Contemplative Weeb Reviews

In the corner of this world

Kono sekai no katasumi de or In this corner of the world is yet another masterfully created anime movie which moves us. While it is not a true story, this movie is historically accurate and shows us the life of the people of Japan during the World War 2. It is set roughly from the 1930's to the 1940's. This corner of the world is not 'slice of life' in my opinion, rather it is 'slices of life'. This movie is very pleasant. The general aesthetic and art style is so pleasant and it complements the slow pace of the movie really well. This movie follows Suzu, through adolescense to about the age of 30. Suzu is an innocent girl from Eba, a small town near the ocean. She loves to draw and it very good at it. Suzu works at her grandmother's nori (Japanese dried seaweed). At 18, Shusaku, a boy from Kure, a large Naval town proposes to Suzu and she is married off and begins to live a home in the corner of the world. Shusaku is a sweet husband to Suzu and is always respectful to her and trusts her which is so heartwarming to see. Their relationship and it's evolution from very awkward and formal to almost like that of best friends is very entertaining to see. Through the movie, we see Suzu and Shusaku working hard enthusiastically. Life seems tough but they seem happy. Then, the war begins and it gets worse and worse. Despite this, people carry on, trying to maintain normalcy in their lives never stopping to question the war. Overall this movies pleasantness is a strong contrast to the actual theme and situation. Characters are having to ration their food and starve because of the war, but no one complains, people are at the risk of being bombed,yet no one complains. This ignorance and innocence of the people is what makes this movie hit you even harder. This movie like countless others does make us question whether war is ever worth it. But what's unique is the calm way in which it does this. There are no 'dramatic scenes' or over the top monologues,just circumstances and their worsening slowly until..... Instead of falling off a cliff, you jump off a cliff for paragliding and then your parachute breaks and you fall slowly, hit your head on a stone and die.