I will skip all the synopsis summaries and character introductions and get straight to the point assuming that youve already watched the movie in its whole. I have come to conclude that depending on what this movie tried to achieve my rating for it should vary drastically. What Kind of Movie is Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni? Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni in a Vacuum Let us assume that Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni does not relate to any reallife historical event or that it has any connections to politics or philosophy. In that case this movie is an absolute gem. The animation voice acting sound design writing and anything that makes any other anime amazing is amazing in Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni. However no work ever exists in a vacuum. Every work is at least interpretable philosophically and the same is true for this movie as well. Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni as a NonInterpretative Historical Recording As I see it the movie sells and presents itself as an attempt of noninterpretive historical media. That means the movie attempts to convey how life in Kure Japan was without interpreting it in any way. If we accept this line of interpretation then the movie comes to be seen as an even greater work than when interpreted in a vacuum. Why? Because there are lines in this movie which displayed 1. the characters/peoples inclination towards war and support for the imperial cause of Japan the scene where Japans unconditional surrender is announced military personnel being proud of their military be it technological advancements 2. support for Japancentric panasianism the scene where Japans unconditional surrender is anncounced. These lines in a vacuum can only be interpreted as a support for war. Outside of the vacuum and interpreted as a noninterpretative historical recording however these lines can be deemed as acceptable nay amazing portrayals of how life was at the time. However no historical work is ever noninterpretative E. H. Carr. Every assortment of historical facts is at least interpretable by which facts were chosen to be presented or not and the same is true for this movie as well. Therefore we are left with two concluding interpretations which are: Interpretation 1: Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni is a critical piece aiming to interpret the nuclear attacks on Japan as selfinflicted pains The interpretation that Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni stands as a work criticising the actions of Imperial Japan at that time is made possible by the fact that the characters were wishing that everyone just gets along in peace a line from the movie. Because truth be told 1. the Japanese bombings were a direct result of Pearl Harbor 2. most wars of the EastAsian War/Pacific War/15 Years War/etc. were initiated by Japan. Which means that the situation which led the characters to wish that everyone would just get along in peace was largely initiated by Japan themselves. With these considerations in mind it would be possible to interpret Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni as a critical work. However this interpretation is shaky since it is never mentioned or shown that 1. the Japanese bombings were a direct result of Pearl Harbor and 2. most wars of the EastAsian War/Pacific War/15 Years War/etc. were initiated by Japan. It is this shakiness which leads me to: Interpretation 2: Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni is an unacceptable attempt at victimism Let me clarify that The pain and suffering of victims of nuclear attacks which words themselves let alone a short text of some random weeb could never give justice to are extreme unjustifiable and are the result of an undeniable crime against humanity. This text is NOT about who suffered more or less. This text is NOT whataboutism. Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni does an applaudable job at conveying the pain that was felt of these victims. I emphasized with that pain i cried a lot even if I could never even come close to knowing or understanding their pain fully. I love Japanese culture I believe all people are equally good/bad controversial but Just being Japanese does not endow you with responsibility for the actions of a government that existed before you were even born. That being said I find it unacceptable that lines supportive of the Japanese war/imperial effort were assorted in combination with the pains of a nuclear attack. As clarified the pains of the victims are immeasurable. However they do not nullify the pain inflicted through Imperial Japan. The fact that it is never mentioned or shown that 1. the Japanese bombings were a direct result of Pearl Harbor and 2. most wars of the EastAsian War/Pacific War/15 Years War/etc. were initiated by Japan only serves to strengthen this interpretation. One might address that an ordinary person in Japan at that time would have had no way of knowing those facts. Yet this would only mean that this movie is representing the reasoning or justification behind why an ordinary person in Japan at that time would have supported the Japanese war/imperialist effort. This in the context of our interpretation historical + political can only be seen as a general justification of these efforts. Conclusion All in all this movie left me conflicted. As said in a semivacuum as a noninterpretative work this anime is amazing. But history my history makes it difficult for me to accept the victimism attempt that is Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni which is why I really cannot give a singular score to rate this anime. In fact this is why I decided to leave the rating out for this movie on my profile.