Films by Makoto Shinkai - Pick of the Week (week 8)

This week's pick of the week is not about a device or software, but about the filmography of director and animator Makoto Shinkai. He has been producing anime films or short films since 1999, initially mostly on his own or with a very small team. For my anime collection, which includes more than 30 films and most of them are in it Studio Ghibli Films Makoto Shinkai's animes are essential. If the name rings something for you, it is probably the hit movie "Your Name". This was a worldwide success in 2016/2017. 

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Makoto Shinkai filmography at a glance

Here you can find the previous films in chronological order. If I found DVDs, Blu-Rays or streams of the films on Amazon, you will find them linked after the names and years. Some of the titles, including the more recent ones, are currently not available and cannot be streamed (in Germany).

• Other Worlds (1999)
• She and Her Cat (1999)
• Voices of a Distant Star (2002) - DVD version 
• Egao (2003)
• The Place Promised In Our Early Days (2004) - DVD, Blu-Ray and Stream
• 5 centimeters per second (2007)
• Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
• The Garden of Words (2013) - DVD and Blu-Ray
• Your Name (2016) - DVD, Blu-Ray and Stream
• Weathering With You (2019) - DVD, Blu-Ray and Stream

Makoto Shinkai Films: from "She and Her Cat" to "Your Name" to "Weathering With You"

After the 1999 created Other Worlds Makoto Shinkai succeeded in the same year She and Her Cat the breakthrough. The short film, which illuminates the relationship between a cat and its owner over a year, only lasts a few minutes and is monochrome without color. You can find it, for example, as bonus material in the double feature from Voices of a Distant Star and 5 centimeters per second. It is also available with English fan synchronization on Youtube. The book for the short film with the title "The Gift of a Rainy Day" will be released on April 28, 2021.

Both Voices of a Distant Star as well as most The Place Promised In Our Early Days and 5 centimeters per second are masterpieces in themselves. With The Garden of Words you get a short film that does not come close to the epic proportions of the other titles, but provides a melancholy atmosphere with beautiful pictures. The light in particular is always special in Makoto Shinkai films. Children Who Chase Lost Voices I haven't seen it yet.

With the most famous title of the list above, namely with Your Name, Makoto Shinkai made his global breakthrough. Even if he was already a household name for anime lovers, this film got him an attention that went beyond the “scene”. Personally, I like the follow-up film Weathering With You a little more. Feel free to leave a comment with your favorite anime;)

The topics: relationships, distance, closeness, time and space

While “She and Her Cat” was about a simple discussion of a cat-owner relationship from the point of view of the animal over the course of a year, the following films became more complex. The films, some of which are interspersed with science fiction elements, deal with different types of relationships and their problems through spatial or temporal distance. The SMS messages of the characters in “Voices of a Distant Star” take longer and longer to send because one of the people in space is moving away from Earth.

In “Your Name” two people keep swapping bodies. But not only that, this exchange is also delayed so that they cannot easily meet by pointing out where they live. Meanwhile, “Weathering With You” is about sacrifice, in which a young couple comes together, is torn apart by magical incidents and can come together again through a momentous decision. Here, too, a lot of time passes during the story.

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.