Makoto Shinkai

, born as , is a Japanese movie director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist and former graphic designer. He directed the highest-earning anime movie Your Name.

 Biography 
Shinkai was born in Nagano Prefecture. He went to Chuo University where he studied Japanese literature. He was a part of the literature club there and he drew picture books there. He said that he liked creating because he had read manga, novels and had watched anime when he was young. After finishing university in 1994, he got a job at Falcom. It is a video game company. He worked there for 5 years by making video clips.

In 1999, Shinkai released She and Her Cat. It is a five-minute short movie that is black and white. It won many awards. It won the grand prize at the 12th DoGA CG Animation contest (2000). The short movie is about the life of a cat. It is from the cat's point of view. Shinkai quit his job at Falcom after winning the prize. He began making a new movie about a girl in space, which was called Voices of a Distant Star. After, he released his first full movie. It was called The Place Promised in Our Early Days and was released in Japan on November 20, 2004. His next movie was called 5 Centimeters per Second and was released on 3 March 2007. It consists of three short films called Cherry Blossom, Cosmonaut, and 5 Centimeters per Second.

In 2009, he started to work on his next movie. Shinkai said that the movie he was making would be his longest movie that he made and said the story was a "lively" animated movie that would have adventure, action, and romance. He revealed that his next movie would be called Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below. The movie was released on 7 May 2011. His next movie, The Garden of Words, was released on 31 May 2013. On 26 August 2016, he released Your Name, which was praised by audiences. It became the highest-grossing anime movie. Shinkai directed the 2019 anime movie Weathering With You.

 Works 
 Movies 
TitleYearCredited asRoleNotes Director Writer Producer Other Actor The World be Enclosed (囲まれた世界 Kakomareta sekai) 1998   Short film Other Worlds (遠い世界 Tooi Sekai) 1998   Short film She and Her Cat (彼女と彼女の猫 Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko) 1999     Her cat (Voice over) Short film Voices of a Distant Star (ほしのこえ Hoshi no Koe) 2002     Noboru Terao (Voice over) Short film Egao (みんなのうた「笑顔」 Minna no Uta "Egao") 2003  Short film The Place Promised in Our Early Days (雲のむこう、約束の場所 Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho) 2004     5 Centimeters per Second (秒速5センチメートル Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru) 2007     Children Who Chase Lost Voices (星を追う子ども Hoshi o Ou Kodomo) 2011    Someone's Gaze (だれかのまなざし Dareka no Manazashi) 2013  Short film The Garden of Words (言の葉の庭 Kotonoha no Niwa) 2013    Your Name. (君の名は Kimi no na wa.) 2016    Weathering with You (天気の子 Tenki no Ko.) 2019   Suzume(すずめの戸締まり Suzume no Tojimari) 2022   

 Video games 
TitleYearCredited asNotes Director Animator Other The Legend of Heroes V: A Cagesong of the Ocean 1999  As Makoto Niitsu Ys 2 Eternal 2000  As Makoto Niitsu Bittersweet Fools 2001  Wind: A Breath of Heart 2002–04   Haru no Ashioto 2004  Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two 2006
2008 

 Books 
TitleYearPublisherNotes Slug 1994  Picture-book 5 Centimeters per Second 2007 Media Factory Novel The Garden of Words 2014 Kadokawa Shoten Novel Your Name. 2016 Kadokawa Novel

 Manga 
TitleYearPublisher(s)Notes Beyond the Tower 2002  Voices from a Distant Star 2004 Kodansha The Place Promised in Our Early Days 2006 Kodansha 5 Centimeters per Second 2010–11 Kodansha Vertical, Inc.  Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below 2011 Media Factory The Garden of Words 2013 Kodansha Vertical, Inc.  Your Name. 2016 Media Factory

 References 

 Other websites 


 Official website  



Category:Living people
Category:1973 births
Category:Japanese animators
Category:Japanese movie producers
Category:Japanese screenwriters
Category:Japanese movie directors
Category:Anime directors