Makoto Shinkai Anthology [Blu-ray / Box Set (Limited Edition)]
Collection of Japanese animes from film-maker Makoto Shinkai. In ‘The Voices of a Distant Star’ (2002), when an alien force begins its annihilation of the human race, a young pilot decides to join the resistance. However, the danger of interstellar battle is not Mikako (voice of Mika Shinohara)’s greatest concern, for she has left behind the young man she loves.
As Mikako flies further into deep space, her only way to connect with Noboru (Shinkai) is by text messages on her phone. ‘The Place Promised in Our Early Days’ (2004) follows three children who vow to solve the riddle of the Hokkaido Tower, constructed during World War II and linked to a string of mysterious events. ‘5 Centimeters Per Second’ (2007) is told in three segments and explores the unrequited love between two school friends.
Takaki (Kenji Mizuhashi) and Akari (Ayaka Onoue) become close friends while attending junior high school. Akari moves away after graduating and although Takaki continues to keep in touch by writing letters, the pair gradually drift apart. Years later, with Takaki now a computer programmer in Tokyo and still longing for Akari, a chance encounter sees them reunited.
‘Children Who Chase Lost Voices’ (2011) follows the adventures of a young girl in a mysterious land. Her mother is working long hours after the recent death of her father and so Asuna (Hisako Kanemoto) is a lonely child who spends a great deal of time by herself. When she is out walking one day she is attacked by a strange creature and saved by a mysterious boy called Shun (Miyu Irino).
Shun tells Asuna he is from a place called Agartha and is only here to retrieve something. Intrigued, Asuna asks her teacher Mr Morisaki (Kazuhiko Inoue) about Agartha and he informs her that it is a land inhabited by spirits and the dead. Soon after, the pair find themselves swept away to Agartha on an incredible adventure.
In ‘The Garden of Words’ (2013), 15-year-old high school student and apprentice shoemaker Takao Akizuki (Miyu Irino) is in the park on a rainy day when he meets 27-year-old Yukari Yukino (Kana Hanawawa), a woman who is trying to overcome recent personal troubles. They continue to encounter each other on subsequent rainy days and begin to develop a bond but with Takao still a teenager, will their relationship end when the rainy season is over? In ‘Your Name’ (2016) a comet travels close to Earth and two teenagers begin to share dreams and switch bodies, their worlds bleeding together even though they have never met. Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi) is a country girl who longs for the energy of the city while Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is a student living in Tokyo with his friends.
When the switching abruptly ends, Taki travels to the countryside in search of Mitsuha, but is unprepared for what he discovers. Finally, in ‘Weathering With You’ (2019), teenager Hodaka Morishima (Kotaro Daigo) runs away to Tokyo but when his ferry to the city almost capsizes, Keisuke Suga (Shun Oguri) saves his life. Keisuke hires Hodaka to work at his publishing company and they begin to investigate the unusually bad weather currently affecting Tokyo.
Hodaka also crosses paths with Hina Amano (Nana Mori) and learns that she has the power to control the weather but is struggling with her abilities. Meanwhile, the police are tracking them, Hodaka is falling in love and Hina’s life is at risk from using her power.
Special Features
- Interactive Menus
