Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Fans of Makoto Shinkai to mark the first annual Global Shinkai Day

by Chris MaGee

I have to say that I'm of two minds about "5 Centimeters Per Second" creator Makoto Shinkai. On the one hand I am dumbfounded by his technical skill and uncanny talent for capturing the beauty in everyday settings, but on the other hand I find the plots of his films to be far to saccharine and maudlin for my liking. Of course there are many people out there who find the 36-year-old animator's mix of breathtaking visuals and over the top romance to be perfect, in fact they adore his work so much that they are establishing a Global Shinkai Day. The event will be hosted by Shinkai's unofficial fan forum Cherry Blossoms Falling in collaboration with the folks at Crunchyroll this coming Saturday, February 28th in hopes that it will become an annual event. Chinese fan site Shinkai.cn along with Japanese fan site Makoto Shinkai fan Web will also be lending a hand.

What can participants in this virtual celebration of the man many have called "The next Hayao Miyazaki"? Everything from fan discussions, contests and blog-a-thons, but the centerpiece for the festivities will be the free streaming of three of Shinkai's films, 2007's "5 Centimeters Per Second", 2003's "Voices of a Distant Star", and 2004's "The Place Promised in Our Early Days" at Crunchyroll in co-operation with the films' producers at CoMix Wave Films. The best thing about it is that you don't have to be a member of any of the online groups to participate. All are welcome to join in.

For a full schedule of events and screenings check out the official Global Shinkai Day thread here, and thanks to Anime News Network for the details on this.

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