soon coming declaration of war against Ezo, to fly to the tower and destroy it before its rays affect everything on Earth, which in turn will save Sayuri. The plane only seats two, so Takuya allows Hiroki to pilot the plane and fulfill their childhood promise. Hiroki manages to fly the plane across the strait to the Tower carrying Sayuri and a missile provided by the Uilta Liberation Front. When Sayuri finally awakens while the plane circles the Tower, the Tower activates and immediately begins to transform the surrounding area; the area under transformation grows to encompass much of Hokkaido. In the last few minutes of her coma, Sayuri realizes that when she awakes she will lose all her memories of her dreams of the past 3 years, and thus upon waking she weeps because, unknowingly, she lost the memory of her love for Hiroki. Flying back, Hiroki fires the missile, destroying the Tower and stopping the matter transformation. The film ends with Hiroki vowing to Sayuri that they will start their relationship anew. Cast Allusions The film includes several references to other literary works and themes, such as separation and dreams. The poem read by Sayuri in class is from the poem collection by well-known Japanese writer Kenji Miyazawa (1896–1933). It was written on the occasion of the premature death of his sister, Toshi Miyazawa (1898–1922). Furthermore, during the summer sequence in the film, Sayuri is seen reading a novel titled by Morishita Sakae. Although the author is fictional, a book of the same name exists by a similarly named poet, Hoshio Sakae. A reference to the director's previous work is made when Takuya and Hiroki meet at the station. They see a cat which Takuya calls Chobi, the name of the cat from She and Her Cat. Music Theme song Performed by Ai Kawashima Lyrics by Makoto Shinkai Music by Tenmon Arranged by Tenmon Original soundtrack Awards Special Distinction (Feature Film category) – Seoul Comics and Animation Festival 2005 Jury Selection in the 9th Japan Media Arts Festival Silver Prize on Best Animated Film Section (by audience choice) of Public Prize – Canada Fantasia Film Festival Award for Art in Seiun Award – 44th Japanese SF Convention Best Animated Film – Mainichi Film Awards 2004 Award for Expression Technique (for Trailer #1) – Tokyo International Anime Fair 2003 DVD Regular release The Place Promised in Our Early Days