Netflix has become one of the streaming platforms that takes the best care of anime. Still behind Crunchyroll, but far above other VOD services such as HBO Max or Apple TV+, Netflix has managed to make its catalog a delight for fans of Japanese animation.
Only on Netflix can you find Studio Ghibli movies, classics like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and original series like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Now, the platform has just released one of the best —and most sad and exciting, I warn you— anime movies of recent years: Suzume.
Opening and closing the doors of destruction
Released in 2022, Suzume is the latest film by Makoto Shinkai, the director behind the incredible Your Name and the not insignificant films Weathering with You, 5 Centimeters per Second, and The Garden of Words. With his characteristic exquisite style, which combines the emotion of the scene with the narrative of very complex characters, Suzume is practically the culmination of a career that continues to grow in Japan.
In Suzume, we step into the shoes of the eponymous protagonist, a 17-year-old girl who goes through a journey of maturity throughout the film. The story is set in various places in Japan affected by different natural disasters, which Suzume must close through doors that are causing this destruction.
Suzume‘s journey begins in the quiet town of Kyushu, where she meets a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single worn-out door that stands amidst the ruins, as if protected from any catastrophe. Drawn to its power, Suzume approaches the doorknob… and that’s where the story begins. Doors start opening one after another throughout Japan, unleashing destruction upon anyone nearby. Suzume’s mission will be to close these portals to prevent further disasters.
