Suzume
Crunchyroll | Release Date: April 14, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
97
PolygonPetrana RadulovicApr 21, 2023
Because the romance takes a back seat in favor of the main character’s growth, with the primary climax focused inward, Suzume ends up with a particularly unique and beautiful romantic arc. Read full review
91
IndieWireSteph GreenFeb 23, 2023
It is a spiritual journey through the very fabric of a land, anatomizing how we navigate nostalgia for home and grief for lost loved ones when both have been long-destroyed by the senseless strike of an invisible force. Read full review
90
Film ThreatJosiah TealApr 26, 2023
Thematically and artistically, Suzume is a gem. I was in awe of its animation and often found myself on both watches just looking at the vast backgrounds of each scene or relishing in the story’s emotional beats. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreApr 17, 2023
Suzume may be a less effective romance than something like Your Name — it’s tough when half of your main pairing is a piece of furniture — but that’s because its real love story is with the stuff of everyday life, making it almost unbearably inviting and worth fighting for. Read full review
90
IGNKenneth Seward Jr.Apr 11, 2023
Suzume is a captivating film that depicts the grieving process in a creative and thoughtful manner. It features a strong cast, a moving score, and some truly amazing animation. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinFeb 23, 2023
Shinkai never skimps on the human level. Suzume, who at first seems like just another standard-issue anime ingenue, grows and becomes more interesting throughout. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenMay 5, 2023
Shinkai’s recent films have all been wildly ambitious in terms of their imagination and scope; Suzume might be the most impressive in terms of connecting that to a powerful emotional core. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithApr 17, 2023
In Suzume, though, Shinkai goes full Ghibli, peppering his story of a teenage girl (voiced by Nanoka Hara) on a mission with oddball elements that would feel off-puttingly bizarre were they not incorporated so seamlessly within its epic grand design. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeApr 14, 2023
The jokes are funny and weird. At its heart, there is a story worth caring about. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangApr 13, 2023
This isn’t the first time Shinkai has raised the specter of environmental disaster within the context of a swooningly sentimental teenage fantasy, and if this one doesn’t achieve the dazzling intricacies or soaring emotional heights of “Your Name,” its easy blend of enchantment and feeling is nearly as hard to resist. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyApr 13, 2023
Suzume is perhaps Shinkai’s most spookily beautiful work to date, while remaining treasurably odd. Read full review
80
Time OutEmma SteenApr 12, 2023
Like an artist who paints the same composition repeatedly, Shinkai appears to be on a tireless quest for perfection, tweaking earlier versions of his works to reflect his evolving philosophy, trying to make them better by leaving stronger impressions on his audiences. Read full review
80
EmpireJake CunninghamApr 12, 2023
Visually striking and emotionally poignant, Suzume manages to combine hilarity and heartache, in its heightened, therapeutic, if slightly unwieldy, narrative. Read full review
80
Screen DailyJonathan RomneyFeb 23, 2023
Suzume is hardly a film for all tastes, but is certain to thrill anime buffs across all ages and continents. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 23, 2023
Come for Shinkai’s skies, stay for the feels. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerApr 13, 2023
Where Shinkai remains peerless is in taking those big, magical, melodramatic swings and landing them with a gentle, compassionate touch. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubSam BarsantiApr 14, 2023
Suzume is Shinkai’s biggest and possibly most complex movie, and parts of it feel more personal due to the invocation of real history, but it’s also a bit overly concerned with its plot—to the point where it seems to take its central relationship for granted. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoApr 13, 2023
There are key elements of Suzume that directly speak to the history of Japan and the fears of its people, but Shinkai’s gift is his ability to make the issues of trauma and anxiety feel like everyone’s. “Suzume” isn’t quite the masterpiece that is “Your Name” but I wouldn’t blame anyone for falling in love with it. Read full review
75
SlashfilmJenna BuschApr 10, 2023
Shinkai is back with another magical teen story in Suzume, which got me in the gut yet again.  Read full review
75
Slant MagazineRoss McIndoeApr 10, 2023
The film is consistently delightful, offering up an unrelenting supply of shimmering, sun-dappled visuals and a sweet, strange story about a young girl making peace with her past. Read full review
75
ColliderMarco Vito OddoMar 2, 2023
Shinkai uses magnificent landscapes as the background of a story about love, trauma, and finding out who you are. There's much to love about Suzume, and more than enough for us to be excited about whatever the filmmaker comes up with next. Read full review
70
Paste MagazineAutumn WrightApr 13, 2023
At its best, Suzume is a film that imagines modern Japan as a post-apocalyptic setting, evoking the animated beauty and “mono no aware” of pastoral iyashikei like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Read full review
70
The New York TimesMaya PhillipsApr 13, 2023
It’s not just the drama that works. Shinkai delivers hilarious physical comedy in the awkward gambols and leaps of Souta the three-legged chair — a refreshing reversal of the trope of the handsome young love interest who leads the naïve girl on a journey. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Xan BrooksApr 16, 2023
Shinkai casts a spell in the moment, but the magic fades away. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 23, 2023
It is an absorbing, intriguing, bewildering work: often spectacular and beautiful, like a sci-fi supernatural disaster movie or an essay on nature and politics, but shot through with distinctive elements of fey and whimsical comedy. Read full review
50
Little White LiesAlicia HaddickApr 12, 2023
For a director whose career has centered human connection at every turn to create some of the most vulnerable and emotional stories on romance and human connection within the field of Japanese animation, it feels like a rare misfire. Read full review
50
The Film StageEli FriedbergApr 10, 2023
In Suzume, they deliver a general lack of focus or full realization of any one of dozens of well-intentioned ideas. Read full review
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