The Place Promised in Our Early Days

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The Place Promised in Our Early Days
© Makoto Shinkai / CoMix Wave
雲のむこう、約束の場所
(Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho)
Anime film
Directed byMakoto Shinkai
Produced byMakoto Shinkai
Written byMakoto Shinkai
Music byTenmon
StudioCoMix Wave Inc.
Licensed by
Released20 November 2004
Runtime90 minutes
Novel
Written byShinta Kanō
Published byEnterbrain
English publisher
PublishedDecember 26, 2005
Manga
Written byMakoto Shinkai
Illustrated bySumomo Yumeka
Published byKodansha
MagazineMonthly Afternoon
DemographicSeinen
Original runFebruary 2006 – 25 August 2006
Volumes1

The Place Promised in Our Early Days (Japanese: 雲のむこう、約束の場所, Hepburn: Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho, lit. "Beyond the Clouds, the Promised Place") is a 2004 Japanese anime film written, produced, cinematographed, directed and edited by Makoto Shinkai in his feature film debut. Set over several years in an alternate history where the Soviet Union occupies the Japanese island of Hokkaido it follows two childhood friends who grow apart after one of their friends disappears. As international tensions rise and a mysterious tower built by the Union starts replacing matter around it with matter from other universes, they cross paths once again and realize their missing friend might be the key to saving the world.

Unlike his short film Voices of a Distant Star, which was largely made by Shinkai on his own, The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a full-scale production, as reflected by its better animation quality and longer running time. It has been broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television network Animax. It was licensed for North American release by ADV Films and is now licensed by GKIDS.[2]

It was one of Makoto Shinkai’s films to be selected to be screened at the Japanese film festival in India as part of celebrations of 70th anniversary of establishment of India Japan diplomatic relations.[3]

Cast[edit]

Character Japanese voice actor English voice actor
Hiroki Fujisawa Hidetaka Yoshioka Chris Patton
Takuya Shirakawa Masato Hagiwara Kalob Martinez
Sayuri Sawatari Yūka Nanri Jessica Boone
Professor Tomizawa Kazuhiko Inoue Andy McAvin
Maki Kasahara Risa Mizuno Kira Vincent-Davis
Okabe Unshō Ishizuka John Swasey
Arisaka Hidenobu Kiuchi Illich Guardiola
Emishi Manufacturing employee Eiji Takemoto Adam Jones
Emishi Manufacturing employee, Hospital Director, Train Announcer Masami Iwasaki Andrew Love
Emishi Manufacturing employee, Graduate Student Takahiro Hirano Jacob A.Gragard
Female student, Nurse, TV Announcer Maki Saitou Hilary Haag
Female student Yuki Nakao Mariela Ortiz
Male student Kōsuke Kujirai Matthew Crawford
Female student, Nurse, Hiroki's girlfriend Rie Nakagawa Lesley Tesh
Patrol Boat Warnings Hirochika Kamize —
US Military Officer Brett Coleman —
NSA Ian O'Neal
Additional voices —

Allusions[edit]

The film includes several references to other literary works and themes, such as separation and dreams. The poem read by Sayuri in class is Eiketsu no Asa (永訣の朝, Morning of the Last Farewell) [4] from the poem collection Haru to Shura (春と修羅, Spring and Asura) by well-known Japanese writer Kenji Miyazawa (1896–1933). It was written on the occasion of the premature death of his sister, Toshi Miyazawa (1898–1922). Furthermore, during the summer sequence in the film, Sayuri is seen reading a novel titled "The Net Involved in a Dream" ("夢網", "Dream Net") by Morishita Sakae. Although the author is fictional, a book of the same name [5] exists by a similarly named poet, Hoshio Sakae.[6]

A reference to the director's previous work is made when Takuya and Hiroki meet at the station. They see a cat which Takuya calls Chobi, the name of the cat from She and Her Cat.

Media[edit]

Music[edit]

Theme song[edit]

Your voice (きみのこえ, Kimi no koe)

Original soundtrack[edit]

