“By any standard, it’s impressive anime; as a feature debut, it’s a remarkable achievement.”
—Seattle Times

“Makoto Shinkai has directed an intriguing, entertaining and often quite touching story about friendship, love and the importance of dreams in our lives, whose character design, animation and themes will likely linger on for quite some time with its viewers.”
—Asian Movie Pulse

In this visionary debut from the then thirty-two-year-old Makoto Shinkai (here, co-directing with Yoshio Suzuki), an alternate post-war Japan — one divided into the Union-controlled north and the US-controlled south — the teens become obsessed with a mysterious tower which seems to reach high into the heavens. Hiroki and Takuya hatch a plan to visit the tower, but before it can be achieved, their friend Sayuri disappears. Years later, the tower activates, and the two friends reunite to uncover the fate of their friend, whose disappearance may hold the key to the fate of the world.