The Place Promised in Our Early Days

In an alternate history where Japan was divided after the Second World War, Hokkaido has come under the control of the Union while the southern islands remain aligned with the United States. Rising above Hokkaido is a vast, enigmatic tower, visible from across the water. Three high school friends in the south, Hiroki, Takuya and Sayuri, share a fascination with the structure and promise one another that they will one day finish the aircraft they are building and fly across the border to uncover what the tower really is. Their plan is set aside when circumstances pull the three of them apart, and years later a serious turn in Sayuri's condition pushes the two young men to reconsider the promise they made.

The film was written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, who also produced it. It followed his earlier feature Voices of a Distant Star and preceded 5 Centimeters per Second and later works such as Your Name. and Suzume. The voice cast includes Hidetaka Yoshioka as Hiroki, Masato Hagiwara as Takuya, Yuuka Nanri as Sayuri, and Unsho Ishizuka, Kazuhiko Inoue and Risa Mizuno in supporting roles.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days runs ninety minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.8 from around 16,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.6 from a much smaller base of some 571 votes, suggesting a modest but settled response from viewers. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from seven reviews places it broadly in line with that audience reception.