The Garden of Words (言の葉の庭, Kotonoha no Niwa?) is a 2013 Japanese anime film produced by CoMix Wave Films and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film premiered at the Gold Coast Film Festival in Australia on the 28th of April ahead of the Japanese theatrical release on the 31st of May. The film was screened with an animated short called Dareka no Manazashi (だれかのまなざし?). The film has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America. Takao Akizuki is a 15 year old student who lives with his melodramatic mother and adult older brother. He yearns to be a shoemaker, having being enraptured as a child by a pair gifted to his mother, though his immediate friends and family think little will come from his goal. One morning commuting to school during the rainy season, Takao opts to skip his first class and head to the park to sketch shoe designs, and encounters Yukari Yukino, a well-dressed young woman drinking beer in the early morning drizzle. They do not speak to one ...