Blog Archives

Your Name (2016)

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Posted on July 16, 2018 by Andrew

Stunning skyscapes. The beauty in everyday things and moments. Close ups of mobile phones. The contrast between light and shade. Separation, longing, regret. Yep, it’s a Makoto Shinkai movie.

Your Name concerns the growing relationship between high schoolers Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi), a girl from a lakeside township and Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a boy from bustling Tokyo. The catch is, they have never met. Each has what they first believe is a dream, walking a mile in the other’s shoes — … (read more)

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Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)

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Posted on September 17, 2012 by Deni

Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Down Below is screening around the country at the Reelanime Festival 13-26 September. Please check the website for session times.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Down Below might seem like an unnecessarily long title, (let’s be honest, like all of them seem to be) but director-writer Makoto Shinkai still hasn’t lost his ability to tell a poignant and entertaining story. This feature is, deep in its depths, about grief and acceptance, a tale … (read more)

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5 Centimetres per Second (2009)

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Posted on August 7, 2009 by Andy

Yep, trying to write a synopsis for a new Makoto Shinkai anime is a thankless task. It comes off sounding like a TAFE writing course exercise veering off into high school therapy territory. But in the hands of Makoto Shinkai, a master of creating emotional landscapes, the result is entirely the opposite. There aren’t too many creators like Makoto Shinkai. He is a true iconoclast in the world of anime. He writes, storyboards and directs his projects. The content of … (read more)

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Voices of a Distant Star (2003)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Deni

It’s possible that everything you’ve heard about this anime is true. For a virtually solo effort, produced on a personal computer in the director/animator/writer’s home, it is more than merely good — it’s amazing. And while it might not have all the polish of a studio production it has something else. Heart. Watching it, you want to judge it by the standards you are used to, but five minutes into it such desires are forgotten and you find yourself taken … (read more)

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The Place Promised in our Early Days (2004)

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Posted on January 8, 2006 by Andy

The Place Promised in Our Early Days is the first full length feature from Mokoto Shinkai. Shinkai first came to prominence with Voices From a Distant Star, an anime that he produced almost single-handedly. Voices From A Distant Star, with its melancholy voice over and themes of separation and loss, was not only an awesome achievement but also an incredibly emotionally resonant piece that announced the arrival of a true auteur.

With Place, Shinkai again returns to … (read more)

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