Shopping Guide
In this three-part interview, we are delivering the charm of director Makoto Shinkai’s newest work, The Garden of Words. Director Shinkai, who has fans throughout the world, has plans to expand his newest work to the overseas market. He participated in the recently held “Gold Coast Film Festival” in Australia as a guest, and he was present at the premiere screening of his new work. Let’s take a look at what he thought of it.
TOM: How was the premiere in Australia?
Shinkai: Overseas people have very vivid reactions. They would laugh loud or be noisy during the screening... Their reactions came through pretty directly, and it was a very encouraging experience. I had the chance to talk to some fans during the autograph sessions before and after the movie, but there were more than 200 of them. I was deeply moved. I consciously made this anime so that everyone could enjoy it even if they don’t have a common starting point, so I was very happy that it was accepted by this many people.
TOM: In the future, do you plan on releasing it for overseas audiences?
Shinkai: Of course, I don’t want to finish with Japan. Plus, even if I didn’t care, it would still be illegally uploaded to the internet. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, it premiered the same day as Japan, and Korean, American, and Russian premieres are also on schedule. Overseas markets are always included in the premises of my produced work. At first, I was thinking of distributing it online.
TOM: Your new anime is a short work of only 46 minutes. Are there fans saying they would like to see more?
Shinkai: When planning this anime, it inevitably settled at 46 minutes. That’s why I was thinking of releasing this short work into the world online, so that people could watch it on high resolution LCD screens like tablets, close to their eyes. There was also the concept that I wanted to surprise people, to make them think, “My screen is really this good?” while watching this high density work on their devices. A two-hour movie or something similar might be a bit too long to watch on a tablet, but this length is still okay for the eyes. I wanted everyone to watch it in an environment that is most convenient for people in our time. I am confident that this work will leave positive impressions after watching it. And if that’s the case anyway, isn’t it better to easily convey that positivity in a short time?
The beauty of the movie itself, the realistically drawn characters, the nostalgic story...due to his delicate way of working, director Makoto Shinkai receives wide support from all over the world. The Garden of Words, a story between a 15-year-old boy who aims to become a shoemaker and a 27-year-old woman who is tired of society was released in theaters on May 31. The beautifully transparent world of director Shinkai’s first work in the subject of love is something you should taste in a movie theater if you have the chance.
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.