Makoto Niitsu (新津 誠, Niitsu Makoto; born February 9, 1973), known as Makoto Shinkai (新海 誠, Shinkai Makoto), is a Japanese filmmaker and novelist. A founder of CoMix Wave Films, he is known for his anime feature films enriched with visually-appealing animation and romantic stories depicting teenagers and high school students. Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) She and Her Cat in 1999. Shinkai then released the science fiction OVA Voices of a Distant Star in 2002 as his first feature with CoMix Wave, followed by his debut feature film The Place Promised in Our Early Days in 2004. Shinkai's films have consistently received highly positive reviews from both critics and audiences, and he is considered to be one of Japan's most commercially successful filmmakers. His three most recent films Your Name in 2016, Weathering with You in 2019, and Suzume in 2022, collectively known as "Disaster trilogy", are all among the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time, both in Japan and worldwide at the time of their release. Description above from the Wikipedia article Makoto Shinkai, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 9, 1973 (53)
- Koumi, Nagano, Japan
- Writer, director, cinematographer, editor, producer and actor
- 10 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
What are Makoto Shinkai's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
Light 1 · Serious 7 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 1 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 5
Gentle 1 · Charged 6 · Intense 2
Steady 6 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 5
A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 2
Roles they play
- Heroas Her Cat in She and Her Cat: Their Standing Points (1999)
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet9
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Makoto Shinkai's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (5).
- Your Name. (2016) · director, writer, cinematographer, editor
- Weathering with You (2019) · director, writer, editor
- 5 Centimeters per Second (2007) · director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor
- Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) · director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor
- The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004) · director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor
- Crunchyroll
Subscription and free streaming for Makoto Shinkai's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
26 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
5 Centimeters Per Second(2025)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Suzume(2022)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Weathering with You(2019)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Your Name.(2016)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
She and Her Cat: Everything Flows (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
She and Her Cat: Everything Flows (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Cross Road (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Right Places: Where I Was Meant to Be at That Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
The Garden of Words(2013)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Someone's Gaze (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Ani*Kuri15 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
A Gathering of Cats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Ani*Kuri15 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
5 Centimeters per Second(2007)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Wind: A Breath of Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Smile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Wind: A Breath of Heart - Christmas Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Voices of a Distant Star (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Other Worlds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Enclosed World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Untitled Makoto Shinkai Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Your Name (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 25 titles, 23 of them dated from 1998 to 2025.
Film career
- 1999Screen debut· She and Her Cat
- 2002First top-billed film· Voices of a Distant Star
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
Nominated for a Berlinale award in 2023, Best Film.
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Makoto Shinkai's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 89th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 10 titles divides audiences: 5 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved5
- Crowd Pleaser5
Reviewers score the dialogue 52/100 and the plot and story 46/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Makoto Shinkai's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Makoto Shinkai work with?
People who share at least 2 of Makoto Shinkai's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Noritaka Kawaguchi shares the most, 6.
Actors
- Kana HanazawaShared titles: Suzume (2022), She and Her Cat: Everything Flows (2016), The Garden of Words (2013)See all 3 shared titles with Kana Hanazawa
- Kazuhiko InoueShared titles: Your Name. (2016), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Kazuhiko Inoue
- Hidetaka YoshiokaShared titles: 5 Centimeters Per Second (2025), The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Hidetaka Yoshioka
- Hokuto MatsumuraShared titles: 5 Centimeters Per Second (2025), Suzume (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Hokuto Matsumura
Composers and cinematographers
- TenmonShared titles: Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004), She and Her Cat: Their Standing Points (1999)See all 4 shared titles with Tenmon
- RadwimpsShared titles: Suzume (2022), Weathering with You (2019), Your Name. (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Radwimps
- Ryôsuke TsudaShared titles: Suzume (2022), Weathering with You (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Ryôsuke Tsuda
Producers
- Noritaka KawaguchiShared titles: Suzume (2022), Weathering with You (2019), Your Name. (2016), The Garden of Words (2013), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)See all 6 shared titles with Noritaka Kawaguchi
- Kôichirô ItôShared titles: Suzume (2022), Weathering with You (2019), Your Name. (2016), The Garden of Words (2013), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)See all 5 shared titles with Kôichirô Itô
- John LedfordShared titles: The Garden of Words (2013), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)See all 4 shared titles with John Ledford
- Genki KawamuraShared titles: Suzume (2022), Weathering with You (2019), Your Name. (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Genki Kawamura
