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NEWS: Distant Star's Makoto Shinkai Outlines Next Work


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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:55 am Reply with quote
Can this one not have crippling flaws, please?
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daedelus



Joined: 07 Apr 2007
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Location: Texas City, TX (ajd: 6/11/05)
PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:37 am Reply with quote
Oh yes! I've been waiting for this news for 2 years! Shinkai's been back from his London sabbatical for almost a year now, so I'm glad to see he's back to work.

Now, the real waiting begins...
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Keonyn
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:51 am Reply with quote
Fronzel wrote:
Can this one not have crippling flaws, please?


May be a lot to ask. He's a great animator, but he really needs to branch out a bit when it comes to his stories, instead of taking the exact same message from his past 3 films and "taking it further", ugh.

I love 5cm and Voices for their visuals, but I wasn't particularly fond of either of their stories. They're not bad, but they're just kind of "meh", particularly if you're not looking to be depressed. I did really like Place Promised though, visuals and story and all.
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Fletcher1991



Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:56 am Reply with quote
I am sure if its by Makoto Shinkai it will be very good. I enjoyed all his past works.
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Kougeru



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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:13 am Reply with quote
win is all i can say
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Animerican14



Joined: 19 Aug 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:19 am Reply with quote
YES! Man, and I've been wondering within the past few weeks what the heck Shinkai was doing. Excited already for this, obviously.

Though the theme may be a bit tiring, I feel that, from the way he described it-- about showing more about how to overcome a big loss-- this might really be a good way to finish that theme off. After all, in Voices and 5cm, when permanent loss is suffered by the protagonist, that loss is never really... dealt with or reconciled with, as far as I remember. (Place Promised doesn't count, because the film focused on a reunification of two separated characters, not one actually getting over the loss of another) There seemed to be a small hint of overcoming loss in the very last seconds of 5cm, but just a hint. So yeah, maybe this could be the magnum opus of his "Loss" series... and FINALLY move onto at least some.... new-ish themes.

Also, slightly OT: does anyone here know if anything will be done (or has been done) about the abandoned licenses on the Shinkai films? The dvds (especially 5cm) are next to impossible to find at decent prices online....and it's not like I can buy dvds directly from netflix (the source of my exposure to Shinkai) If nothing has changed since last time I checked, than hopefully the new film should spark enough interest for them to be rescued and redistributed.
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:45 am Reply with quote
Keonyn wrote:
...he really needs to branch out a bit when it comes to his stories, instead of taking the exact same message from his past 3 films and "taking it further", ugh.

Actually I kinda like his artistic focus; hammering on something over and over again, trying to get it to work different ways, or better ways. Separation and loss are basic enough themes to be quite versatile. It's just that everything except Voices (which was quite simple, really) is a bit of a mess.

Animerican14 wrote:
After all, in Voices and 5cm, when permanent loss is suffered by the protagonist, that loss is never really... dealt with or reconciled with, as far as I remember. (Place Promised doesn't count, because the film focused on a reunification of two separated characters, not one actually getting over the loss of another)

Voices reconciles the loss by denying it: by expressing hope that two lovers will meet again. He actually wrote a very short sequel to the film (in prose) where just that happens. It was awful. The whole production is a bit of a romantic fantasy, of course.

Place Promised is strange because the beginning of the film, set after all the rest of it, strongly implies that the female lead has died, but that’s never explained, even at the end.
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Keonyn
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:15 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Actually I kinda like his artistic focus; hammering on something over and over again, trying to get it to work different ways, or better ways. Separation and loss are basic enough themes to be quite versatile. It's just that everything except Voices (which was quite simple, really) is a bit of a mess.


He's still got to show some diversity at some point, and some sign that he has the ability to think outside the box he's built around himself. I also wouldn't necessarily say he's done it in different and better ways. Honestly, the sense of loss and the overall feel and tone of all three of his films were all very similar.

