A Fan Letter To Makoto Shinkai

Dear Makoto Shinkai,

My name is Nikhil Kushram, and I am from India.

I have been watching your movies since I was a kid and I love them a lot. I remember watching a lot movies back then (well I definitely didn’t take the effort to look who made those movies and animes back then).

Then one day I watched a movie, which was so beautiful. I think it was the first time I had watched such a beautiful movie.

It just made me really invested in it. I got lost in its stunning animation. It was as if I was watching a beautiful moving painting in front of me.

Back then, when I watched the movie, all I did was say “wooooooowwwww”.

It was more than just the dazzling cinematography. More than the art style.

The movie was 5 centimeters per second

5 centimeters per second anime movie — 5 centimeters per second.

I fell for its animation but the thing I liked the most about the movie was its story.

How people change with time, Long distance relationship, the feeling of losing someone important to you and It was the first time

I was so excited by watching the ending of a movie. I just wanted to know what happened after that… Hahaha I was just a dumb person back then.

After watching ‘5 centimeters per second’ I couldn’t stop myself from watching your other works.

Which lead me to the ‘Voices of the distant star’.

For me, it’s more than just a movie made by you, it is a narrative poem to me. Even to this very day.

‘The Place Promised in Our Early Days’.
‘Children who Chase lost Voices’.
‘The Garden of words’.

And other short animations.

While each one of them had different story to tell with a different perspective, long distance love and separated by time was a common theme in each of them.

the garden of words beautiful animation — The Garden Of Words.

When I finally got to watch ‘Garden of words’, I wasn’t able to imagine that an animation could be this beautiful.

It wasn’t a moving painting, it was a piece of work that no matter how many times I watched it, I couldn’t get enough of it.

I just kept wanting more of it.

your name anime movie characters — Your Name movie.

Then finally you made the movie which we all love so much. ‘Your Name/Kimi no na wa’. ‘

Your Name’ isn’t just a movie for me. It’s something that I lost in my teenage years.

The experience of finding a person who is made for me.

That’s why, sensei, we love you. Not because ‘Your Name’ was a visually stunning movie but because I connected with it on a deeper level that just I can’t find words to express.

Definitely it was one of the most visually stunning movie by you, accompanied by phenomenal music by radwimps.

And also Sensei, whenever I meet a new person, the first thing I do is ask them their names.

That’s what ‘Your Name’ taught me

“A relation like friendship, families, falling in love with someone, getting a job and so many things. It all starts by knowing each others name first.”

Makoto sensei, I don’t know whether this letter will reach you or not but all I want to say is, Thank you.

Thank you for making such movies which are so beautiful that we get lost into a different world.

Thank you for working so hard on making them so that they could connect everyone with each other.

And now, before I finish my letter, I want to thank you for taking our request into consideration about releasing ‘Weathering with You’ in India.

Even if it doesn’t release in my country, I will always be happy cause you noticed us. That’s more than enough for us to be proud of.

By yours truly,

Nikhil Kushram.

YouTube Channel: Yusuke Iz Baka

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