June's Rainy Season Holds the Most Restrained Regret

June's rainy season holds Makoto Shinkai's most restrained regret. Every time the rainy season comes, I can't help but rewatch 'The Garden of Words'. Others say it's a fleeting student-teacher affection, but after watching it, I just felt it was two lonely people who happened to support each other through their lowest points. Fifteen-year-old Akizuki, with his dream of making shoes, was lost and anxious about the future; twenty-seven-year-old Yukino, trapped by rumors and self-doubt, lost the courage to move forward. They were never perfect protagonists, just people who met the one who understood them best on a drizzly morning in a small pavilion. There were no grand confessions, no melodramatic plot twists. Only the continuous drizzle, falling leaves, a quiet pavilion, and the unspoken feelings between them. "But I hope the wind and rain come, so you can stay here" It turns out the deepest longing isn't for a long companionship, but a wish for the rain to slow down, allowing me to stay by your side a little longer. Only after growing up did I understand the heartbreaking point of this anime: The most helpless thing in the world is that the person who saves you is often the person you can never have. The rain will stop, the seasons will change, and the brief encounter will eventually end. But the tenderness of that rainy day forever healed the two trapped souls.