History Anime / Suzume

* KansaiRegionalAccent: Rumi has a strong Osaka accent, as she is from Kobe.

* TohokuRegionalAccent: Suzume speaks a mix of this and Kyushu Japanese, as she was born in Tohoku but moved to Miyazaki after her mother died.

** Not long after the reveal that [[spoiler:Daijin was [[GoodAllAlong actually helping Suzume and Sōta find the doors]]]] and him again saving and helping Suzume in the climax, he ultimately accepts that he cannot become her cat and takes back the role of Keystone from Sōta so he can be human again, reverting back to his inert Keystone statue form to allow Suzume to use him to pin down the Wyrm]].

* CatsAreMean: Daijin takes the form of a very CuteKitten, but comes across as mean to people who have to deal with his true nature, which is something between a JerkassGod and a SadistTeacher. He abandons his duty to run off around Japan, and turns Sōta into a chair [[spoiler:while forcing him into the role of the Keystone]]. The latter may be more in the nature of an accident, but Daijin’s refusal to explain what is going on feels much like a cat playing with its prey. [[spoiler:Also, Sadaijin's introduction has him possess Tamaki and make her admit her buried resentment of Suzume so the two can finally talk about their problems]].

* AgeGapRomance: A mild example. Compared to Shinkai's previous two movies, Sōta is about 5 years older than Suzume. Contrast this to Mitsuha, who's 3 years older than Taki, or Hina and Hodaka who're about the same age.

* MaybeEverAfter: Suzume is openly in love with Sōta, but [[spoiler:while he is clearly fond of her and appreciates what she did to save him, it's not entirely clear if he feels the same way (or if he'd just prefer that she [[JailbaitTaboo graduates from high school first]]). He gently rebuffs her offer for him to return to Kyushu with her, and although the end credits show that he keeps his word to come visit later, it's not clear if he's interested in starting a romantic relationship.]][[note]]His memories shown from his POV do imply romantic feelings for her, though. At first, they start out more about other people, but increasingly become focused on Suzume. No negative memories are shown, so they are most likely all positive, just like when they close doors. Eventually they become entirely about her, as he narrates that he "finally found" Suzume and doesn't want to part with her. He finally cries out that he wants to live as the last thing we're shown is their traumatic parting, implying that she has inspired a strong desire to live in him. By the end, Suzume is not only wearing Sōta's boots, but he gives her his sweater -- maybe a MeaningfulGift. Given Makoto Shinkai's penchant for subtlety in his romances, it's more than likely these are significant signs. It's at least months before they reunite (it's spring or summer when he leaves and winter when he returns), but that may indicate simply that Sōta took the time to close the remaining doors, took care of his affairs in Tokyo, and gave Suzume time to graduate and to work things out with her aunt.[[/note]]

* AcademicAthlete: A DownplayedTrope example, but Suzume, despite being a high school student, proves quite athletic over the course of the movie. Most notably, whenever she has to get over a waist-high obstacle (be it a railing, a divider, or an A-frame trail barrier) she jumps it like a hurdle without ever missing a beat. This is a physical example of her status as a BadassBookworm.

''Suzume'' is a coming-of-age story for the titular protagonist, set in various disaster-stricken locations across Japan. After she unwittingly causes disaster by opening a strange door, Suzume must travel across the country to close the doors causing devastation, aided in her quest by a mysterious young man named Sōta.

** Daijin quickly becomes attached to Suzume because she (accidentally) freed him from his Keystone form and then fed him when he appeared to be a starving kitten. [[spoiler:He decided he wants to become Suzume's cat and his main motive for his less-than-savory actions in the movie is to spend time with her, even transferring his duty as the Keystone to Sōta so Daijin can be with her. He's quite shaken and saddened when he finally realizes that doing so has caused her to hate him (not helped by the fact that she mistakenly believes that Daijin was the one opening the doors and releasing the Wyrm).]]

** Suzume meets Sōta while riding to school on her bike. At the end of the film, the scene repeats almost exactly when [[spoiler:Suzume and Sōta are reunited]].

** Not long after the reveal that [[spoiler:Daijin was GoodAllAlong in the sense that he was actually helping Suzume and Sōta find the doors (even if he ''did'' curse Sōta), and him again saving and helping Suzume in the climax, he ultimately accepts that he can't become her cat and takes back the role of Keystone from Sōta so he can be human again, reverting back to his inert Keystone statue form to allow Suzume to use Daijin to defeat the Wyrm]].

