Let’s get this out of the way up front: If there was any doubt that Makoto Shinkai is the undisputed visual champion of the anime form, “Suzume” provides the final knockout punch. Shinkai and team’s eye-popping colors, detailed and fluid hand-drawn frames, lush background work, top-grade CG and seamless blending of all those elements are head and shoulders above anything else — every frame of “Suzume” is practically a work of art.
But how does it stack up narratively?
Shinkai’s second film since “Your Name.,” which broke all kinds of box-office records in 2016, “Suzume” is another work of fantastic realism with many of the tropes we’ve come to expect from the director, including a meet-cute story, a quest to save Japan from doom, a preoccupation with natural disasters and some lovingly illustrated meals.