Movies 2004The Place Promised in Our Early DaysMakoto ShinkaiI don't think this is Shinkai's best work but glad to watch it again. It certainly shows some themes of where he's going and there is some weird very very of it's era feeling of 2004 American military hardware which is uh, interesting? Anyway, I think the biggest strength of the film is the strong world building left completely unexplained. Also credit to film for scooping bae > bay by 15 years.anime · 2004The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Videos 2002Voices of a Distant StarMakoto ShinkaiWatching this for the first time in 20 years I still really like it. The animation and CGI were a bit rough even back then, but the background work is incredible, it totally stands up to his later films which have the best in the business. The story of using 2002-era cell phones to email across space (and time) was anachronistic in 2002 but with time it's become really nostalgic. I think the story holds up well and echoes some themes that become common in his feature-length works. The big "huh" about this is the setting and war, watching this again it's clear to me this is someone who grew up on Macross and Gundam and a clear influence from Gunbuster and Evangelion. And honestly I'd love to see him take another crack at this.anime · 2002Voices of a Distant Star
Videos 1999She and Her Cat: Their Standing PointsMakoto ShinkaiI believe I first saw this in the early 00s on the Voices of a Distant Star DVD as a bonus feature. Re-watching it now, 20 years later it's very sweet, and it's beautifully drawn despite the lack of animation. I think the clearest connection to Shinkai's other works is the hope at the end. I like this short a lot.anime · 1999She and Her Cat: Their Standing Points
Lucid NonsenseLucid Nonsense
