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Makoto Shinkai films ranked as per quality
Makoto Shinkai films ranked as per quality (Image via GamesHorizon)

All Makoto Shinkai Films Ranked

Stuart RayBy Updated:9 Mins Read Anime

Director of anime Makoto Shinkai has had, to put it mildly, an intriguing career. With some remarkable, nearly entirely self-produced animated shorts, he launched his career in the field. Even if these side projects are admirable on their own, they have even greater significance when seen in relation to the director’s subsequent work. He is considered to be one of the best anime filmmakers ever. Since he began directing in 1998, he has created a number of exceptional films that have received numerous award nominations.

The fact that Makoto Shinkai’s films have a hint of his own life experiences makes them approachable. Shinkai has held a number of jobs in addition to that of director, demonstrating his commitment to his trade. Which of the incredible number of films directed by Makoto Shinkai is his best? It’s encouraging to watch how Shinkai rose from modest beginnings to producing some of the best anime films ever, including Your Name. 

The stark difference in output between his very early and later works, as well as the conceptual connections between the two phases of his career, are significant. As a result, context is crucial to each Shinkai film because even the less well-known ones have meaningful connections to the other ones. With that being said, let us delve into the well-deserved spots that each Shinkai film occupies when compared to others!

Here are all the Makoto Shinkai films ranked from worst to best

11. Someone’s Gaze

Someone’s Gaze is a very small film having a 7-minute running length. The film’s high calibre held the audience’s attention despite its briefness. The contrast between Aya’s present self and her old self is expertly depicted in the film. 

The futuristic setting of the film centres on Aya Okamura as well as her family. She talks about her upbringing and how she got to be the lady she is throughout the film. She makes a concerted effort to comprehend what led to her growing distant from her family.

10. Voices of a Distant Star 

Given that he had only produced extremely brief projects prior to Voices of a Distant Star, it is customary to refer to this anime as Shinkai’s debut big effort. Despite the fact that Voices of a Distant Star is merely a 25-minute anime, it is produced at a much higher standard than Shinkai’s previous works. Here, Shinkai returns to one of his favourite themes: lovers divided by seemingly impossible distances. However, this time, one of our love characters is away fighting extraterrestrial aliens in an interplanetary conflict, and as she travels farther from Earth, her messages get more and more difficult to deliver to her companion. 

Putting the plot aside, this movie is intriguing because Shinkai produced it largely on his own. This outstanding passion effort in the director’s early professional years included writing, directing, animation, as well as voice acting. It doesn’t have the grandeur and artsiness of some later films because it was independently made, but it’s nonetheless fascinating because it’s where Shinkai’s career began.

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9. She and her Cat

The first film where Makoto Shinkai also did voice acting was She and Her Cat. A woman and a cat are central to the storyline of She and Her Cat, where the cat develops affection for the woman after being saved by her. 

Considering Shinkai did the most of the work, the movie is both innovative and spectacular. Because it was released in 1999, the animation is significantly different from that of the previous Shinkai films. 

8. Other Worlds

Shinkai’s debut composition was titled Other Worlds. It lasts for just one minute and features a guy and lady having a chat. Despite the lack of an interesting plot, viewers are drawn in by the animation’s unique charm.

Shinkai enthusiasts will undoubtedly be interested in seeing it, despite the fact that mainstream viewers of anime might not. Other Worlds has a special significance because it was Shinkai’s first published work.

Also Read: 16 Best Classic Anime Movies In 2023

7. The Place promised in our Early Days

The Place Promised In Our Early Days is Shinkai’s first feature-length film. Set in an alternate history version of Japan with a number of fantasy and sci-fi twists, three students work together to build an aircraft that they plan to use to visit a mysterious tower on the other side of an uncrossable border. 

With lofty romance and an abundance of supernatural twists, audiences can begin to see the elements that would become common in Shinkai’s later works starting to take shape here.

6. 5 Centimetres per Second

The majority of people credit 5 Centimetres Per Second with bringing Shinkai to the attention of humanity’s anime lovers. In comparison to the director’s earlier works, 5 Centimetres Per Second is unmistakably the work of a more skilled filmmaker and is produced with significantly greater skill and assurance. Some of Shinkai’s major films like Voices of a Distant Star resemble steps leading to 5 Centimetres Per Second in some ways. This is the film Shinkai had been working on for a large portion of his early career, and it is still one of his most profound and well-known pieces. 

