The Garden of Words

The Garden of Words is a Japanese romance and drama movie and manga series. The manga was first published in Monthly Afternoon magazine on April 25, 2013. Makoto Shinkai wrote the manga and Midori Motohashi illustrated it.

The movie is an anime movie. It was released for the first time on April 28, 2013. Makoto Shinkai is the director of the anime movie. It runs for 46 minutes. A novel was later created and serialized in September 2013.

Main Plot

The anime’s main plot follows Takao Akizuki, a young student. Takao is interested in shoemaking and has a lot of talent. He plans to take his first class and sketch a shoe design in the garden. Yukari Yukino is a beautiful girl he meets while working on his project.

Takao finds her very mysterious. He also offered to design a new shoe for her. Their meet-ups were only possible during rainy season. They meet smiling, but they still feel sadness and pain deep within. Can their relationship help them feel better? Or will they drown in it?

Principal Characters

Takao Akizuki

Takao Akizuki is the main character of The Garden of Words, a Japanese anime series. He can make shoes in many designs and is a young shoemaker. He loves to skip school when it rains. That is how he met Yukari Yukino. His parents’ names are Takashi Fujisawa and Reimi Akizuki.

The garden he used to go to while skipping class was the place where he and his family celebrated his mother’s birthday. Takao, who is humble and designed a shoe to be worn by Yukari, makes it even more impressive. They both developed a connection with one another later.

Yukari Yukino

Yukari Yukino is a main character in the Japanese anime The Garden of Words. You Name, a well-known Japanese anime movie, also features Yukari Yukino. She was very beautiful from childhood and it made her feel different from her friends. Her literature teacher was also a favorite of hers. She is now a teacher. She visited the garden Takao used to visit only on rainy days. Slowly they start to talk and she gives Takao a design for a shoe.

Sōichirō Ito

Sōichirō Ito is also working as a teacher like Yukari Yukino. He is Yukari Yukino’s former love. Before he became a teacher, he worked in another field. He was a realtor at the time. Natsumi, his girlfriend at that point, was also his friend. He later expresses his feelings for Yukari while teaching and the two of them get together. However, Yukari’s absence from school causes them to part ways.

Shōko Aizawa

Shōko Aizawa is also studying in high school along with Takao Akizuki. At an early age, she was hated most because she didn’t have a beautiful face. She became a beautiful teenager as she entered her senior high years. Many boys fell in love with her. She dated a younger boy in high school. She then finds Shinji flirting on the other side of Yukino. Yukari is ridiculed after she looks at it. Yukari then left the school.

Reimi Akizuki

Reimi Akizuki, Takao Akizuki’s mother, is the main protagonist. She also has a bad habit of alcohol consumption. Besides Takao Akizuki she has another son whose name is Shōta Akizuki. This allowed her to become independent and different from her boys. She was also very attractive in her youth, which helped her to relate to different boys. When she was only 20 years old, she fell pregnant and married Takashi Fujisawa.

Shōta Akizuki

Shōta Akizuki is Takao Akizuki’s older brother. Rika Teramoto is his girlfriend. His mother’s behavior of drinking alcohol and romantic nature leads him to be a little distant from her. Rika Teramoto is also a potential partner. Although they had different feelings, they managed to remain together. While now he is engaged in a job and feels jealous about his brother’s interest in shoemaking. However, he doesn’t have the same hobby as his brother.

What is The Garden of Words’ ending?

Takao doesn’t get to meet Yukari and focuses instead on his studies. So, he decides to move to Tokyo and continue his studies. Yukari, too, begins to go to school and continues to teach.

He receives a letter from Yukari on winter days. This prompts him to continue his journey towards the park. The shoe he designed for Yukari was left on the park bench. He also left a message indicating that he would like to see her again after he had finished with the shoe. The ending does not seem to be very sad.

The Shoe in anime has a deep significance

The shoe can be translated as the will to live. A shoe can be used to help people walk more easily by providing protection. Yukari must be in a lot of pain if we examine the plot. Her friends, ex, and many other factors contributed to the pain. However, she met Takao at the park when it was rainy. It was easy for her to forget. This allowed her to finally fit again in her life. That’s why the shoe is well attached to the main plot of the anime The Garden of Words.

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