We curated the best Makoto Shinkai Anime Movies for you. Check it out!
Anime has become popular around the world with more viewers getting attracted to it every day. Thanks to video streaming services on the internet, everyone can watch anime irrespective of their country and language.
One of the reasons for the popularity of anime is their storyline written by directors. And one of those best anime directors is Makoto Shinkai. He has directed a few anime movies yet most of them have received huge fame and have drawn more fans towards him.
Here you’ll find a list of the best Makoto Shinkai movies which have been praised by anime enthusiasts.
Best Makoto Shinkai Anime Movies -- Quick Summary
| Best Makoto Shinkai Anime Movies | Genre | Run Time |
| Your Name | Romance, Fantasy, Drama | 1h 52m |
| Weathering With You | Romance, Fantasy | 1h 54m |
| 5 Centimetres Per Second | Romance, Drama | 1h 3m |
| The Garden of Words | Romance, Drama | 46 min |
| The Place Promised in Our Early Days | Sci-Fi, War Drama | 90 min |
| Children Who Chase Lost Voices | Adventure, Fantasy | 1h 56 min |
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Top Makoto Shinkai Anime Movies
Your Name
Run Time: 1h 52m | Release Year: 2016 | Age Rating: TV-PG | Editor's Rating: 8.5
Your Name is the best and greatest works of Makoto Shinkai of all time. This anime movie was released in 2016 and it is one of the highest-grossing Japanese films to this day. It was also released in over 100 countries and has been praised by fans worldwide.
The storyline gives heed to two main characters who are high school students. Taki Tachibana is a high school boy living in Tokyo and Mitsuha Miyamizu is a high school girl living in Hida Takayama, a rural area in Central Japan.
The story introduces both the main characters to have their souls switch bodies with each other bizarrely despite living in completely different areas. The timelines of these occurrences are different from one another.
However, they both start learning about each other’s lives. This gravitates them both towards each other as they start falling in love. Their love story will be tested by a future event that sets to occur. The story takes a wild and unexpected turn which left many people’s minds blown.
Your Name has beautiful and colorful sceneries of cities and nature. It also portrays the traditions and cultures of Japan and gives light to the lives of Japanese high schoolers. It can resonate with most high schoolers which is why the youth are die-hard fans of this movie.
The feelings and emotions the main characters have towards each other will definitely get you emotional.
Weathering With You
Run Time: 1h 54m | Release Year: 2019 | Age Rating: PG13 | Editor's Rating: 8/10
Weathering With You is another masterpiece work of director Makoto Shinkai. It was released in 2019 in 140+ countries.
The main characters of this anime movie are Hodaka Morishima who’s a high school boy and Hina Amano a young girl who has supernatural powers. Hina’s supernatural powers include manipulating the weather to her preferences.
The story begins with Hodaka running away from his rural hometown in Tokyo to an urban city on a ferry. After a rainstorm hits the ferry he meets Hina and they unite together after facing certain struggles.
Hina confesses to Hodaka about her supernatural abilities to alter the weather according to her wishes. This would give the idea to Hodaka to start a business and make good use of Hina’s powers.
They would help people hosting outdoor events like weddings and parties by manipulating the weather according to their wishes.
However, things take a turn when Hodaka’s family reported him missing to the police. Hina is also faced with difficulties as she is accused of bringing bad weather to Tokyo using her powers.
As they are facing their own problems the movie gets very emotional after their separation. Hodaka falls in love with Hina and goes in search of her to reunite and confess his love.
This movie is definitely amazing and worth the watch. It can relate to us in many ways although most of the events in this movie are fantasy.
5 Centimetres Per Second
Run Time: 1h 3m | Release Year: 2007 | Age Rating: TV-PG | Editor's Rating: 7.8/10
5 Centimeters Per Second is my personal favorite of Makoto Shinkai’s anime movie. The movie depicts the feelings of love, togetherness, and pain. It was released in 2007 and the movie has a compilation of 3 parts.
The first part is known as Cherry Blossom. In this, the storyline introduces Takaki Tono a young boy who befriends a girl called Akari Shinohara who is in elementary school with him. Their friendship grows as they have similar interests.
However, fate separates both of them as Akari’s parents decide to move to another city. They both promise to keep in touch with each other by writing letters. As time goes by Takaki also moves to another city but he decides to meet Akari beforehand and they both share romantic moments together.
The second part is called Cosmonaut and it depicts a grown Takaki who’s now a high school student. He finds out his classmate Kanae Sumida having a crush on him but his heart is still with Akari.
