History Anime / ChildrenWhoChaseLostVoices

* CallBack: Earlier on in the film, Morisaki makes an EatTheDog joke about Mimi. [[spoiler:Later on, after Mimi's death, Manna offers the corpse to a Quetzal Coatl, which eats it.]]

* EatTheDog: When Asuna comments that Mimi and Morisaki seem to be getting along better, he comments that they could use Mimi as food and quickly makes a JustJokingJustification afterwards.

* AnAesop: Grief is a universal experience, but we all have to learn to move past it.

Released in May 2011, Creator/MakotoShinkai's ''Children Who Chase Lost Voices'' focuses on Asuna Watase, a cheerful girl who embarks on a journey to say farewell. Contrasting his previous films, it is far more spirited and lively, telling of the implications behind life and death, as well as happiness and despair, and the folly of blind determination. With a running time of nearly two hours, it is the longest of all of his works. The film's original Japanese name is ''Hoshi o Ou Kodomo'' (in English, ''Children Who Chase Stars'') and was previously known as ''Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below''.

** As a Shinkai work, several elements from his previous films make an appearance. Asuna's cat is named Mimi, in keeping with the name of the cats in Makoto Shinkai's earlier works, and Agartha is the name of a planet in ''Anime/VoicesOfADistantStar''.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: A ''Pakicetus'', of all things, appears early on as Asuna and Shin approach Agartha.

* IllGirl: Morisaki's wife was suffering from an unspecified illness and succumbs to it.

* SceneryPorn: Whether it be Agartha or Earth, the scenery is spectacular and gives some of the [[RealLife best sights in the world]] a [[UpToEleven run for its money]]. Of note is [[http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_QeHABiGnC8/TvzKF6BuewI/AAAAAAAAJns/5pANnsbeCVA/s912/L%252520Pictures%252520Infinite%252520Zenith%252520Backup%252520Folder%252520Anime%252520Screenshots%252520Children%252520who%252520chase%252520lost%252520voices%252520from%252520deep%252520below%252520-%252520CWCVFDB-00174.jpg Finis Terra]], the location of the Portal of Life and Death.

* AdultFear: When Asuna's mother hears that [[spoiler:Shun]] has died and he was wearing Asuna's scarf, a parent can imagine the horrific implications she thought might've happened to her only child. The way she rubs Asuna with a towel before hugging her daughter just adds to how much worry she was in.

* {{Jerkass}}: The Amarout guards are racist, UngratefulBastard s who try to kill Asuna and Morisaki out of paranoia.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Shin is hostile, cynical, and self-centered mostly towards Asuna unlike his [[NiceGuy older brother Shin.]] He eventually starts to [[DefrostingIceKing bond with her]] over their course of journey to the Ark of Life.

* AntiVillain: Morisaki can be viewed as one from the audience's perspective as he uses some morally questionable actions to find Agartha, kills the gatekeeper for the hidden world in front of Asuna and Shin, attempts to kill Amaurot's village guards in defense when they come after him and Asuna which isn't necessary, and may come off as an obvious ManipulativeBastard, but Morisaki's selfish goal is strongly sympathetic because he wants to resurrect his deceased wife Lisa after he returned from a war to find her already dead. He even has the heart to form a strong bond with Asuna well and put her first before his life, though this doesn't stop him from [[spoiler: using her as the vessel for his wife's spirit which Shin puts a stop to. That said, after this event, he's regretful of this decision and lets Asuna go home for her happiness and he chooses to remain in Agartha with Shin permanently.]]

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Shin, Shun's twin brother, arrives after [[spoiler:Shun's death]]. Their similarities are such that Asuna initially mistakes him for Shun. Later discussed and deconstructed. Asuna notes that Shin and Shun ''aren't'' perfectly identical: Shin is shorter, younger, and has very slightly different colored hair and eyes. They're brothers, not copies. This helps Asuna [[spoiler: come to terms with the fact that Shun isn't coming back]].

* CultureChopSuey: Agartha is an idea of hollow Earth first popularised by a French occultist, but it uses various Latin terms, Amarout comes from ''Utopia'' by the Englishman Sir Thomas More, and Shakuna Vimana from Hindu myth.

* TheConspiracy: What Arch Angel actually is beyond their ostensible goal of advancing humanity, we never find out in detail, so we do not know whether they qualify for {{Ancient| Conspiracy}} or {{Government| Conspiracy}}. What we do know, though, is that they are secretive, date to World War II at least, have international membership and reach and can deploy armed men and attack helicopters in Japan, something which should be difficult to hide even in an obscure rural area.

* TheConspiracy: What Arch Angel actually is beyond their ostensible goal of advancing humanity, we never find out in detail, but we do know they are secretive, date to World War II at least, have international membership and reach and can spare attack helicopters.

* AntiVillain: Morisaki can be viewed from the audience's perspective as he uses some morally questionable actions to find Agartha; Killing the gatekeeper for the hidden world in front of Asuna and Shin, attempting to kill Amaurot's village guards in defense when they come after him and Asuna which isn't necessary and may come off as an obvious ManipulativeBastard but Morisaki's selfish goal is strongly sympathetic because he wants to resurrect his deceased wife, Lisa after he returned from a war to find her already dead. He even has the heart to form a strong bond with Asuna well and put her first before his life but this doesn't stop him from [[spoiler: using her as the vessel for his wife's spirit which Shin puts a stop to it but even after this event, he's regretful of this decision and lets Asuna go home for her happiness and he chooses to remain in Agartha with Shin permanently.]]

!''Children Who Chase Lost Voices'' provides examples of:

** Perhaps naturally, as Creator/MakotoShinkai is a known fan of Creator/HayaoMiyazaki's ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'', there are a lot of references to the film, including plot, visuals and character designs. Specific examples are Morisaki, a Colonel Muska {{Expy}}, and the Clavis, which directly evokes Sheeta's crystal.

* AltumVidetur: Latin names are fairly common, whether it be locations like ''Finis Terra'' [[note]]"Edge of the world"[[/note]] or items like the ''clavis'' [[note]]"Key"[[/note]].

* AntiVillain: Morisaki can be viewed from the audience's perspective as he uses some morally questionable actions to find Agartha; Killing the gatekeeper for the hidden world in front of Asuna and Shin, attempting to kill Amaurot's village guards in defense when they come after him and Asuna which isn't necessary and may come off as an obvious ManipulativeBastard but Morisaki's selfish goal is strongly sympathetic because he wants to resurrect his deceased wife, Lisa after he returned from a war to find her already dead. He even has the heart to form a strong bond with Asuna well and put her first before his life but this doesn't stop him from [[spoiler: using her as the vessel for his wife's spirit which Shin puts a stop to it but even after this event, he's regretful of this decision and lets Asuna go home for her happiness and he chooses to remain in Agartha with Shin permanently.]]