Suzume's ending, explained

Summary

• Great dialogue and captivating visuals drive Suzume's Locking Up's compelling narrative.
• Souta's resurrection and the seal of the worm require teamwork and sacrifice for a satisfactory resolution.
• The touching meeting between her past and future selves brings closure and hope to Suzume's journey.

Makoto Shinkai's Suzume is shutting down is a story of pain and acceptance told through Suzume's journey across Japan in an attempt to right her mistake and corral an evil spirit. It's over 120 minutes of gripping action, bone-chilling suspense and heart-wrenching drama.

Suzume is shutting down he did a great job of telling his story through great dialogue and captivating visuals. However, some viewers may still not fully understand what happened at the end of this amazing film. With that in mind, here's an explanation of the ending of Suzume is shutting down. For the sake of clarity, this article will talk about five key moments from the film's third act that constitute its finale Suzume is shutting down. Needless to say, spoiler alert!

Daijin, Sadaijin

The Western Keystone and the Eastern Keystone

While on her way to visit a place where years ago she accidentally wandered through a door leading to Ever-After, Suzume meets a black cat who calls himself Sadaijin. Just like Daijin, Sadaijin is also a keystone that seals the worm. Daijin is responsible for the port in Kyushu, while Sadaijin is responsible for the port in Tokyo. When Suzume partially seals the worm with Souta having been transformed into a new keystone, Sadaijin is effectively freed from his seal.

Unlike the carefree Daijin who wants to have fun and forgets about his work, Sadaijin wants everything to go back to the way it was before. He knows that Suzume is trying to do just that, so he jumps in the car and rides along with Suzuma and the gang. Once they find the door and jump into the world of Ever-After, Sadaijin transforms into his true form, a colossal fox-like creature, and tries to hold the worm down while Daijin stays with Suzume and helps her find Souta.

“Return everything to how it was, with human hands.”

Souta, resurrected

Return to the human being

• Character Name: Souta Munakata
• Voiced by: Hokuto Matsumura (JP)/Josh Keaton (EN)

According to Souta's grandfather, once a person transforms into a keystone, there is no way for them to regain their humanity. This means that Souta will forever serve as a seal that keeps the worm from going crazy in the real world. But Suzume doesn't believe him. At least not until he tries to do everything he can to get Souta back.

When Suzume finds Souta stuck on top of the worm's tail – at this point he is still in his frozen little chair form – she tries her best to get him out but to no avail. Then he starts calling his name. He tries his best to reach his frozen heart. Souta himself had already given up at that moment and had almost completely lost consciousness. Luckily, Suzume's voice reaches him at the last moment, freeing him from the worm.

Seal the worm

A job for two people

Shouta's freedom means there is nothing left to stop the worm from escaping the Ever-After. Knowing how terrible the situation is and because he begins to appreciate Suzume and wants the best for her, Daijin finally agrees to return to being the key to sealing the worm. Likewise, Sadaijin is also ready to be the keystone to seal the other end of the worm.

Now that both Daijin and Sadaijin have returned to their stone statue forms, both Souta and Suzume are ready to seal the worm. The keystones teleport them into the sky, right above both ends of the worm. Without hesitation, Suzume pierces the worm with Daijin, the Western Keystone, and at the same time Souta pierces the worm with Sadaijin, the Eastern Keystone. In the blink of an eye the worm vanished without a trace. He's not dead though. The worm is simply sealed as it once was.

I am your tomorrow

When the past meets the future

Soon after Suzume regains consciousness after sealing the worm, she immediately notices a little girl walking in the distance. He cries as he shouts his mother's name. That little girl is Suzume.

When she lost her mother in a disaster more than ten years ago, little Suzume stumbled upon a door that connected her to the Ever-After. She entered the door looking for her mother, unaware that she had actually entered a different realm. This version of Suzume is the one the current Suzume sees right now. The Ever-After is a world where the souls of the dead reside. This is a place where all times collide. Here the past, present and future happen at the same time. This is why it is possible for Suzume to meet her past/future self.

“You see, Suzume… no matter how sad you are now, you will grow up. So, don't worry. The future is not so scary. You will meet many people who care about you. And you will also meet many people who will care about you. The night It may seem endless right now, but one day the morning will come, you will grow up basking in that light, I'm sure it's written in the stars.”

—Suzume, talking to her younger self.

In the end everything worked out. The woman she met in her dream all those years ago is actually the older version of herself. Now that she realizes what has happened, Suzume immediately stands up and talks to her younger self. He calms her down and slowly reassures her younger self that everything will be okay. She also gives the three-legged chair to her younger self. Once he ensures that little Suzume returns safely to his time, Suzume and Souta return through their own door.

We meet again

Same place, same time

• Character Name: Suzume Iwato
• Voiced by: Nanoka Hara (JP)/Nichole Sakura (EN)

After wrapping up the whole affair with the disaster worm, Suzume separates from Souta. Some time later, perhaps near winter as they both wear warmer clothes, Suzume finally meets Souta again, in the very same place where they first met. They greet each other with a smile.

This is the final scene of the film. This part of the ending is actually quite simple and requires no further explanation. But since we've already talked about the previous scenes at length, we might as well mention this final scene. And that concludes Suzume is shutting down.

Suzume's Locking Up is available to stream on Crunchyroll.