Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
In a post-war alternative timeline, Japan is divided into the North, controlled by the Union, and the South, controlled by the United States. A mysterious high tower rises within the borders of the Union. Three high school students promise to cross the border with a self-built airplane and unravel the secret of the tower.
Makoto Shinkai's second feature is visually stunning — vast skies, meticulous background art, and melancholic light that already marks his unmistakable aesthetic signature, earning a high Cinematography score. The alternate-history premise blending adolescent longing with quantum-physics mystery is genuinely distinctive and singular in anime, justifying strong Novelty. However, the narrative buckles under its own ambition: the sci-fi mechanics are murky and the emotional threads feel undernourished for the runtime, pulling Plot to average. Voice performances are earnest but not exceptional. The ending is the film's weakest point — it resolves the fantastical plot elements in a way that feels abrupt and emotionally unsatisfying, leaving the central promise and relationships feeling incompletely realized.