Makoto Shinkai’s career went from the humble beginnings of one’s low-budget passion projects to some of the most successful animated films in years, so the excitement for a new film is contagious.Suzume no Tojimari, orSuzume’s Door-Locking, is the newest film, and one whose ambitions and very real inspirations make it one worth keeping a close eye on as if people weren’t keen to do so anyway.
Produced by CoMix Wave, the studio behind much of Shinkai’s works, this new film is releasing on November 11 andwill follow one young woman’s journeyto avert catastrophe. When Suzume encounters a mysterious man, she encounters a door that leads her to someplace otherworldly, setting her on a journey to close several other doors.
FEATURED:New Music Details Revealed for Makoto Shinkai’s Upcoming Suzume
Speculation
One could say that the synopsis for the story is keeping things secret, but the general premise isn’t hard to decipher. The emphasis on doors and locks is an easy enough parable for keeping something dangerous from escaping, just as much as it is about breaking down boundaries between one place and the next.
It’s merely the impetus for the “door-locking” adventure and the threat posing the world should Suzume fail that is left opaque.It’s just enough of a neat mysteryto get fans intrigued, but it is unusual for the marketing for a Shinkai film to be quite this conservative, at least with dialog in trailers.
Thus far, the trailers have been a showcase of gorgeous background art, effects animation, and character animation, but practically no dialog. Not only is there liminal scenery depicting the titular doors, but also other fantastical elements, such as a seemingly sentient stool.
Like with past Shinkai works, there are glimpses of a larger supporting cast and the kinds of secondary activities that tend to pad the midsection, building character and an attachment to the cast.But with only the music video-esque trailers thus far, there is only so much that can be gleaned, and that could be to the film’s benefit.
There’s always the possibility that the film may have another trailer or two in the month before it releases, but it would behoove the producers to be just as scarce with details up until release. Hopefully, Crunchyroll will be similarly careful with preserving the mystique whenever they release it in the west.
The Potential Themes
It’s interesting to note that before the film was officially announced,Shinkai had stated that the events of 2020were a huge inspiration for the story. In an interview with TV Asashi, he confessed that “the mood of the times is indelibly etched into the script,” citing the Japanese State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the time the newest trailers were all the buzz, many might have forgotten Shinkai’s comments regarding the matter. It isn’t as though the film looks to have many immediately clear parallels right out of the gate. More likely the film aims to encapsulate “the mood” of that terrible year, as Shinkai stated.
While it is a complicated gauntlet to tackle in a story if anyone can get audiences invested in something so layered and inherently human, it would be Shinkai. He states that the theme is “What happens after the end (post-apocalypse)” which certainly echoes how the world felt to many.
RELATED:Crunchyroll Fall Line-Up Confirmed
Only time will tell how well the film succeeds in capturing that tone, but for now, it is looking just as gorgeous asYour NameandWeathering With Youbefore it. Plus, considering both of his past films included callbacks to previous works of his, eagle-eyed fans are sure to keep an eye out for hidden details or cameos from other protagonists in what is becoming Shinkai’s own melancholic cinematic universe.
CoMix Wave often feels like a delightful anomaly in the industry, one that most prominently rears its head when Shinkai produces another heartfelt work.His films have set something of a standardfor melodramatic drama films in anime, but Shinkai has always tried to inject something new into the mix.
This time, one such new factor is the casting of Nanoka Hara, a fairly fresh actress on the scene, as the lead Suzume in the movie. It’s her first anime role, and it will be exciting to see her take on the lead in such a huge production, something that she, a self-proclaimed Shinkai fan, is honored to partake in.
Suzume’s Door-Lockingis set to release in Japan on November 11 and internationally in early 2023.