Beyond the Clouds, the Promised Place
No.TitleLength
1."Main Theme" (メインテーマ)01:28
2."Daily Life" (日常 / Nichijou)02:23
3."Station" (駅 / Eki)01:33
4."Sayuri" (サユリ)00:46
5."Their Plan" (二人の計画 / Futari no Keikaku)01:44
6."Another Dream" (もう一つの夢 / Mou Hitotsu no Yume)01:07
7."Hope and Longing" (希望と憧れ / Kibou to Akogare)02:01
8."A Distant Promise" (遠い約束 / Tooi Yakusoku)01:29
9."Sayuri's Melody" (サユリの旋律 / Sayuri no Senritsu)01:54
10."Sign" (兆候 / Choukou)01:22
11."Innocence" (無垢 / Muku)01:07
12."Summer's End" (夏の終わり / Natsu no Owari)01:08
13."The Quest" (探求 / Tankyuu)01:49
14."The World's Dream" (世界の見る夢 / Sekai no Miru Yume)00:34
15."A Deserted Place" (誰もいない場所 / Dare mo Inai Basho)00:56
16."Loneliness" (孤独 / Kodoku)03:56
17."The Raid – Sleeping Beauty" (襲撃〜眠り姫 / Shuugeki ~ Nemuri Hime)01:51
18."A Brief Reunion" (ひとときの再会 / Hitotoki no Saikai)05:04
19."Eternal Summer" (永遠の夏 / Eien no Natsu)01:44
20."Their Conflict" (二人の葛藤 / Futari no Kattou)01:47
21."Sayuri's World" (サユリの世界 / Sayuri no Sekai)00:59
22."Takuya's Resolution" (タクヤの決意 / Takuya no Ketsui)02:17
23."Hiroki's Melody" (ヒロキの旋律 / Hiroki no Senritsu)01:13
24."The Battle Begins – Velaciela" (開戦〜ヴェラシーラ / Kaisen ~ Velaciela)01:34
25."The Place Promised in Our Early Days" (雲のむこう、約束の場所 / Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho)03:58
26."Your Voice" (きみのこえ / Kimi no Koe)05:26
27."The Place Promised in Our Early Days (Pilot Version)" (パイロット版「雲のむこう、約束の場所」 / Pilot-ban 'Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho')02:47

DVD[edit]

Regular release[edit]

  • The Place Promised in Our Early Days (90 Minutes)
  • 3 Video Interviews with Japanese Cast
  • Original Japanese Trailer Collection

Collector's edition[edit]

Disc 1 (DVD)[edit]
  • The Place Promised in Our Early Days (90 Minutes)
  • 3 Video Interviews with Japanese Cast
  • Original Japanese Trailer Collection
Disc 2 (DVD)[edit]
  • The Place Promised in Our Early Days (Animated Storyboards, 90 Minutes)
  • Interview with Makoto Shinkai
  • Animated Gallery 2002 — 2004
Disc 3 (CDROM)[edit]
  • 35 Still Images
  • Sheet Music
DVD Book[edit]
  • The Place Promised in Our Early Days (Storyboards, 360 pages)

Manga[edit]

The Place Promised in Our Early Days was also serialized as a manga in Monthly Afternoon. It began in February 2006 and ended in August 2006, with eight chapters. The story is by Makoto Shinkai and the art is by Mizu Sahara.

Novelisation[edit]

The Place Promised in Our Early Days has been novelised by Arata Kanoh. There is an English translation by Taylor Engel.

Stage adaptation[edit]

The film was adapted into a stage play directed by Yuko Naito, with a script by Shigeki Motoiki and music by Masato Komata. It had seven performances from April 20–24, 2018 at Tokyo International Forum Hall C in Tokyo, and two performances on May 2, 2018 at NHK Osaka Hall in Osaka.

The cast included Yudai Tatsumi, Shô Takada, Momoka Ito, Kazuyuki Matsuzawa, Wataru Kozuki, Atsuko Asano.[7]

Awards[edit]

  • Special Distinction (Feature Film category) – Seoul Comics and Animation Festival 2005
  • Jury Selection in the 9th Japan Media Arts Festival[8]
  • Silver Prize on Best Animated Film Section (by audience choice) of Public Prize – Canada Fantasia Film Festival
  • Award for Art in Seiun Award – 44th Japanese SF Convention
  • Best Animated Film – Mainichi Film Awards 2004
  • Award for Expression Technique (for Trailer #1) – Tokyo International Anime Fair 2003[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 3, 2020). "Yen Press Licenses Unnamed Memory, 5 Other Novels, 6 Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "GKIDS Acquires N. American Rights to 4 Titles By Makoto Shinkai". Anime News Network. March 10, 2022. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Japanese Film Festival India Screens Director Makoto Shinkai Films in 2022 Event". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  4. ^ "Miyazawa Kenji's "Eiketsu no Asa"". Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  5. ^ 夢網. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ^ ja:ほしおさなえ
  7. ^ "Stage Play Adapts Makoto Shinkai's "The Place Promised in Our Early Days"". Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  8. ^ "The Place Promised in Our Early Days | Jury Selections | Animation Division | 2005 [9th] Japan Media Arts Festival Archive". Japan Media Arts Festival. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "楽天が運営するポータルサイト ： 【インフォシーク】Infoseek". Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2015.

External links[edit]

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