FOCUSED OTAKU | MUST WATCH ANIME LIST - Some time ago, Makoto Shinkai released the first trailer for his latest film, Suzume no Tojimari. The trailer shows the exciting adventures experienced by Suzume, the main protagonist.
Suzume no Tojimari itself is produced by CoMix Wave Films, one of many famous animation studios in Japan. Before Suzume no Tojimari, the studio had released a number of titles that were well received by anime lovers.
In the last decade, CoMix Wave Films has shown remarkable progress. Curious about the movies they've produced? Here's our review!
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
1. The Garden of Words (2013)
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| CoMix Wave Films Official Website |
Directed by Makoto Shinkai, The Garden of Words focuses on a teenager named Takao Akizuki who dreams of becoming a shoemaker. One day, he decided to skip school and design shoes in the park.
His decision brought Takao together with Yukari Yukino, a troubled 27-year-old woman. Similar to 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), Shinkai explores the relationship between two individuals intensely and personally in this film.
The amazing graphics of "Rain" by Motohiro Hata, also add to the solemnity of The Garden of Words.
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| CoMix Wave Films Official Website |
Through Your Name, Makoto Shinkai plays with the body swap theme similar to Freaky Friday (2003). Amazingly, the seemingly outdated theme was successfully transformed by Shinkai into something new and meaningful.
With a touch of fantasy, Your Name follows two teenagers named Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu who wake up and realize that they have swapped bodies. As the two's relationship begins to develop, a bitter truth about Mitsuha is revealed.
In addition to getting a positive response from critics, this film also managed to make a profit of up to 380.2 million US dollars during its release. In fact it was so successful, that Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions were interested in making a Hollywood version of Your Name.
3. Flavors of Youth (2018)
4. Weathering with You (2019)
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| CoMix Wave Films Official Website |
Presented as an anthology, Flavors of Youth is a collaboration between CoMix Wave Films and Haoliners Animation League, a Chinese animation studio. This film consists of three stories, namely The Rice Noodles, A Little Fashion Show, and Love in Shanghai.
The Rice Noodles tells about Xiao Ming's memories with his grandmother in tasting San Xian noodles. A Little Fashion Show focuses on Yi Lin and Lulu, brothers and sisters who enter the world of fashion. Love in Shanghai tells the story of the friendship between Li Mo and Xiao Yu.
Each story is able to appear unique, but retains the essence of the story, namely the past, present, and future. When it was released internationally, top actors such as Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) and Ross Butler (13 Reasons Why) were also involved as English voice actors.
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| CoMix Wave Films Official Website |
Though some may say it's overshadowed by the success of Your Name, Weathering with You is still a solid delivery from Makoto Shinkai. While Your Name carries a body swap theme, Weathering with You is different.
Through this film, Shinkai raises the story of a rain stopper girl named Hina Amano. Hina's unique power attracts the attention of several people, including Hodaka Morishima, a runaway teenager who now works as an assistant at a mystery magazine firm.
Similar to Flavors of Youth, when it was released in America, Weathering with You intrigued a number of Hollywood stars to become the English voice actors. Namely, Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy), Alison Brie (GLOW), and Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal).
5. Suzume no Tojimari (2022)
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This year, Makoto Shinkai is back again with his latest work, Suzume no Tojimari. The main character in this movie is Suzume, a 17-year-old girl who lives in Kyushu, Japan. One day, she met a wandering young man who is looking for a door. Who would have thought, meeting with the young man actually opened other doors that triggered disasters throughout Japan. In a race against time, Suzume embarks on an adventure to lock all doors before it's too late. The main theme being maturity and freedom, Suzume no Tojimari is set to released on November 11 in Japan. Many animated movies have been produced by CoMix Wave Films in the last decade. Whilst waiting for future Suzume no Tojimari updates, you may want to watch the other movies above that are nonetheless great works. |
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