Good start, but then it gets ruined

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Asuna Watase lives in a small village with her widower mother and tiny kitten Mimi. There is a warning about a bear in the area. While walking on a railroad bridge, she encounters a giant monster and is rescued by Shun. He's from a foreign land. Substitute teacher Ryuji Morisaki tells her about Agartha, an underground world of the dead. She goes looking for Shun, only to be met by another boy, and attacked by armed men called Archangels. They enter Agartha and one of the Archangels reveals himself to be Morisaki who is on a personal mission.Filmmaker Makoto Shinkai definitely has some Hayao Miyazaki in him. Some of the creature designs are reminiscent of the master's work. This has many of those touches including a magical other world and a little girl protagonist. Morisaki does bug me starting with his exposition overload. Instead of letting the girl discover this world slowly, it comes at the audience like an avalanche. I also don't like him joining the quest. Asuna already has the same ultimate mission with her dead father. He's not necessary and also is a wet blanket to the wonderment of it all. Then the dark creatures come out of the ground. They are a great turn which adds a terrific spice to the story. This is a great world with a compelling lead. I could do without Morisaki and the Archangels but they're not that bad.

Feels like it's trying a bit hard. The plot i thought was quite terrible and too dramatic. Several parts(or let's just say most of it) of the film just felt like it wasn't quite in place. Like the storyline wasn't very well put together. His earlier films were better, kind of more, ambiance like feel. This one does, feel like it's trying hard to be something it's not. Also, i think visually it wants to be Ghibli-ish which is not necessarily a bad thing. You can see the characters, resembles characters from ghibli movies the girl from "whisper of the heart", creatures that look like it's from "princess mononoke", and "spirited away". Watch just for 10 minutes and you might have feel some of these things that i did.

This movie has a such wonderful plot which makes me feel like I really hop into the journey with excitement and nervousness. I could really sense the feeling of the adventure that has a combination of bittersweetness, pureness, innocence of friendship, love, loyalty in the movie.The music goes on perfectly throughout the movie. the animation of the characters are really beautiful together with the scenery and the filter. the graphic has a filter that has a calmness in it A worth to watch movie for people who loves adventure fantasy movie with some twists in the story!

I have been such a huge fan of Ghibli studio that i was not aware there was anything that could compare to such classic masterpieces the likes of Mononka and spirited away. But Makoto Shinkai, children who chase lost voices was amazing. It is very similar to Ghibli although different at the same time.I love the animation, the storyline is very mature and deals with difficult issues such as, loss of loved ones, independence and making life changing decisions. I can imagine this would perhaps be a little scary for a young child to watch. I am 26 and thought at times it became a little too dark and intense. Such an original story line and original characters.I prefer Japanese animi to Disney and American movies as the content is usually very childish and brain dead. Japanese animi really does deal with issues that some contemplate often. Life, death, love and friendship.I can not wait to watch more from Makoto Shinkai. I rate this in the top 10 best Japanese animi :D