* HappyRain: When a door is shut, the [[spoiler:Great Wyrm]]'s severed length explodes into a shower of rainbow-hued rain as proof of its defeat.

* JerkassGods: Downplayed, but both Daijin and [[spoiler:Sadaijin]] have their moments. Daijin has grown bored with his role and wants to spend time with Suzume, so he runs away and [[spoiler:turns Sōta into his replacement as the Keystone]]. [[spoiler:Sadaijin possesses Tamaki and makes her confess her darker feelings towards Suzume]], though this seems to help their relationship. This is somewhat consistent with their status as ''kami'' out of Myth/JapaneseMythology; they are more living forces of nature rather than gods as such, and while they may be petitioned for help (as when Souta prays at key moments), they don't automatically favour human beings.

* NeverTrustATrailer: The second trailer makes Daijin look like the BigBad causing the disasters. [[spoiler:In the actual movie he's more benevolent if somewhat selfish.]]

* PortalDoor: Doors in abandoned areas can seemingly open to the Ever After, the realm where the [[spoiler:Great Wyrm]] resides. However, the Ever After cannot be entered through these doors as it is not a place for living humans. [[spoiler:Only one door in Suzume's hometown can allow entry]].

** The very first scene in the movie is a young Suzume becoming lost in the Ever After and seeing a woman in white there who approaches her. She doesn't remember much about the encounter in the present because she was only 4 at the time, but believes it was her mother because the woman gave her the chair that Tsubame made for her as a birthday present, and the exact details about what occurred there are the biggest mystery of the movie. [[spoiler:When present-day Suzume, after returning to the Ever After to rescue Souta and defeat the Wyrm, sees her childhood self there, she realizes that the woman she saw as a kid was her older self in a StableTimeLoop.]]

** A couple to Creator/StudioGhibli with a helicopter for Miyazaki News shown briefly, ''Anime/WhisperOfTheHeart'' being referenced in a social media post of Daijin, and Serizawa playing "Rouge no Dengon" from ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' during the car trip. There's also a truck that goes by bearing the logo Yamato Transport (a black cat carrying a kitten), which was the official sponsor of Kiki's Delivery Service.

* WeirdnessCensor: When [[spoiler:Daijin]] talks in front of Tamaki and Tomoya, Suzume assures them that ''obviously'' the cat didn't say anything. They accept this, since cats don't talk and move on until [[spoiler:Daijin]] talks again, at which point they can't ignore it.

* WeirdnessCensor: When [[spoiler:Sadaijin]] talks in front of Tamaki and Tomoya, Suzume assures them that ''obviously'' the cat didn't say anything. They accept this, since cats don't talk and move on until [[spoiler:Sadaijin]] talks again, at which point they can't ignore it.

''Suzume'' is a coming-of-age story for the titular protagonist, set in various disaster-stricken locations across Japan. After she unwittingly causes disaster by opening a strange door, Suzume must travel across the country to close the doors causing devastation, aided in her quest by a mysterious young man named Souta.

* AgeGapRomance: A mild example. Compared to Shinkai's previous two movies, Souta is about 5 years older than Suzume. Contrast this to Mitsuha, who's 3 years older than Taki, or Hina and Hodaka who're about the same age.

** The multiple doors seen in-movie represented how we keep unwanted memories under lock-and-key, which is also what Souta and Suzume literally use to seal up the doors where the Great Wyrm is trying to go through.
** The abandoned places where those doors are located hold the happy memories the people who used to go there experience, and ''only'' the happy memories. Hence, Suzume, [[spoiler:who by the second part of the movie is mostly sad, angry, and hateful at the little things around her, can't even find it in her to do Souta's job when he's indisposed.]]
** [[spoiler:Only when Suzume, under Souta's urging, remembers the small, little happiness exchanged by the Tohoku residents who died in the tsunami (true to form, it's represented by greeting scenes around ''doors''), instead of only seeing the death and destruction the disaster brought, can she seal the Great Wyrm properly.]]
* AncientOrderOfProtectors: The Closers, who are charged with keeping the doors [[spoiler:to the Ever After closed so the Wyrm cannot escape to cause disaster]]. In the present, only Souta and his grandfather seem to be left.

