Makoto Shinkai Exhibition Held in Fukuoka

To celebrate the opening of Makoto Shinkai’s newest theatrical animation, Garden of Words, an exhibition of original prints was held in Kotobukiya Fukuoka Tenjin’s event space. Many fans of Shinkai from around the world came to gaze intently.

Stills and reproductions of Shinkai’s past works, storyboards, image boards, official posters from the time of release, and clips from the film were on show in the event space.

For the general public, the storyboards were especially worth seeing, as they seldom have the opportunity. A detailed explanation was given for each scene. For example, the direction of movement from the point of view of the protagonist, the feeling of that time, the movement of the surrounding scenery, and more.

If you look at these storyboards, although it credits Shinkai as the animation director, he isn’t just a director. He’s also in charge of voice acting, performance direction, camera operation, lighting, scenery, props––it must be strenuous work. Even so, at the same time, Shinkai’s works keenly transmit the love he puts into them.

© Makoto Shinkai / CoMix Wave Films

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.