Hayao Miyazaki is respected amonganimelovers as the best anime directors in history. However, the international craze forYour Namesurpassed the success ofSpirited Away, since it is ranked as the highest-grossing anime to date, proving thatMakoto Shinkaiis as equally good of a director as Miyazaki. The films directed by him are full of spectacular animation, and the stories even more alluring, making Shinkai’s films to be moving and impactful.
10Weathering with You (2019)
Weathering with Youis about a high-school student, Hodaka, who has run away and his crucial meeting with Hina, a bright girl, who can make the sun shine bright. The two start a business where Hina provides her services to whoever requests a clear sky. Though they are very happy, they realize her unique ability has its consequences.
The story iscasual and full of humor, though it still possesses some seriousness since it revolves around runaway teenagers, problematic family life, and the supernatural barrier of love. The conclusion is a positive one and there is a lot of exciting action. The film has a lot of references to Japanese mythology and comments on climate change.
9Your Name (2016)
Your Namewas an international success for anime. It is Shinkai’s most famous and well-received film, the plot transports the viewers into an amazing, yet confusing journey of two teenagers who are woken up to the realization that they have swapped bodies. Mitsuha has grown up in the Japanese countryside, but has a deep longing to live in a big city, while Taki is managing a part-time job in Tokyo with high school. They lead extremely different lives, they converge toward one another because of a supernatural coincidence, only to find out that their destinies are intertwined.
The film explores themes of lost human connections, star-crossed romances, time, space, and Japanese mythology. The story is extremely moving and is full of surprises, laughter, and a lot of tears.
85 Centimeters Per Second (2007)
5 Centimeters Per Secondhas got to be Shinkai’s darker-themed anime. It’s divided into three acts inchronological order, based on the story of old friends, Takaki and Akari as they are torn apart because of distance and time.
There is a wistfulness in the animation that is underrated, and the characters are very realistic and complicated, as they attempt to make the viewers privy to their struggles with being lonely and experiencing unrequited love. The film is tinged with melancholy, and makes the hearts of the viewers ache for their lost love. Those who have experienced the difficulties of long-distance relationships will find this a very relatable plot.
Related:Suzume Review: Makoto Shinkai’s Newest Movie Is Visually Stunning but Formulaic and Repetitive
7The Garden of Words (2013)
The Garden of Wordscreates atouching story with relatable characters. 15-year-old Takao Akizuki skips school whenever it rains, so he can work on shoe designing at the national gardens. He runs into a 27-year-old woman eating chocolate and drinking beer one day. They start bumping into one another every time it rains, creating a close connection, even though they never ask one another for their names or any introduction.
This film is a testimony to Shinkai’s artwork, which is beyond beautiful. He is focused on certain minutiae which are brought to life through his art. There are vibrant green bushes in the gardens, a luscious red juicy tomato, and gleaming raindrops pattering on the pavement. It is visually very exciting to watch, and makes one wish all rainy days looked this appealing in real life.
6Suzume (2022)
Suzumefollows the life of Suzume, as she runs into astrange door in the middle of some ruins. Upon opening the door, she finds an exquisite world, however, it invites an evil spirit with the ability to destroy Japan in an earthquake. Souta, a Keeper, possesses the power to prevent this disaster bylocking such mystery doorswith a key. However, he is cursed by the door’s keystone, and transforms into Suzume’s tiny chair. Along with this new chair companion, Suzume leaves on a journey across Japan in order to bring back the keystone to lock all open doors andstop the catastrophefrom taking place.
The romance between a chair and a human appears to be rather cute. However, the real theme to explore is Suzume’s coming-of-age. Her self-discovery is a metaphor for overcoming loss after natural disasters.
5Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
Asuna Watase, a young girl, istaken on a journey to Agartha, the world of the dead. As she walks to her clubhouse, she’s attacked by an other-worldly creature, and is saved by a strange boy, Shun. He takes her on an adventure of self-discovery, which help her to unravel the secrets of the peculiar music that comes out of the radio that her father gave her.
4Voices of a Distant Star (2002)
Voices of a Distant Staris Shinkai’s first film, which he wrote, produced, directed, and animated himself. It follows two friends who develop a gap when the girl is sent to space to fight a war against aliens. With the passage of time, she moves further away from Earth and her text messages take longer to reach him. The boy waits for a never-ending amount of time for her messages, which take forever to come.
3The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
The Place Promised in Our Early Daysis a dystopian romance set in an alternative historical time period where Japan is divided between the North and the South. The North is controlled by the Soviet Union and the South is controlled by America.
Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa are friends who enjoy building aircraft. They happen to be in love with a classmate, Sayuri Sawatari. While in middle school, the friends wished to fly together to reach a strange tower near their hometown, but Sayuri disappears, and the two boys grow apart over time. However, their paths cross again after three years, an incident makes them cross paths, which reveals the secrets of the mystery tower and brings new energy to the promises they made to one another earlier.
1She and Her Cat: Their Standing Points (1999)
This film is about a cat thatmoved to a new owner, as it attempts to understand the complexities of human emotions. Animals can be simple but hard-to-understand beings, similar to humans, who are more vocal and physical with their actions.She and Her Cat: Their Standing Pointsshows step-by-step how the cat ends up bonding with the human girl and slowly falling in love with her, until it grows old. For those interested in watching mundane but wholesome films, this can be a great watch.
