8 Makoto Shinkai Animation Films That Will Blow You Away

1. The Voices Of a Distant Star (2002)

2. The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)

Just like Voices in a Distant Star and 5 Centimeters Per Second, this is a story about 2 people and their distances. Unlike Voices where their distance is that of time and space, The Place Promised in Our Early Days is about their distance across dimensions/dreams/reality.

Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa harbour admiration for two things in their life: their classmate Sayuri Sawatari and the vast Ezo Tower that stands boundlessly across the Tsugaru Strait. Fascinated by the limitless structure beyond their reach, Hiroki and Takuya begin constructing an aeroplane from a fallen drone they discovered—naming it the Bella Ciela—to fulfill their dream of one day reaching the sky-scraping top of the tower. Later joined by the girl they love, Hiroki and Takuya promise Sayuri to fly with her to the seemingly otherworldly top together. However, Japan has suffered a North-South partitioning that has fueled conflict near the base of the tower, which marks the border between the America-controlled Southern islands and the Northern lands occupied by the Soviet Union.

In the end, I was entertained. A little depressed maybe, but I really liked it. I felt like I watched something I’ll always remember and will probably watch again and again. This is a movie every drama/romance anime fan should have in their “completed” section.

3. 5 Centimeter per Second (2007)

5 Centimeter per Second is a romantic drama that focuses on the mundane and harsh reality of long-distance relationships. Stuck in the past and unable to make any new memories, Takaki and Akari cling to the hope of seeing each other again. They live their everyday lives half-heartedly, both hurting themselves and the people around them.

What happens when two people love each other but just aren’t meant to be together? Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara are childhood friends, but circumstances beyond their control tear them apart. They promise to stay in contact, and although the progression of time widens the distance between them, the chain of memories remains ever-present.

5 Centimeter per Second is a movie that takes a story of growing up and makes it into something that cannot be described as anything less than a masterpiece, with astounding themes, storytelling, art and sound. If someone told me I could watch one movie before I died, I’d undoubtedly choose this one.

4. Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)

Children Who Chase Lost Voices is one of the most “Gibli-like” animations from acclaimed creator and director Makoto Shinkai. The story centres on a small town in the countryside, where a young girl called Asuna spends her time after school listening to the strange music that comes from the crystal radio that her father left to her before he passed away.

Between being an exceptional student and taking care of the house alone during her mother’s absence, Asuna Watase’s only distraction is listening to her old crystal radio in her secret mountain hideout. One day, she accidentally tunes to a mysterious and melancholic melody, different from anything she has ever heard before. Soon after, an enigmatic boy named Shun saves her from a dangerous creature, unknowingly dragging Asuna on a long journey to a long-lost land bound to surpass her very imagination, turning her once melodic life into an intricate requiem.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices is a fairly easy movie to watch as long as the viewer doesn’t delve too deeply, and it has a much lighter and more adventurous tone than Shinkai’s previous offerings. In addition to this, if one considers it an experiment with a new type of story then it doesn’t just become a reasonably entertaining feature, but also a glimpse into the mind of Makoto Shinkai, and that is a much more rewarding experience than the movie itself.

5. The Garden of Words (2013)

The Garden of Words is a short film depicting the romance and relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a 27-year-old woman. Takao, the high school boy, feels lost and alienated by his uncertain future and passion for shoemaking. Concurrently, Yukino feels lost in an adult society where she feels she does not belong.

On a rainy morning in Tokyo, Takao Akizuki, an aspiring shoemaker, decides to skip class to sketch designs in a beautiful garden. This is where he meets Yukari Yukino, a beautiful yet mysterious woman, for the very first time. Offering to make her new shoes, Takao continues to meet with Yukari throughout the rainy season, and without even realizing it, the two are able to alleviate the worries hidden in their hearts just by being with each other. However, their personal struggles have not disappeared completely, and as the end of the rainy season approaches, their relationship will be put to the test.

The Garden of Words is a magnificent movie that adopts a more nuanced and authentic approach to exploring human relationships. As stated initially, this is not simply a bittersweet romance that many condemn it to be but a subtle journey into the solitude and desires humans hold, within a prominent and relevant modern-day social context.

6. Your Name. (2013)

Your Name., revolves around Mitsuha and Taki’s actions, which begin to have a dramatic impact on each other’s lives, weaving them into a fabric held together by fate and circumstance.

Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl, yearns to live the life of a boy in the bustling city of Tokyo—a dream that stands in stark contrast to her present life in the countryside. Meanwhile, in the city, Taki Tachibana lives a busy life as a high school student while juggling his part-time job and hopes for a future in architecture.

One day, Mitsuha awakens in a room that is not her own and suddenly finds herself living the dream life in Tokyo—but in Taki’s body! Elsewhere, Taki finds himself living Mitsuha’s life in the humble countryside. In pursuit of an answer to this strange phenomenon, they begin to search for one another.

Though some might be repelled or jaded by segments that feel like emotional manipulation – especially when considering Shinkai’s past filmography – Your Name., succeeds in delivering an engrossing experience, complete with magnificent set pieces, laughs, and heart-wrenching, gripping drama.

7. Weathering with You (2019)

While Your Name. felt like Makoto Shinkai proving himself to the world, Weathering with You feels like the author simply being himself– because it’s time for the world to get to know him. Weathering with You, in its essence, is an urban story.

Tokyo is currently experiencing rain showers that seem to disrupt the usual pace of everyone living there to no end. Amidst this seemingly eternal downpour arrives the runaway high school student Hodaka Morishima, who struggles to financially support himself—ending up with a job at a small-time publisher. At the same time, the orphaned Hina Amano also strives to find work to sustain herself and her younger brother.

Both fates intertwine when Hodaka attempts to rescue Hina from shady men, deciding to run away together. Subsequently, Hodaka discovers that Hina has a strange yet astounding power: the ability to call out the sun whenever she prays for it. With Tokyo’s unusual weather in mind, Hodaka sees the potential of this ability. He suggests that Hina should become a “sunshine girl”—someone who will clear the sky for people when they need it the most.

Should you watch it? Yes, absolutely. Bring your whole family, your new date, and your children along. It’s fantastically friendly for all situations and ages, and a complete film if you don’t mind the details. But if you really think about the film at a more in-depth level, you will be bugged by its many shortcomings.

8. Suzume no Tojimari (2022)

Suzume no Tojimari is a soothing yet mysterious story. A young country girl is on an adventure of self-discovery, exploring urban cities of Japan for the first time to lock these so-called ‘doors’ – a journey that tests her bravery, love and willpower in order to achieve her goal.

Suzume, a 17-year-old girl who lives in a quiet town in Kyushu, encounters a travelling young man who tells her “I’m looking for a door.” She follows after him and discovers a weathered door in the ruins in the mountains as if it were the only thing left standing from a collapse. As if drawn by something, Suzume reaches for the door…Before long, doors begin to open one after another in various parts of Japan. As disasters come from the far side of the doors, the open doors must be closed.

The stars, the setting sun, and the morning sky—in that place she wandered into, there was a sky that seemingly blended all of the time together. Guided by the mysterious doors, Suzume’s “door-locking journey” begins.

If you liked the previous movies from Makoto Shinkai, then you’ll most likely like this one, it’s in my opinion his best work. He has perfected what his previous works couldn’t do.