I just finished watching this today. Thought it was real touching, and you felt empathetic to the fates of the two characters. However, I felt that the ending might have been better if it was left hanging. They seemed to young to decide that they are getting married, and you cannot help feeling that their relationship may not last the distance.
shareI liked it the way it was. His proposal was totally out of left field the first time I saw it, so it added a bit more of an emotional boost. As for the age, he was wise enough to condition that upon completion of his 10-year apprenticeship. By then, he would be in perfect marrying age.
shareRegarding that aspect of the ending (which I loved) there is this interesting entry in the faq (recall that the script was written by Miyazaki, based on a manga) :
Q: Wasn't Seiji's proposal a bit too sudden?
Many thought so. In the manga, Seiji merely says "I love you", but Miyazaki changed it to "Will you marry me?" Miyazaki defended his position by saying, "I wanted to make a conclusion, a definite sense of ending. Too many young people now are afraid of commitment, and stay on moratorium forever. I wanted these two to just commit to something, not just 'well, we'll see what will happen'."
A great ending for a great movie.
What made me agree was when the credits roll, after a while, you will see a lady standing there for some time. Then a man comes along and they walk together, the two are the Seji and... and that one girl, I forgot her name.
Too many sad endings nowadays, this was a nice happy one.
I caught that to.
However, my thought on that was that it was the main character's female best friend, and the guy was the one she was always calling dense.
The main character's story line had been happily resolved and you were sort of left wondering what happened to her friend.
THe "dense" guy comes along with his bag and we see that he has finally come around. So there's was a happy ending for the friend as well-- the loose ends were tied up. If you watch closely, he even waves goodby to "us" as we watch.
If you look at the credits, you sort of see everyone. At the start of the credit role, you see the main characters on the bike go by, then you see the cat, then you see the best friend.
Anyway, that was my take.
AE36
You can still have a happy ending, without the cheesy "Will you marry me" line.
One of the few blemishes on an otherwise very good film.
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I always laugh a bit when the boy suddenly pulls out his marriage proposal. In truth, I am not laughing at the movie, but at the two teenagers. It's just the sort of impulsive, passionate thing a teenager would do. So, I chuckle a little, ha ha. Sure you'll get married. We'll see where you are in six weeks.
Miyazaki has always been a hopeless romantic, and if you haven't figured that out by now, then there really isn't much hope for you.
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I found the ending to be entirely satisfying...though I still wish that the baron and baroness were reunited as well...
shareI agree. I've never thought that it was out of place, just the kids acting on the moment, impulsively. To find the ending out of place is to toss out all one has liked about the movie already, with its random whims and charms, with characters who like to rush headlong into moments. It's entirely the type of thing these two characters would say to each other.
sharewell, seeing as how it *is* a love story, i think the commitment to its main theme at the end was most fitting
if you look around on a train and see no crazy guy, most likely you are that crazy guy
I thought it was an ok ending. I mean, I was kinda of surprised by it, but then I had read what was said about it and why it made for them to say they were getting married.
-cindy
i think a great ending but i wish in cat returns it could have made some kind of hint of how they are doing...like if they could still be together because its still her story
I don't know if I liked the ending, but I really don't see how it could end any other way and be satisfying. The reason being is that I loved this movie so much that I didn't want it to end. So, I think the ending does its job.
shareWhen i first saw the ending I was bit "O_O"
it was not what I expected it seemed.. like rushed.. I thought they'd just kiss and that'd be it. but no it was "lets get married!" ....meh It didnt change my view on the whole movie.. I still love the movie..
i loved the ending! i laughed it was so surprising but it was the perfect ending for me! go seiji kun! no dragging it out forever, will they/won't they crap, it just got to the point! so what if it's more probable that they won't end up married, in the moment, that's what they felt - that they wanted to be with each other forever ^_^ no complicated adult mind games, just young love...sigh
sharealso in japan a woman has to dicide earlly what she wants, and marriage is important for a lot of young girls. in some way it could be seen as an idealised wiew of a courtship as he respects and admires her intellegence
Thunderbirds Aren't Slow
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davyjoneseslocker summed it up right. I mean, I do love the Ghibli films where the main characters' relationship requires you to hope for the best in the future like Ashi-taka/San and Chihiro/Haku, but at the same time, I also love it when it ends on a note that couldn't be any happier. Shizuku/Seiji and Pazu/Sheeta's relationships, at the end of the film, both left me with a huge smile on my face. Like, I knew right then that they were absolutely perfect for each other. And Miyazaki does this in a way that isn't schmaltzy like the romance stories of Hollywood, he preserves the cuteness and livelihood of young love in such a beautiful way. What can I say, I love him.
shareI wonder if Miyazaki likes it when his characters kiss. Sophie and Howl did it in Howl's Moving Castle and Porco and Fio in Porco Rosso. So it's not that he won't do it, it's just rarer.
sharei second this post, the ending left me feeling empty to be honest after a great film
shareI thought it was touching. And he the "do you marry me" line was more speculative than definitive. It was more like "Could you see us living the rest of our lives together?" rather than "wanna have a wedding?"... and while he is naive, it's still incredibly touching.
You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
I felt it was good that he proposed, it’s a serious commitment that makes it more likely that they will get back together after he finishes his apprenticeship.
shareI thought it was a fantastic film but I did feel let down by the giant cheese ball served up at the end. Maybe my recent diet of other Japanese films has conditioned me to expect the worst for the characters. That said, I'd take a Miyazaki sugar puff over your standard Hollywood schmaltz-fest any time.
sharei thought it was great because hanging movies are so annoying to me because i invent an ending but want to see it! so i liked it and i glad they made it that way! i just wished they would have kissed i was like a u gonna kiss or what u love her n wanna marry her but not kiss. weird-o's! sorry just my opinion!
BEST MOVIE EVER!
I loved the movie and I loved the ending. And so what if they decided to get married at a young age. What I saw in the movie was real true love, even if the characters were fictional. Very few movies touch me like this one does. Besides, Seiji decided to finish highschool before movie to Italy. Both he and SHizuku would be 18 by then, so they could get married. ANd SHizuku can write anywhere, so she can go with him. I loved the ending! Even Yuko and Sugimura got together, which can be seen in the credits.
shareYeah,any movie that makes you care about the characters is special.I found the movie to be a very sweet and innocent take on teenage love.
shareNothing against the ending, but I just thought it was too sudden. I was like, "It's over?? Like that?"
But it was a nice change of pace after watching Millenium Actress.
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