Makoto Shinkai, the director of acclaimed anime movies Your Name and Weathering With You has penned a new essay where he discusses the themes of his movies, climate change and the importance of giving young people a choice in choosing what type of world they want to live in.
After beginning his career at video game developer Falcom (Ys, Trails in the Sky) Shinkai made his directorial debut with the self-produced short She and Her Cat in 1999, which was followed up with the critically acclaimed Voices of a Distant Star in 2002. Shinkai's first feature length production, The Place Promised In Our Early Days, was released in 2004 to widespread praise. Shinkai's breakout hit arrived in 2016 with the runaway success of the romantic comedy Your Name, which was the first non-Studio Ghibli anime film to earn over $100 million at the Japanese box office. Your Name was nominated for multiple awards, including an Annie and a Saturn Award, and won Best Film at the 2016 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. An American live-action remake of Your Name is currently in production at Paramount Pictures, and was scheduled to be directed by Minari director Lee Isaac Chung before the director had to exit the project due to scheduling issues. Shinkai followed up that hit with Weathering With You in 2019. Weathering With You was recently re-released to theaters in North America for a one-night limited engagement, and to commemorate the re-release, its director released an essay to Collider that discussed the movie's themes, Shinkai's thoughts on that state of the world, and his hopes for the younger generations that will grow up watching the film.
Weathering With You tells the story of a young boy and girl who start a business changing the weather. Many critics saw the film as a parable about climate change, which Shinkai addresses in his essay:
For example, the world “turning weird” is climate change. The righteous storyline would be an international treaty on climate change, such as COP21. However, quite a few leaders have claimed that this is unnecessary, and they are enjoying huge support. So, is this story going to have a happy ending, in which the world reclaims its balance and stability? Many people must already be feeling that is unlikely. The righteous story rings hollow.
Something is going wrong.
The world is turning weird.
"The climate is going haywire. The world is drifting towards exclusionism, and the internet that was supposed to liberate us has become a device for shaming and idiocy, while the ground of Japan is shaking. And as far as I can see, speaking as a middle-aged man, this is what we chose for ourselves.
Shinkai elaborates that while he is very concerned about climate change and the rise of exclusionary politics, Weathering With You isn't a story about telling people how to fix these issues, but rather, it's about giving young people the freedom to create the world they want. The 48-year old director also expresses regret that his generation wasn't able to solve these problems, but states he wants to make movies that encourage younger audiences to face the future optimistically:
I want to make a film where a boy and girl actively choose that world. Let’s depict a couple who will head towards a place of no return, brightly and positively. And if the audience share their choice with surprise and sympathy, we will be able to find a meaning in making this unrighteous story into a film of our times.
Shinkai's full essay, which includes further details about his thoughts on the current state of the world, can be read on Collider.
Your Name is currently available on DVD, Blu-ray and on-demand video from Funimation. Weathering With You is currently streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Collider