He writes letters to Akari every day but he never sends her any of the letters. This made Kanae realize that she has no chance with Takaki as he’s into someone else. Kanae moves on in disappointment and agony.
The third part is called 5 Centimetres Per Second. This part shows Takaki after several years as an adult who’s working. He still reminisces about the past events of how he grew attached to a girl but it’s unclear to him.
On the other hand, Akari is planning to get married. They both have a dream of meeting each other and they come close to seeing each other in a railway station. To find out what happened next, watch this movie as it has an emotional ending that must be experienced by watching.
The Garden of Words
Run Time: 46 min | Release Year: 2013 | Age Rating: : TV-14 | Editor's Rating: 7.8/10
Another romance movie by Makoto Shinkai that teaches us love has no borders. The Garden of Words starts with a 15 years old high school boy called Takao Akizuki who always skips school in the morning and visits a garden where it rains continuously.
He comes across a woman regularly in the garden. Her name is Yukari and she’s a 27 years old teacher who skips work to visit the same garden.
They both become interested in each other as they start meeting particularly on rainy days. This leads them to become friends. Takao has an interest in shoemaking and Yukari helps Takao make a pair of female shoes.
Yukari faces difficulties in school and Takao also ends up in a fight with boys in his class. They both spend time together in Yukari’s apartment and Takao confesses his feelings towards her. However, Yukari turns it down as she’s a teacher and he’s just a young boy. This leads to an argument between the pair and Takao leaves the apartment and Yukari runs after him to console him.
Will Yukari and Takao get back together? Watch this movie to find out what happened next. Shinkai has brought together different perspectives in this film and it’s interesting to watch.
The Place Promised In Our Early Days
Run Time: 90 min | Release Year: 2004 | Age Rating: TV-PG | Editor's Rating: 7/10
The Place Promised In Our Early Days is quite different from the rest as it falls under the genres of sci-fi and war drama. The movie goes to show how Japan is divided after losing the second world war with North Japan being under the control of Japan and the southern parts under the control of America.
There’s a strange, tall tower dividing the north and south parts of Japan. The movie has 3 main characters Takuya, Sayuri, and Hiroki who are kids that share the same dream of flying across the tall tower.
However, they go their separate ways as they grow without fulfilling their dream. Takuya gets employed in a government research facility to learn about the tower, Sayuri abandoned them without any trace and Hiroki is lonely and depressed thinking about Sayuri.
Hiroki always dreams about Sayuri and he feels he’s connected to her through dreams.
Takuya learns that this mysterious wall may cause another war between Japan and America and he tries to destroy it with the help of his friends to put an end to the conflict between both countries.
This movie touches several aspects of sci-fi and showcases the creative imaginations and writing skills of Shinkai.
Children Who Chase Lost Voices
Run Time: 1h 56 min | Release Year: 2011 | Age Rating: TV-14 | Editor's Rating: 7.5/10
Another masterpiece movie by director Shinkai that has been the favorite for most anime enthusiasts. Although, initially many people didn’t seem to be interested in watching Children Who Chase Lose Voices, due to it being more suitable for kids, Children Who Chase Lost Voices received great recognition later on.
This adventure fantasy movie revolves around the main female character called Asuna who’s a young intelligent girl. She loses her father as a kid and her mother is a nurse who’s occupied most of the time.
Asuna spends most of her time alone in school and listening to a strange radio device. One day she hears haunted and bizarre noises from the radio. She also encounters a bear and will be saved by a young boy.
Very soon she discovers an ancient magical land where dead people can be brought back to life. The animation in this movie is very pleasing and nostalgic as it depicts historic events. This movie will make you experience the beauty of the fantasy world with its amazing magical aspects.
Voices Of A Distant Star
Run Time: 25 min | Release Year: 2002 | Age Rating: TV-PG | Editor's Rating: 7.5/10
Voices of a Distant Star is a Shinkai's movie that's only 25 minutes long and yet considered one of Shinkai's first major anime.
In Voices of a Distant Star Shinkai follows one of his famous tropes of lovers that can't be together because of impossible situations.
Mikako Nagamine is off fighting the aliens in another universe and is unable to communicate with her lover Noboru Tera, the further away she goes from Earth.
Written and directed by Shinkai, he even does the voice acting for one of the characters in this film. Since it was largely his work independently, the anime movie doesn't have the finish like his later movies but it was an important break in his career.
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