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Makoto Shinkai is theking of melancholic anime.
It is darker and more meditative than his prior two films, leaning less on romance and song breaks.
Theres a sense of melancholy in all your work, from your shorts to your features.
Why does that interest you?I think it is because I myself am a melancholic person.
In Japan, we consider there to be four basic emotions and personalities.
Everyone is one of these types, and I amkanashimi, or melancholy.
Suzumeis very different compared to your recent work.
It is darker, more mature, and has less of a teen romance element.
We even looked at photos from the disaster and re-created them in the movie.
Japanese society as a whole changed that day.
This movie uses very different music than your previous two movies, and there are fewer songs.
I think Jinnouchi gave weight to the music that I hadnt had in my movies before.
Your previous two films dealt with natural disasters in a more indirect way.
Originally, I thought this could be just a fun road-trip movie of these two characters traveling across Japan.
I was surprised by the character of Sota, particularly the CG animation style of his chair form.
I chose the chair because his limited movement is cute.
Originally we tried hand-drawn animation for the chair, but he looked too soft, too cartoony.
He is supposed to be a hard, rigid object, but he looked too alive.
So I like to have Q&As after screenings.
And, yes, sometimes I get ideas from these conversations, and I incorporate them into my work.
After the 2011 earthquake, I wanted to take on some sort of role.
I can offer entertainment that also is impacted by disasters.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