* AuthorAppeal: Subverted. Surprisingly, in a Makoto Shinkai movie, trains don't take up as much screen time as his previous works. Instead, Suzume and Souta (and Daijin, funnily enough) use a variety of transportation methods across Japan in their journey.

** One of Chika's crates of tangerines falls off the back of her scooter and spills all over the road, and Souta and Suzume use a net to stop the oranges from rolling away down the hill. Chika is greatly appreciative and proceeds to be ''very'' helpful to them[[labelnote:*]]or, from her perspective, to Suzume, since she of course doesn't know that the chair she's carrying around is a transformed Souta[[/labelnote]], as she gives Suzume a lift to the abandoned middle school (allowing her and Souta to close the second door), feeds and houses her at her family inn for the night, and gifts her new clothes.
** Daijin quickly becomes attached to Suzume because she (accidentally) freed him from his Keystone form and then fed him when he appeared to be a starving kitten. [[spoiler:He decided he wants to become Suzume's cat and his main motive for his less-than-savory actions in the movie is to spend time with her, even transferring his duty as the Keystone to Souta so Daijin can be with her. He's quite shaken and saddened when he finally realizes that doing so has caused her to hate him (not helped by the fact that she mistakenly believes that Daijin was the one opening the doors and releasing the Wyrm).]]

** Suzume meets Souta while riding to school on her bike. At the end of the film, the scene repeats almost exactly when [[spoiler:Suzume and Souta are reunited]].

** Not long after the reveal that [[spoiler:Daijin was GoodAllAlong in the sense that he was actually helping Suzume and Souta find the doors (even if he ''did'' curse Souta), and him again saving and helping Suzume in the climax, he ultimately accepts that he can't become her cat and takes back the role of Keystone from Souta so he can be human again, reverting back to his inert Keystone statue form to allow Suzume to use Daijin to defeat the Wyrm]].
** Downplayed in the denouement with [[spoiler:Souta. He ''does'' have to leave Suzume for a while so he can continue his Closer duties and also return home to Tokyo, but does so with a ReunionVow. The last scene of the credits shows that he keeps this promise.]]

* CatsAreMean: Daijin takes the form of a very CuteKitten, but comes across as mean to people who have to deal with his true nature, which is something between a JerkassGod and a SadistTeacher. He abandons his duty to run off around Japan, and turns Souta into a chair [[spoiler:while forcing him into the role of the Keystone]]. The latter may be more in the nature of an accident, but Daijin’s refusal to explain what is going on feels much like a cat playing with its prey. [[spoiler:Also, Sadaijin's introduction has him possess Tamaki and make her admit her buried resentment of Suzume so the two can finally talk about their problems]].

** The connections people form between them. While the movie of course centers around Suzume's relationship to Souta and her aunt, just as important are the many people she runs into along her journey, all of which help her in small and big ways, from the friendly people who help her out of the goodness of her heart, to the people she befriends without getting anything in return. Even the method used to close the doors reflects this, as it relies on the locker to reflect on the people who once lived where the portal is located.
** The trauma of people who survive great catastrophes. The villain of the movie is an EldritchAbomination that causes earthquakes, and Suzume herself has a great deal of trauma from the Tōhoku tsunami that destroyed her home and implicitly killed her mother. Earthquake alarms are a prominent motif throughout the movie, and Suzume is only able to save Souta and defeat the Wyrm when she [[spoiler:returns to her home and reflects on the happy memories of the people who lived there, giving the place a possitive connotation where she before only had bad memories]].

* CheshireCatGrin: Daijin has a grin that stretches across his entire face when he's up to something, such as when he transforms Souta.
* CommonalityConnection: Soon after meeting once Suzume and Souta have saved Chika's oranges from being lost, the two girls bond over the fact that they're both high school juniors, and find even more in common from there.
* ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument: Souta and Suzume review books written by past Closers to try and locate either [[spoiler:the second Keystone or the Tokyo door]]. However, the information was deliberately blotted out in all the books.
* CoolKey: Souta carries a special primitive-looking key which is used in the door-shutting ritual.

* DelayingAction: [[spoiler:Sadaijin]] fights the [[spoiler:Great Wyrm]] in order to delay it reaching the door while Suzume and Daijin [[spoiler:rescue Souta]].

* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Chika suggests the best way to wake somebody up if they're a HeavySleeper is with a kiss. Suzume tries this with Souta at first but he wakes up before she figures out where his "face" is. [[spoiler:She does kiss him when Souta is about to freeze and later she does it again in the climax in order to restore his human form and stop becoming the Keystone.]]

* ExactEavesdropping: Tomoya complains to Suzume about how he's pissed with Souta for [[spoiler:missing his teaching exam]] and declares their friendship is over, unaware that Souta is in the room as a chair.
* ExactWords: Tamaki is worried that Suzume has run off with a strange man. Suzume tells her she's not with a man, which is technically true given Souta is currently a chair.

* ForcedTransformation: Souta is forcibly transformed into Suzume's three-legged chair at the hands of the cat Daijin.

** As Suzume speaks with Souta[[spoiler:'s grandfather in the hospital]], he describes the Ever After to her as, among other things, "a PlaceBeyondTime". [[spoiler:When Suzume and Souta are in the Ever After once she's saved him and they've defeated the Wyrm, she sees her child self appear there, and realizes that, because this is a place where time has no meaning, her younger and older selves can coexist there simultaneously, and that [[TheReveal the "woman" she remembered seeing there as a child was actually herself in the future]]]].

** During their fights, Daijin tells Souta that he can't go back to being the Keystone. [[spoiler:He had already transferred the role to Souta at this point]].
** Suzume and Souta quite understandably believe that Daijin is running around Japan opening doors to set the Wyrm lose, and are trying to stop him as well as close the doors. [[spoiler:And yet, Daijin appears many times on other people's social media in places that make it very obvious where he's going next, which seems counterintuitive since it's what allows the two of them to find and close the doors in time to avert disasters. It's actually because Daijin is ''not'' opening the doors, and is in fact leading Souta and Suzume to them as a way to spend time with the latter.]]

*** And finally, once [[spoiler:she realizes that Daijin, despite his selfishness, was actually helping her and Souta all along by leading them to the doors (rather than releasing the Wyrm himself like they'd feared), Suzume warmly thanks Daijin in a way that indicates that she's well on the way to forgiving him, and he turns back into his healthy-looking form again]].
* GoodAllAlong: Downplayed with [[spoiler:Daijin. He's certainly not fully "good", as he ''does'' curse Souta by turning him into the chair and selfishly offloads his Keystone duty onto him so that he himself can be with Suzume as her cat. However, the two of them spend much of the movie believing that Daijin was the one who was opening the doors and letting the Wyrm out, but as it turns out, he just wanted to spend time with Suzume, and was actually ''leading'' them to where the doors would open so that they'd get there in time to close them. Suzume realizing this is what gets Daijin back into her good graces.]]

* HeavySleeper: Souta seemingly falls into a deep sleep every night and Suzume gets increasingly annoyed at how long it takes him to wake up. [[spoiler:He isn't asleep but slipping into a coma as his new nature as a Keystone takes over]].
* HeroismWontPayTheBills: Suzume is shocked that Souta is a graduate student and planning to become a teacher despite the importance of what he does. Souta flat out tells her while being a Closer is an important job it doesn't pay the bills and he, at least when not a chair, has to eat just like everybody else.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: Daijin just wants to be with Suzume, who freed him from being a Keystone and was kind to him, [[spoiler:even if it means turning Souta into a replacement Keystone. The little cat is shaken when he realizes that Suzume doesn't love him because of this and she's furious with him for his actions.]]
* InvisibleToNormals: The [[spoiler:Great Wyrm]] is invisible to everyone except Suzume and Souta. Souta can see it due to being a Closer while Suzume [[spoiler:was lost in the Ever After as a child and retained a connection to it]].
* JerkassGods: Downplayed, but both Daijin and [[spoiler:Sadaijin]] have their moments. Daijin has grown bored with his role and wants to spend time with Suzume, so he runs away and [[spoiler:turns Souta into his replacement as the Keystone]]. [[spoiler:Sadaijin possesses Tamaki and makes her confess her darker feelings towards Suzume]], though this seems to help their relationship. This is somewhat consistent with their status as ''kami'' out of Myth/JapaneseMythology; they are more living forces of nature rather than gods as such, and while they may be petitioned for help (as when Souta prays at key moments), they don't automatically favour human beings.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Daijin is selfish and [[spoiler: traps Souta as the Keystone]] but he [[spoiler:rescues Suzume from harm twice and ultimately willingly returns to his duty as the Keystone.]]

