Children Who Chase Lost Voices

Asuna, a schoolgirl growing up without her father, spends much of her time alone, listening to music that comes through a crystal radio he left her. The melodies seem to reach her from somewhere far away. One day, while out near the mountains, she is attacked by a huge creature and rescued by a boy named Shun, who says he comes from a distant land called Agartha. He vanishes soon afterwards, and Asuna, hoping to find him again, turns for help to her teacher, Mr. Morisaki. Together they set out for the hidden world, and what Asuna encounters along the way teaches her about both the harshness and the beauty of life.

Makoto Shinkai wrote and directed the film, his fourth feature, following 5 Centimeters per Second and preceding The Garden of Words. It was produced by CoMix Wave Films and Media Factory, with Shinkai also credited as a producer. Hisako Kanemoto voices Asuna, with Kazuhiko Inoue as Morisaki and Miyu Irino as Shun. On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.1 from around 18,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.2 from a much smaller pool of roughly 800, a fairly close agreement between the two.