In a sense, it just sort of feels like he's made the same film three different ways, and it's starting to feel a bit redundant. He's an amazing animator who can really present some absolutely stunning visuals, but his narratives leave quite a bit to be desired.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:13 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Makoto Shinkai

You need not say anymore. SOLD!
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Jih2



Joined: 24 Jul 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:30 am Reply with quote
I feel like he has been working on one really long film and we've been seeing a couple hours here and there since Voices. I love 5 cm to death but I'm just not sure where else he can go but as noted above yeah, I think most of us want him to do something else at this point.

Although maybe this won't be so bad. Pynchon's good novels are often said to practically be the same novel and I enjoy him and so it could be Shinkai.
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labantnet



Joined: 18 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:31 am Reply with quote
I found 5cm per second to be a masterpiece. Easily one of the best movies I've ever seen. I didn't much like Place Promised, it just didn't make much sense. I haven't seen Voices, so I have no opinion on that one. So he's batting .500 to me. I'm kinda excited to see what he does next. He certainly has potential.
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Spoofer



Joined: 03 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:43 am Reply with quote
5CM

spoiler[5CM was a masterpiece, IMO. I think it handled the theme far better and obviously more realistically and directly than any of his other films. Voices was about the distance between two people who obviously still cared about each other. The Place Promised... it's been a while since I've seen it and can't completely remember. 5CM was about just the one person in the relationship who had great difficulty moving on, and what that entailed for him and everyone else around him. I think it was (clearly) the most true to life of all three, and I think there are those that can easily identify with Takiki (if not always to the same extent).

The ending was poetic, showing that he had finally been able to move on. He'll never completely remove her from his memories, but he at least seemed to finally think back on the relationship and be content that he ever had it at all, rather than dwelling on the fact that it had ended. And to the viewer, we get to see that she still remembers him fondly enough to start turning her head to look back to see if it was him, even if her life had moved on to the point where she didn't wait around for the train to pass. Such a small concession from an ex-partner, showing there's some part of her that still cares and wonders, would mean a great deal to a lot of people.]


While I absolutely love all of Shinkai's work, especially 5CM and She and Her Cat, I too wish that he could finally branch out and deal with more than just separation, loss, and loneliness. But then maybe his films wouldn't be as good, and people wouldn't appreciate them as much, and that would be a shame.

EDIT: Though he did drop his melancholy themes when he created the Neko no Shūkai short for Ani-Kuri 15, which dealt with his other prominent theme of cats. It was pretty cute for a 1-minute short, lol.


Last edited by Spoofer on Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:52 am; edited 1 time in total
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Kit-Tsukasa



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:44 am Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
Quote:
Makoto Shinkai

You need not say anymore. SOLD!

this
Hopefully Tenmon is back doing the music as well. Technically speaking he worked partially on ef in 2008, but regardless, I always did feel that his solo works lacked something and I hope that by taking it further this time, it will even surpass 5cm per second and Beyond the Clouds.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:27 am Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
Quote:
Makoto Shinkai

You need not say anymore. SOLD!

As somebody who has nothing to say against Shikai's style and choice of subject matter, I wholeheartedly second this. Indeed, for him to tread new thematic ground would most probably divide his fanbase somewhat. Considering how many people already view his works with adoring eyes, myself included, it may well be in his best interests to stick to his area of expertise and keep up his winning streak.

Animerican14 wrote:
Also, slightly OT: does anyone here know if anything will be done (or has been done) about the abandoned licenses on the Shinkai films? The dvds (especially 5cm) are next to impossible to find at decent prices online....and it's not like I can buy dvds directly from netflix (the source of my exposure to Shinkai)

A Region 4 release exists, in case you're willing to import. The difference of DVD region is a problem easily overcome.
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labantnet



Joined: 18 Apr 2007
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Location: Anoka, MN
PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:19 am Reply with quote
Just looked up the price for this DVD and, WOW! why is it so expensive? Maybe ADV should capitalize on this and produce more DVDs. It's obvious people want to buy this movie. I'm glad I got a copy when I had a chance. I think it was at Wal-mart, or maybe Best Buy.
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