelings do not wane.
50	** Yukari was accused of having a relation with a student prior to the events in movie. The amount of shame and bullying she has to endure for the rumors leads to the depression and melancholy state she is in when the film starts.
51	* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Yukari gives a distant, willful response that she is to be referred to as "Miss Yukino" (sensei in Japanese, a title that invokes superior social rank and being a teacher) following Takao's [[spoiler:declaration of love]] with the intent of reaffirming that there is a professional distance between them.
52	* TimeCompressionMontage: Ten minutes into the film, there is a montage of key shots showing Takao during the rainy season at school, [[HardWorkMontage working on his shoes]], and [[FallingInLoveMontage meeting Yukari at the park]].
53	* UltimateJobSecurity: Takao initially assumes that because of Yukari's capacity to skip work so frequently, her job must be a reasonably secure one. [[spoiler:In fact, she's on paid academic leave pending formal resignation.]]
54	* UmbrellaOfTogetherness: Because Takao only skips school on rainy days, he only spends time with Yukari during downpours; they sit together beneath a tiny shelter in the park, a sanctuary from the rest of world. Takao and Yukari rapidly come to enjoy their time together and begin praying for rain every morning and every night.
55	* WestminsterChimes: The September chapter starts with a scene at school where the Big Ben sound can be heard in the background.
56	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Right before the closing credits Takao details what he did after the summer had ended.
57	* WithFriendsLikeThese: Sōichirō Ito is Yukari's friend and co-worker, but does nothing to help her apart from assisting with her resignation after the damage has been done, something Yukari bitterly lampshades.
58	* WouldHitAGirl: Takao slaps Aizawa after the latter gloats about [[spoiler:getting Yukari kicked out of school.]] Her boyfriend is right there and much larger, so Takao immediately takes a beating.

Context Anime / TheGardenOfWords