Making Sense Out of Suffering  by Peter Kreeft, first published in 1986, explores this classic question. The text is concise, it is...

A tight narrative about an ugly woman’s desire for attention. Tragedy follows her decisions. Some plot conveniences but beautifully shot.

Somewhat predictable. Tries too hard to look cool at times. Good voice acting (Japanese). Not bad but nothing great. Overhyped.

My Verdict: An amusing supernatural-fantasy drama. Excellent cast. Beautifully lit and shot. But female lead’s past is not well handled.

Remake of the 2008 Taiwanese series. Tries to be quirky as well as tragic. Drags on for too long. Annoying male lead. Avoidable.

A fantasy-adventure that follows elementary school student Asuna and widower Mr Morisaki as they deal with death and loss.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days is Shinkai’s first feature-length work that, like most of his later works, explores friendship.

Voices of a Distant Star is an OVA and one of Shinkai’s earlier works. Like most of his later works, it explores love and friendship.

Anime, Manga and Light Novel review of Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second.