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This article was originally published on April 14, 2023.
On April 1, 2024, most of Makoto Shinkais films were made available on theCriterion Channel.
Makoto Shinkai is known for doing it all.
Forhis latest film, 2023sSuzume, he spent 15 months completing the video storyboards.
My neighbors would almost call the police, he joked.
8.The Place Promised in Our Early Days(2004)
8.
This might be Shinkais most baffling movie.
7.Voices of a Distant Star(2002)
7.
He grows older on Earth, and she doesnt.
6.The Garden of Words(2013)
6.
5.Five Centimeters per Second(2007)
5.
Your mileage may vary on how well the film delivers on the thesis.
4.Children Who Chase Lost Voices(2011)
4.
Not nearly enough credit goes to this feature Shinkai made betweenFive Centimeters per SecondandThe Garden of Words.
3.Weathering With You(2019)
3.
To say that its an allegory about climate change feels both true and a little reductive.
That bleak, even dreary premise works thanks to Shinkais light touch and lively characters.
2.Your Name(2016)
2.
If you watch only one Makoto Shinkai movie, it should probably be this one.
1.Suzume(2022)
1.
Mom, well learn, has died, a loss that will radically change her life.
Despite the destruction,Suzumes characters balance the film with endearing comic relief.
All that and a three-legged chair.