* LosingAShoeInTheStruggle: Grabbing onto Souta when he's [[spoiler:on the Great Wyrm in Tokyo]] yanks Suzume off the ground so violently that one of her shoes falls off.
* {{Masquerade}}: Closers like Souta do their best to keep the supernatural world from being revealed to the rest of the population. Both Souta and his grandfather tell Suzume that she should just return home and forget everything about the doors.
* MaybeEverAfter: Suzume is openly in love with Souta, but [[spoiler:while he is clearly fond of her and appreciates what she did to save him, it's not entirely clear if he feels the same way (or if he'd just prefer that she [[JailbaitTaboo graduates from high school first]]). He gently rebuffs her offer for him to return to Kyushu with her, and although the end credits show that he keeps his word to come visit later, it's not clear if he's interested in starting a romantic relationship.]][[note]]His memories shown from his POV do imply romantic feelings for her, though. At first, they start out more about other people, but increasingly become focused on Suzume. No negative memories are shown, so they are most likely all positive, just like when they close doors. Eventually they become entirely about her, as he narrates that he "finally found" Suzume and doesn't want to part with her. He finally cries out that he wants to live as the last thing we're shown is their traumatic parting, implying that she has inspired a strong desire to live in him. By the end, Suzume is not only wearing Souta's boots, but he gives her his sweater -- maybe a MeaningfulGift. Given Makoto Shinkai's penchant for subtlety in his romances, it's more than likely these are significant signs. It's at least months before they reunite (it's spring or summer when he leaves and winter when he returns), but that may indicate simply that Souta took the time to close the remaining doors, took care of his affairs in Tokyo, and gave Suzume time to graduate and to work things out with her aunt.[[/note]]

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Suzume is forced to [[spoiler:use Souta as the new Keystone to save Tokyo]].

* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Daijin roams around Japan, seemingly causing multiple doors to open and nearly cause earthquakes as he does so. It's only late in the movie that Suzume realizes [[spoiler:Daijin was actually guiding her and Souta to open doors. All he wanted was to spend time with Suzume]].

* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Suzume is forced to [[spoiler:use Souta as a new Keystone to save Tokyo]]. However, she quickly regrets this and it becomes clear that [[spoiler:having only one Keystone in the center of the Wyrm's body is resulting in even more minor earthquakes as its head and tail are now free to move]].

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Suzume pleads with [[spoiler:Souta]] to answer her and not give in to [[spoiler:the Keystone transformation]], but gets no response.

* RemovedAchillesHeel: The [[spoiler:Great Wyrm]] is entirely reliant on doors to enter the living world, so all it takes is one or two humans with a key and a prayer to stop it. The [[spoiler:Tokyo]] door is buried deep underground which prevents the protagonists from finding its location before [[spoiler:the Wyrm fully emerges, forcing Souta to seal it as the new Keystone]].

** About two-thirds of the way through the movie, Daijin reveals that the reason he can't [[spoiler:return to being the second Keystone to stop the Wyrm]] is because [[spoiler:he's already passed the role of the Keystone to Souta, which is why the latter has been having dreams where he's freezing to death and having trouble waking up]].
** Suzume visits [[spoiler:Mr. Munakata in the hospital so he can tell her how to save Souta, his grandson]], and he tells her that [[spoiler:the reason she's able to see the Ever After, and thus the Wyrm, when others can't is because she entered it once before (when she got lost there as a child), and that the only way she can go back there is through the same door where she accessed it the first time]].

* RiddleForTheAges: How did Suzume's childhood chair (and, by extension, Souta) lost one of its legs? [[spoiler:During Tsubame's flashback, its four legs are clearly intact, then we skip several years where it's already missing one leg. The StableTimeLoop didn't help in the end, since what adult Suzume gave her younger self was the already-damaged chair.]]
* RoadTripPlot: Most of the film has Suzume and Souta, trapped as a chair, travelling to several places across Japan (with Suzume making some friends along the way) in order to catch Daijin and prevent the gates in each area from opening up.
* ReunionVow: [[spoiler:Souta [[ButNowIMustGo has to part ways for Suzume for some amount of time]] in the denouement to continue his work, but thanks her for saving him and promises to come see her in her hometown. The final scene of the credits sees him returning to her.]]
* RuleOfSymbolism: Doors and keys. The doors represent not only the barrier between the Ever After and the real world, but also the mental barrier between the memories we repress and what we express outwardly. The keys--or, rather, Souta's ornate one--hold the authority to either lock or open up the aforementioned doors, either literal or metaphorical.

