Ah.. "the place promised in our early days... " - a phrase soaked in soft memories of naive, but blissful adolescence. Too bad the plot reads like that lame anniversary card you Dad gave your Mom last year. The animation is, of course, stellar - but the story? Well - let's see... what is a story anyway? What do clouds mean? Oh wait - if you're like me - who f***ing cares.<br /><br />After reading the "helpful" review on this, I gave this film a shot and watched it. I mean hey, I loved Spirited Away. It's not as though anime has to be along the lines of Fist Of The North Star for me to enjoy it. But oh my god, what a piece of s***! It's like one of those films where you keep thinking the plot is starting to get good, but it's not. In fact, the plot is "tricking you" into thinking it's going to get good, and then when you're interested again, it's like - "hehehe... got you sucker...", and then continues to unfold as lamely as you subconsciously assumed it would after the first 15 minutes.<br /><br />Nonetheless, out of respect for the talent it takes to make a finely animated film such as this - I have to give it far more than 1 star. But still, those 4 stars are for quality of workmanship alone, and NOT for an enjoyable film. But you don't have to take MY word for it... Go ahead, watch it. But I promise you, unless the question - "What do clouds mean?" appeals to you, then you will feel cheated out of the time you wasted watching this . Besides, you can always just go to the drugstore and read anniversary cards for free.