We’ve said it before, and we’ll very likely say it again. Makoto Shinkai is a genius. He’s one of the few filmmakers working in animation today whose every film is a must see. Most recently, 2016’s Your Name was one of the highest grossing anime films of all time, and 2019’s Weathering With You had an even bigger opening. The latter was also selected to be Japan’s entry to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.

Yet, even though those films broke into the mainstream, to an extent, Shinkai’s earlier works were still largely underappreciated by animation fans… and unseen by a wider audience.

No more. GKIDS and Shout! Factory (which is hands down our favorite media marriage) recently blessed us with Shinkai’s first three feature films on gorgeous new Blu-ray releases, so if you’re interested in diving into the world of Japanese animation a little deeper, this is a great opportunity.

For my part, I used this event as an excuse to watch through his entire career… and introduce my 13-year-old daughter to his films.

Needless to say, it was very much a success.

Shinkai’s films are notorious for stories of young, dramatic romance; lushly illustrated backgrounds; and twinges of unexpected sci-fi (and trains… there are always trains).

Watching his filmography in order was surprising in how much of a creative and artistic leap he made with each film. Though his backgrounds were stunningly gorgeous from the outset, his earliest films don’t benefit from the experience of a long career (obviously) and suffer in a few places when it comes to character design and storytelling.

Nevertheless, it’s thrilling to watch these films and see a master hone his craft so each subsequent film is at least 100% better than the previous.

That said, what are you in for if you embark on a similar journey?

2004’s The Place Promised in Our Early Days was Shinkai’s feature debut, and this is the first time the film has been available on Blu-ray in North America. It’s set in an alternate post-WWII Japan that has been split in two. Three friends on one side of the border become obsessed with a mysterious tower on the other side that seemingly reaches to space… and they decide to build an airplane that will take them there.

This film is probably the weakest of the three, but it’s still a remarkable achievement when you consider it was a feature directorial debut. This Blu-ray release makes the film a must-watch, though, with incredible visual and sound clarity. Undoubtedly, this film has never looked better.

Bonus Features:

• Interviews with the Japanese voice cast
• Interview with Makoto Shinkai
• Trailer collection

5 Centimeters Per Second (2007), Shinkai’s second film, leans hard into some of the themes that would come to define many of his works – namely, young love that somehow manages to span vast distances and stretches of time. At 63 minutes, the film is short, but it manages to play with a LOT of interesting ideas and visuals in that time.

The film is a sequence of three connected vignettes, and you can see Shinkai not only finding his style here but also becoming more comfortable taking narrative risks.

This release also includes his earlier short films She and Her Cat (1999) and Voices of a Distant Star (2002). Both are interesting and worth checking out if you’re a fan of Shinkai’s work (or are marathoning his entire career, as we did), but neither is worth the price of admission alone. She and Her Cat is only about 5 minutes long and is clearly the work of an animator still learning the ropes. (I highly recommend reading the manga in place of or in addition to watching the short.) Voices of a Distant Star is… an acquired taste. It’s an outlier in his career, stylewise, and unless you’re somehow a fan of schoolgirls in outer space fighting giant mechas, you could probably give this one a miss.

Bonus Features:

• Feature-length storyboard (5 Centimeters Per Second)
• Interview with Shinkai (5 Centimeters Per Second)
• Interview with cast
• Music video
• Trailers
• She and Her Cat short film
• Voices of a Distant Star short film
• Interview with Makoto Shinkai (Voices of a Distant Star)
• Storyboards (Voices of a Distant Star)
• Trailer Collection

Finally, Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) was Shinkai’s third feature, which came a full four years after 5 Centimeters Per Second. And the film demonstrates another significant leap in both technical skill and narrative strength.

If you’re only going to watch one of these new releases, let it be this one. Children Who Chase Lost Voices is the first film in Shinkai’s career where you can clearly see why he’s often described as visionary. The film is an epic fantasy with elements that strongly recall Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

It was also the first film in our Makoto Shinkai marathon that both the 13-year-old and I gave two enthusiastic thumbs up. And frankly? It was all uphill from there.

Bonus Features:

• Audio commentary with Shinkai and staff
• Interviews with staff and cast
• Making of Children Who Chase Lost Voices
• Japanese promotional video
• Japanese trailers
• Works of Makoto Shinkai

Like I said, it’s all phenomenal from here. If you want to take a similar Makoto Shinkai trip, you’ve got The Garden of Words, Your Name, and Weathering with You ahead of you. Trust me, you won’t regret the journey. Each film is required viewing.

But you need to start somewhere. And you could certainly do a lot worse than these three films. So do yourself a favor, grab all three from GKIDS/Shout! Factory and set some appointment viewing now that the summer is here.

You can thank me later.