* SoloMissionBecomesGroupMission: Souta planned to pursue Daijin alone and insisted that Suzume go home. Suzume not only ignored his suggestions, she became vital to actually completing the mission since it's hard for a chair to buy train tickets.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Though it can affect the real world average people cannot see [[spoiler: the Great Wyrm]] unless they're Closers like Souta, or [[spoiler:Suzume due to visiting the Ever After as a child]], they can only notice its after effects as "earthquakes".

* VitriolicBestBuds: Tomoya tells Suzume he's pissed with Souta for [[spoiler:missing his teacher exam]] and the only reason he's checking in on him is that Souta owes him money. Eventually he admits he's genuinely concerned about Souta's disappearance and the money was just an excuse, since it's actually ''Tomoya'' that owes Souta.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Souta's grandfather is apparently quite strict and isn't approached for help earlier in the film because Souta doesn't want to disappoint him.

* WhereItAllBegan: Suzume realizes that to [[spoiler:save Souta]] she must return to [[spoiler:her hometown as it was where she entered the Ever After as a child]].

* CentralTheme: The connections people form between them. While the movie of course centers around Suzume's relationship to Souta and her aunt, just as important are the many people she runs into along her journey, all of which help her in small and big ways, from the friendly people who help her out of the goodness of her heart, to the people she befriends without getting anything in return. Even the method used to close the doors reflects this, as it relies on the locker to reflect on the people who once lived where the portal is located.

* MaybeEverAfter: Suzume is openly in love with Souta, but [[spoiler:while he is clearly fond of her and appreciates what she did to save him, it's not entirely clear if he feels the same way (or if he'd just prefer that she [[JailbaitTaboo graduates from high school first]]). He gently rebuffs her offer for him to return to Kyushu with her, and although the end credits show that he keeps his word to come visit later, it's not clear if he's interested in starting a romantic relationship.]][[note]]His memories shown from his POV give the most clarity on how he sees her. At first, they start out more about other people, but increasingly become focused on Suzume. No negative memories are shown, so they are most likely all positive, just like when they close doors. Eventually they become entirely about her, as he narrates that he "finally found" Suzume and that he doesn't want to part. He finally cries out that he wants to live as the last thing we're shown is their traumatic parting, implying that she has inspired a strong desire to live in him. By the end, Suzume is not only wearing Souta's boots, but he himself gives her his sweater -- maybe a MeaningfulGift. Given Makoto Shinkai's penchant for subtlety in his romances, it's more than likely these are significant signs. It's at least months before they reunite (it's spring or summer when he leaves and winter when he returns), but that may indicate simply that Souta took the time to close the remaining doors, took care of his affairs in Tokyo, and gave Suzume time to graduate and to work things out with her aunt.[[/note]]

* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler:Suzume is openly in love with Souta, but while he is clearly fond of her and appreciates what she did to save him, it's not entirely clear if he feels the same way (or if he'd just prefer that she [[JailbaitTaboo graduates from high school first]]). He gently rebuffs her offer to return to Kyushu with her, and although the end credits show that he keeps his word to come visit later, it's not clear if he's interested in starting a romantic relationship.]]
** [[spoiler: Souta's memories shown from his POV when Suzume saves Souta give the most clarity on how he sees Suzume. At first, they start out more about other people, but increasingly become exclusively focused on Suzume. No negative memories are shown, so they are just most likely all positive ones, just like when they close doors. Souta's memories increasingly contain Suzume and his most intimate moments until they're only about her, as he narrates with increasing emotion that he 'finally found' Suzume, and that he doesn't want to part. He finally cries out that he wants to live as the last thing we're shown is his traumatic parting with Suzume. As with Suzume, it's implied from this scene that she has inspired a strong desire to live within him, in part because he wants to to experience more life with her. There is also the fact that Souta also, on multiple occasions during the movie praises her in awe, and it is always Suzume who is the only one able to pull him back into his humanity when he's losing himself. By the end Souta, Suzume not only wearing Souta's boots that she took, but he himself gives her his sweater and does not take it back, which may be symbolism of a MeaningfulGift. Given Makoto Shinkai's penchant for subtlety in his romances, it's more than likely these are signs that he's just as in love with Suzume as she is with him. Given that he took so long to reunite, at least months (it's clearly spring or summer when he leaves and winter when he returns), it's possible that Souta not only closed the remaining doors, but that he also took care of his affairs in Tokyo, and gave her time to graduate as well as her and her aunt time to work things so that he could return to her to properly be with her from now on.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: Doors and keys. The doors represent not only the barrier between the Ever After and the real world, but also the mental barrier between the memories we repress and what we express outwardly. The keys---or, rather, Souta's ornate one---hold the authority to either lock or open up the aforementioned doors, either literal or metaphorical.

