In This Corner of the World

Set in Japan during World War II, this animated historical drama from director Sunao Katabuchi offers an intimate look at the life of Suzu Urano, a young woman from a fishing village near Hiroshima. The film follows her arranged marriage to Shusaku Hojo, a clerk at the Kure Naval Arsenal, and her subsequent move to the port city of Kure. There, she navigates the challenges of wartime domestic life, using her creativity and resilience to support her new family through escalating hardships.

Based on Fumiyo Kouno's manga of the same name, the film eschews battlefield spectacle in favor of quiet, everyday moments. Suzu's talent for drawing and her gentle perseverance become her tools for survival as air raids intensify and food grows scarce. The story builds toward the devastating bombings of Kure in 1945, grounding the horrors of war in the personal losses of ordinary people. With over 160,000 hand-drawn frames, the animation evokes 1940s Japanese watercolor paintings, creating a visually poetic contrast to the grim subject matter.

Released in 2016, the film became a critical and commercial success, earning over $19 million worldwide on a modest $2.5 million budget. It won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Animated Feature and was praised for its humanistic portrayal of civilians during war. Katabuchi spent three years researching the era, interviewing survivors and collecting over 1,000 historical photographs to ensure authenticity. The result is a deeply moving anti-war statement that finds beauty in the mundane and tragedy in the ordinary.[edit]

In 1933, 18-year-old Suzu Hojo lives with her family in the fishing village of Eba, near Hiroshima. She is a dreamy girl with a talent for drawing, often losing herself in her imagination. Ten years later, in 1943, as Japan's war effort intensifies, Suzu's family arranges her marriage to Shusaku Hojo, a quiet clerk working at the Kure Naval Arsenal. She moves to the city of Kure, about 20 miles from Hiroshima, to live with her new husband and his extended family: her mother-in-law San, father-in-law Entaro, and Shusaku's young niece Harumi, whose mother Keiko has remarried.

Suzu struggles to adapt to her new life amid strict expectations and household chores. Initially overwhelmed, she gradually finds her place through her artistic skills and gentle perseverance. She uses her creativity to stretch meager rations, make makeshift tools, and bring small joys to the family. She forms a close bond with Harumi and develops a quiet, understated relationship with Shusaku. The film depicts daily life in Kure as air raid drills become routine, food grows scarcer, and war news worsens. Suzu also interacts with neighbors like the brash Sumi Urano and the mysterious Tetsu Mizuhara, a young man who seems to know Shusaku from the past.

As the war drags on, the family faces increasing deprivation. Suzu learns to cook with limited ingredients, tends the family garden, and navigates the emotional toll of losing loved ones. The narrative builds toward the massive Allied bombing raids on Kure in 1945, which destroy much of the city and force the family to confront unbearable loss. The film maintains a tone of quiet resilience, focusing on small acts of love and creativity in the face of overwhelming tragedy.[edit]