Makoto Shinkai has been known to be one of the anime industry’s prominent filmmakers, capturing hearts and minds throughout the years. After making its debut in Japan last fall, Shinkai’s most recent film Suzume has finally made its way to the United States, with its box office records placing it in fourth for the highest-grossing anime film of all time, just behind another film of his, Your Name. With outstanding animation, story structure, characters and visuals, some may find it difficult to understand why a few have criticized it, despite it perhaps hitting too close to some of Shinkai’s other films.
After the titular character’s curiosity gets the better of her, she wanders into an abandoned resort where she finds a lone door. While it shows a beautiful field lit up by the night sky, she is unable to enter it, and she leaves out of frustration and fear. Due to forgetting to close the door, a large, red wormlike creature appears, threatening to cause a disastrous earthquake if it doesn’t get sealed back up in time. When Souta, a young man tasked with the responsibility of keeping similar doors shut, becomes cursed into the body of a chair by a mysterious cat, it’s up to Suzume to handle the rest of the doors before an even greater calamity strikes Japan. While Suzume has been met with immense praise from both fans and critics, there are several other Shinkai films definitely worth checking out.
Shinkai’s Best Works Include Weathering With You and Garden of Words
Shinkai’s award-winning Weathering With You focuses on high school student Hodaka Morishima, who runs away from his old home so that he can start a new life in Tokyo. Along the way, he encounters a young girl who can manipulate the weather at her own will and realizes that her ability can help several people, not yet aware of the cost. Despite having a simple love story, Weathering With You enables viewers to connect with the characters and remain eager to know what will happen throughout their relationship.
The box office record breaker Your Name follows second-year high school student Mitsuha Miyamizu, who is displeased with her life in the countryside and would give anything to live in Tokyo. This wish suddenly comes true when she temporarily swaps bodies with a boy three years into the future named Taki Tachibana. As they continue to switch lives, they are prompted to meet each other in person. Although Mitsuha and Taki live opposite lives, Your Name shows them slowly longing for each other as they continue to experience their own interactions with the world around them.
Shinkai’s shorter film The Garden of Words centers on Takao Akizuki, a first-year high school student who would rather devote his time to making shoes than attending class. During one of his escapades at a garden, he comes face to face with Yukari Yukino, a mysterious woman in her late 20s. As the garden becomes their designated meeting place while Takao upholds his promise to make shoes for her, their ability to confide in each other helps them deal with their intense feelings. The film’s extreme focus on the titular garden makes it feel as if the viewer is actually there, especially given its realistic rain sounds and the overall beauty seen throughout the garden.
Why Your Name Is Makoto Shinkai’s Best Film to Date
Although Mitsuha and Taki lose their memories whenever they end back up in their respective bodies, they still feel as if they truly know each other, giving them an eerie sense of déjà vu. Not only does Your Name highlight this all-too-common feeling, but it also emphasizes it by bringing in themes of long-distance relationships and separation, which are prominent throughout the film as Mitsuha and Taki yearn to reconnect over and over, setting up the foundation for their romance. However, the love story between the two is not the main focus of the film. Instead, Your Name prioritizes Mitsuha and Taki’s phenomenon of simply wanting to reach each other, allowing itself to be relatable to viewers by showcasing a very realistic experience.
The film’s depiction of Tokyo is heavily faithful to its real-life appearance, showing several authentic locations in all the correct areas, enabling its viewers to experience the city at a glance without actually having to travel there. With its superb animation and artwork detail to the city, one can easily distinguish which one of Shinkai’s films it belongs to, giving Your Name a unique art style that cannot be replicated.
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