Additionally, this remains among the few of his best-looking films. It immediately stands out from the more vibrant, energising Your Name because to its moodier colour schemes and atmospheric backdrops, which are appropriate for the film’s lonesome, melancholy mood. The designs for characters and animation are more refined, the recognisable thematic rhythms and longing, estranged lovers are handled using greater grace and thematic complexity than they had been previously, and Shinkai’s renowned background work gets to shine for the first time.

5. Suzume

Unquestionably, Suzume is one among Makoto Shinkai’s finest works. Suzume Iwato, a girl from high school living in a peaceful setting, is the main character of the novel. She runs into a man one day as she is walking to school. The individual is looking into a deserted location. She doesn’t pay attention at first, but her curiosity eventually overcomes her.

Suzume makes the decision to go there and discovers a peculiar door. She enters and discovers it is a portal to another dimension. With this, the young lady embarks on the journey of a lifetime. After making the discovery, she realises that she must play a significant part. Suzume received much praise regarding its artwork and soundtrack, but some viewers weren’t pleased with the storyline.

4. Children who chase Lost Voices

One of Shinkai’s most openly surreal flicks is Children Who Chase Lost Voices. Although Your Name and Weathering With You both have otherworldly themes, much of his work often balances the surreal flair with an urban realism that roots the scenario. Children Who Chase Lost Voices lacks that component, giving it the appearance of a fantastical coming-of-age story, similar to what you might find in a Hayao Miyazaki film.

With the theatrical debut of Your Name, comparisons between Shinkai’s films and Miyazaki’s would grow even more popular, but Miyazaki is the only one who can truly capture Miyazaki’s style. One among the less well-remembered titles in Shinkai’s filmography, Laputa: Castle in the Sky shares several noticeable similarities with this movie.

3. The Garden of Words

The Garden of Words is of shorter running duration than some other fan favourites, so it doesn’t have as much room for dramatic ambition. Nevertheless, because the anime is available on Netflix, it has gotten more attention than it probably would have otherwise. Despite having a smaller-scale story, it works effectively, and the two main characters who become closer as a result of accidental encounters feel well-realized and sincere.

Once again, The Garden of Words‘ animation and artwork are nothing short of astounding. Due to the brief runtime, the spectator only gets to witness a few locales. Each is beautifully and precisely depicted, giving the movie a remarkable sense of place. The character drama is also covered in length in this passage, and its originality is welcome.

2. Your Name

This 2016 motion picture Your Name dominated the Japanese box office upon its release and quickly rose to being one of the best-performing animation pictures in Japanese cinema history. It received almost universal critical acclaim. The film’s success abroad was noteworthy furthermore, with English-speaking critics praising Shinkai and declaring that Your Name was the successor of Studio Ghibli in terms of quality.

Even though Shinkai’s earlier works had gotten generally favourable reviews, Your Name was on a completely different level. Because of the movie’s success, he attracted attention on a global scale, ensuring that both fans and reviewers would be closely watching anything he worked on next. It’s also not difficult to understand why the movie was so popular. The plot has an unexpected development that keeps things going along quickly.

1. Weathering with You

Shinkai’s most recent movie, Weathering With You, is sort of a spiritual sequel to the hugely successful Your Name from 2016. Both movies are frequently compared, mostly due to how similar their topics, aesthetics, and upbeat tones are. Weathering With You failed to attain the same level of critical and economic success as its predecessor, maybe as a result of how similar they were. Despite being prosperous and well-liked in and of itself, it was always going to be difficult to top the global phenomenon named Your Name.

Despite this, Weathering With You remains a fantastic movie that has some significant advantages over Your Name. For these reasons, some people think Weathering With You is superior to Your Name. Comparisons are unavoidable, of course, and although may lack the grand drama and electrifying turns of its predecessor, it does provide a more personal—and sometimes more compelling—portrait of its primary characters.

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Stuart loves anime, writing, and writing about anime. Someday, he hopes to illustrate his own manga from his novel!