Makoto Shinkai’s Next Film Will Be A Fantastical Japanese Road Movie

Makoto Shinkai, one of the most successful directors in anime history, unveiled his next feature Suzume no Tojimariduring a live-streamed press conference on Dec 17. It will premiere in Japan in Fall 2022. A poster was also released.

In the tweet, Shinkai states that he desperately wants to make a ‘movie that fans can enjoy’ and notes that he has poured an immense amount of emotion into this project to ensure that it is absolutely perfect.

Suzume no Tojimari, which literally translates as Suzume’s Door-Locking, will be released in Japanese theaters in fall 2022. The plot has elements in common with other works by the director, such as portals between worlds and the spectre of cataclysm in contemporary Japan. Shinkai promises that her story will “shed a ray of light on our journey as we live alongside anxiety and difficulty.”

Shinkai describes the film as a “road movie,” a “modern adventure story,” and an “action movie.” The film follows 17-year-old Suzume, who lives in a quiet town on the island of Kyushu. One day, she meets a young man who says he is looking for a door. Following him, she finds one standing isolated in a ruined landscape. Suddenly, doors are appearing all over Japan and spilling disasters out into the world. Suzume sets out to shut them again.

Shinkai is behind the story and screenplay. Toho will release the film. It is produced by Comix Wave Films, the animation studio behind several of Shinkai’s works, and Story Inc., which was involved with his last film Weathering with You. The staff includes Masayoshi Tanaka (Weathering With You and Your Name co-character designer, Her Blue Sky) as character designer, Kenichi Tsuchiya (Flavors of Youth “Love in Shanghai” character designer, Your Name) as animation director, and Takumi Tanji (Your Name co-art director, Children Who Chase Lost Voices) as art director. Shinkai is director in addition to being the writer and original creator. CoMix Wave Films is the animation production company.

Shinkai’s last two features, Your Name and Weathering with You, rank third and sixth in the list of the highest-grossing anime films globally. Both were critically acclaimed, each landing a nomination for best independent animated feature at the Annie Awards.

The film is currently in production. The planning took place from January 2020 to March 2020, while the scriptwriting was done from April to August of the same year. The storyboarding took place from September 2020 to December 2021, while the animation process began in April 2021.

The movie’s English title has not yet been decided.