* AbandonedArea: Doors appear in abandoned areas because the lack of emotions from those who lived there creates an imbalance with the Ever After. As a result the film involves visits to areas abandoned either due to natural or financial disasters.
* AcademicAthlete: a DownplayedTrope example as Suzume, despite being a high school student, does a lot over the course of the movie, most notable of which is the fact that whenever she has to get over a waist-high barricade (be they a railing, divider, or an a-frame trail barrier) she jumps it like a hurdle without ever missing a beat. A more physical example of Suzume’s status as a BadassBookworm.

* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: Suzume ends up being one of these as she struggles to look after two kids, prompting Souta to help her by entertaining the kids himself, leaving Suzume to come up with something to keep the kids from questioning the living chair.

* BystanderSyndrome: After [[spoiler:sealing the Tokyo door]], a lot of people stare and whisper about Suzume's torn clothes, bloody socks, and general filthiness, but nobody actually steps forward to check if she's okay.

* CatsAreMean: Daijin takes the form of a very CuteKitten, but comes across as mean to people who have to deal with his true nature, which is something between a JerkassGod and a SadistTeacher. He abandons his duty to run off around Japan, and turns Souta into a chair [[spoiler:while forcing him into the role of the Keystone]]. The latter may be more in the nature of an accident, but Daijin’s refusal to explain what is going on feels much like a cat playing with its prey. [[spoiler:Sadaijin's introduction has him possess Tamaki and make her admit her buried resentment of Suzume so the two can finally talk about their problems]].

* CatsAreMean: Daijin takes the form of a very CuteKitten, but comes across as mean to people who have to deal with his true nature, which is something between a JerkassGod and a SadistTeacher. He abandons his duty to run off around Japan, and turns Souta into a chair [[spoiler:while forcing him into the role of the Keystone]]. The latter may be more in the nature of an accident, but Daijin’s refusal to explain what is going on feels much like a cat playing with its prey.

''Suzume'' (''Suzume no Tojimari'', lit. Suzume's Locking Up) is the eighth film from director Creator/MakotoShinkai. The film was animated by [=CoMix Wave Films=] and distributed by Creator/{{Toho}}. RADWIMPS once again composed the soundtrack alongside Kazuma Jinnouchi. At a runtime of 122 minutes, it stands as Shinkai's longest film to date.

** Miki from ''Anime/YourName'' makes an appearance as an employee of the karaoke bar, though it's unclear whether they are meant to be the same character or not.

** Suzume and Souta quite understandably believe that Daijin running around Japan opening doors to set the Wyrm lose, and are trying to stop him as well as close the doors. [[spoiler:And yet, Daijin appears many times on other people's social media in places that make it very obvious where he's going next, which seems counterintuitive since it's what allows the two of them to find and close the doors in time to avert disasters. It's actually because Daijin is ''not'' opening the doors, and is in fact leading Souta and Suzume to them as a way to spend time with the latter.]]

*** [[spoiler:When she is later furious with him for turning Souta into the new Keystone and leaving him apparently trapped in the Ever After for eternity, and tearfully yells at Daijin that she hates him for, he turns back to his emaciated appearance out of sadness and heartbreak that Suzume doesn't love him.]]

* IJustWantToBeLoved: Daijin just wants to be with Suzume who freed him from being a Keystone and was kind to him, [[spoiler:even if it means turning Souta into a replacement Keystone. The little cat is shaken when he realizes that Suzume doesn't love him because of this and she's furious with him for his actions.]]

