The Japanese animated film Your Name, helmed by writer and director Makoto Shinkai, was nothing short of a global phenomenon. Better known as 君の名は。(Kimi no Nawa) to purists, the 2016 movie not only won multiple international awards, but also became the third highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Makoto Shinkai later followed up with Weathering With You in 2019, which was similarly met with praise – albeit to a lesser degree.
Since then, he’s been quietly working on a new project called Suzume no Tojimari (Suzume Locking Up the Doors), which is slated to be released in Japan come Fall 2022.
Image adapted from: Suzume Tojimari Movie
Like Your Name and Weathering With You, Suzume no Tojimari looks set to be an animated film with fantasy elements. The plot follows the titular Suzume, a 17-year-old girl who lives in the quiet town of Kyushu.
One day, she meets a young man on his travels, who says, “I’m looking for a door.” Intrigued, she follows him into the mountains, where they find a mysterious antique door standing tall in the middle of modern-day ruins.
Following the announcement of the upcoming movie, fans took to social media to express their excitement.
Image adapted from: @myanimelist
Twitter user @zeff_x2 tweeted, “Another masterpiece on the way I see”. A similar sentiment was shared by user @KxrmaFPS, who said, “You already know this about to go crazy [sic]”.
Image adapted from: @myanimelist
User @KalenderKompas was not quite as complimentary as they replied, “Another disaster.”
Image adapted from: Kotaku
Though harsh, the criticism seemed to be shared by a few people. Compared to Your Name, Weathering With You was perceived as lacking, and some criticised its plot for being too similar to its predecessor.
A Kotaku reader commented, “Your Name is one of my all time favorite [sic] movies but I did not like Weathering with You much.”
Another reader had an insightful take on what could have been better with Weathering With You.
Image adapted from: Kotaku
“Hopefully this one makes up for Weathering With You’s infuriating removal of the female lead’s personal agency over her own character arc. Still really annoyed by how Hodaka made Hina’s conflict all about himself and what he wanted,” they commented.
Image adapted from: Suzume Tojimari Movie
According to the official website of Suzume no Tojimari, the film will be written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. Character designs will be handled by Masayoshi Tanaka, who worked with Shinkai on Your Name and Weathering With You. He’s also worked on iconic anime such as Katekyoshi Hitman REBORN!, Toradora!, and even Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.
Kenichi Tsuchiya and Takumi Tanji, both Your Name alumni, will be the animation director and art director respectively.
Suzume no Tojimari will be released in Japan in Fall 2022.
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Cover image adapted from: Suzume no Tojimari Movie
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