Makoto Shinkai Short Films

Voices of a Distant Star (2002)

Fifteen-year-old schoolgirl Mikako, who becomes a pilot of a combat robot for the United Nations Space Force, communicates with her friend Noboru, who remains on Earth, via email from her mobile phone. As she travels further away from Earth, Mikako continues to send Noboru letters, which take longer and longer to reach him.

🏆 26th place among the best anime of all time (according to a survey by the Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs)

The Garden of Words (2013)

Fifteen-year-old Takao dreams of becoming a shoe designer. On rainy days, he prefers the solitude away from his noisy school and spends time in a park sketching his future designs. One day, he meets a mysterious girl who is older than him. Their paths cross again and again—but only on rainy days.

In this work, Shinkai aimed to convey the traditionally Japanese perception of the word "love" (“koi”), meaning "lonely sadness," in contrast to the concept of “ai,” borrowed from the West.