** One of Chika's crates of tangerines falls off the back of her scooter and spills all over the road, and Souta and Suzume use a net to stop the oranges from rolling away down the hill. Chika is greatly appreciative and proceeds to be ''very'' helpful to them[[labelnote:*]]or, from her perspective, to Suzume, since she of course doesn't know that the chair she's carrying around is a transformed Souta[[/labelnote]], as she gives Suzume a lift to the abandoned middle school (allowing her and Souta to close the second door), feeds and houses her at her family in for the night, and gifts her new clothes.

** Downplayed in the denouement with [[spoiler:Souta. He ''does'' have to leave Suzume for a while so he can continue his Closer duties and also return home to Tokyo, but does so with a ReunionVow. The last scene of the credit shows that he keeps this promise.]]

* CatsAreMean: Daijin takes the form of a very CuteKitten, but comes across as mean to people who have to deal with his true nature, which is something between a JerkassGod and a SadistTeacher. He abandons his duty to run off around Japan, and turns Souta into a chair [[spoiler:while forcing him into the role of the keystone]]. The latter may be more in the nature of an accident, but Daijin’s refusal to explain what is going on feels much like a cat playing with its prey.

* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Chika suggests the best way to wake somebody up if they're a HeavySleeper is with a kiss. Suzume tries this with Souta at first but he wakes up before she figures out where his "face" is. [[spoiler:She does kiss him when Souta is about to freeze and later she does it again in the climax in order to restore his human form and stop becoming the keystone.]]

*** After Suzume unwittingly sets him free from being the keystone, when he first appears to her again at her bedroom window, he appears skinny and starving, but once she feeds him and he becomes fully attached to her, he instantly changes into looking like a healthy CuteKitten.
*** [[spoiler:When she is later furious with him for turning Souta into the new keystone and leaving him apparently trapped in the Ever After for eternity, and tearfully yells at Daijin that she hates him for, he turns back to his emaciated appearance out of sadness and heartbreak that Suzume doesn't love him.]]

* IJustWantToBeLoved: Daijin just wants to be with Suzume who freed him from being a keystone and was kind to him, [[spoiler:even if it means turning Souta into a replacement keystone. The little cat is shaken when he realizes that Suzume doesn't love him and she's furious with him for his actions.]]

* JerkassGods: Downplayed, but both Daijin and [[spoiler:Sadaijin]] have their moments. Daijin has grown bored with his role and wants to spend time with Suzume, so he runs away and [[spoiler:turns Souta into his replacement as the keystone]]. [[spoiler:Sadaijin possesses Tamaki and makes her confess her darker feelings towards Suzume]], though this seems to help their relationship. This is somewhat consistent with their status as ''kami'' out of Myth/JapaneseMythology; they are more living forces of nature rather than gods as such, and while they may be petitioned for help (as when Souta prays at key moments), they don't automatically favour human beings.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Daijin is selfish and [[spoiler: traps Souta as the keystone]] but he rescues Suzume [[spoiler: from harm twice and ultimately willingly returns to his duty as the keystone.]]

* RemovedAchillesHeel: The [[spoiler:Great Wyrm]] is entirely reliant on doors to enter the living world, so all it takes is one or two humans with a key and a prayer to stop it. The [[spoiler:Tokyo]] door is buried deep underground which prevents the protagonists from finding its location before [[spoiler:the Wyrm fully emerges, forcing Souta to seal it as the new keystone]].

** About two-thirds of the way through the movie, Daijin reveals that the reason he can't [[spoiler:return to being the second keystone to stop the Wyrm]] is because [[spoiler:he's already passed the role of the keystone to Souta, which is why the latter has been having dreams where he's freezing to death and having trouble waking up]].

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: By opening the door [[spoiler:and unknowingly releasing the keystone that becomes Daijin the cat]], Suzume unleashes a series of disasters on Japan.

** [[spoiler:When she is later furious with him for turning Souta into the new keystone and leaving him apparently trapped in the Ever After for eternity, and tearfully yells at Daijin that she hates him for, he turns back to his emaciated appearance out of sadness and heartbreak that Suzume doesn't love him.]]
** And finally, once [[spoiler:she realizes that Daijin, despite his selfishness, was actually helping her and Souta all along by leading them to the doors (rather than releasing the Wyrm himself like they'd feared), Suzume warmly thanks Daijin in a way that indicates that she's well on the way to forgiving him, and he turns back into his healthy-looking form again]].