And now for a bit of a tearjerker. In This Corner of the World is the story of Suzu. We meet her as a little girl growing up in the Japan of the 1930’s, who has a love and talent for drawing. Time passes quickly, and soon Suzu is 18 and entering into an arraigned marriage. She must now adjust to life with her husband’s family, while World War II is just breaking out. As the war turns against Japan, Suzu must deal with hardship and loss.

The film is directed by Sunao Katabuchi, who worked on the series Black Lagoon. This is certainly not Black Lagoon. In This Corner of the World is a subdued film, with lighter pastel color in the artwork. The animation itself is first rate. From an artistic viewpoint, the film certainly pleases the eye.

The characters are well formed and developed. Even the child Harumi comes across as a strong personality whose emotions we feel. Yes, Japan was the enemy during the war, and they did start it. But from this film, we do get the humanity of those who did not fight.

The movie kind of creeps up on you. Like I said, it is subdued – which certainly fits the subject matter. It’s a bit intense though for small children. Other than that, I recommend In This Corner of the World.