At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Apart from the impressive artwork and craftsmanship, this movie is totally disappointing. The young girl is a superficial character that only appeals to the watcher by deploying her puppy-eyed look and her legs as thin and crooked as those of a just born deer. She's the victim of some vague power, that brings her in a deep sleep in which she dreams about a parallel world. Completely paralyzed (because of this sleep), she has no other role but symbolizing weakness that needs to be rescued by men.Of course, other movies use a cliché like this as well, but it never struck me as a bad thing as much as this time. I was distracted by it so much that I could hardly follow the plot. Or was it because the story itself was also not worth being told? Most likely.

Makoto can do no wrong, everything he touches turns to gold. i put him right up there with Miyazaki but with a certain sadness which touches you. you feel that lonely and sad feeling with everyone of his films, and trust me, evoking that type of emotion from viewers every time takes a genius to accomplish.that is one of the reasons i watch his films and i've watched all of them including his latest(garden of words). watching his films is like enjoying good poetry, it just flows. his artwork is breathe-taking and i will never get bored of that. i love the way he colors his films, evoking emotions and feelings of sadness and loneliness . i couldn't care if the story sucks or not, because even if the story is not that good the animation is always top-notch. but that doesn't really apply because in every one of his films the storyline was also very strong.the story is about 3 junior high school friends, 2 boys and a girl in an alternate postwar Japan and their continuing relationship into their early twenties. they split up right after junior high and never go to the place promised in their early days and then the subsequent fight to keep that promise at the end. this is a sci-fi, romance and drama movie, although the sci-fi part gets a little convoluted even though the ideas are very good. just like all his other films you can't help getting a lump in your throat while watching the movie.i recommend this movie to everybody that is above the age of 12 because any younger and they won't be able to grasp the content of the whole movie...hey, they can always just watch the beautiful artwork in that case.

In the beginning I was really put off and annoyed because I suck at dealing with technology, and the whole middle of the movie is just about the technology of building the airplane, I was annoyed. then i read people's comments on the movie and how amazing it was, and i forced myself to watch the rest of it, and it was flawless in the end, so it made up for it, i give it a 10/10! i was so beautiful and their love was so pure. not like these other movies where they claim to be in love, but there is no proof. They truly were. It was kind of confusing at some points, like about the connection to the tower, but it turned out to be worth it. =]watch it! it's a must see anime!

I was most impressed when I watched Makoto Shinkai's Voices of a Distant Star, which came in a boxed set with this, but wasn't sure if he'd be able to make a film three times the length which looked as good. I need not have worried as The Place Promised in our Early Days looks as good as, if not better, than his previous work.The story is set in 1990s of an alternate world where Japan was left divided after the Second World War, the south occupied by the United States and the north, known as The Union is presumably occupied by the Soviet Union although that is never explicitly stated. The main characters are two school boys; Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa and a schoolgirl Sayuri Sawatari. The boys spend their free time repairing an aircraft which they plan to fly over the border to the northern islands to investigate a huge tower which is so high it seems to have no top and on a clear day can be seen from Tokyo. When Sayuri mysteriously disappears at the end of the Summer the boys lose interest in finishing the plane.The action then jumps forward three years and we find Takuya is working as a scientist helping to research into the tower and its connections to parallel universes. We also learn that Sayuri is in a coma and her dreams are somehow connected to the strange tower which was built by her grandfather who was trapped on the other side of the border at partition. It is feared that if she awakens the effects on the tower cause the parallel universes to devastate their world. Takuya has an idea which will both allow her to wake up and protect his world, although I won't spoil the ending by giving it away here.As said before the animation is stunning and most of the acting sounded good too although a couple of English speaking characters sounded rather hammy but as they only had a few lines it didn't damage the film for me. I'd certainly recommend this film to anybody who likes anime, especially anybody who enjoyed his previous film.