Director Makoto Shinkai Lists Three Major Points That Encapsulate Suzume No Tojimari

The premiere date for Makoto Shinkai's next animated feature-length film, "Suzume no Tojimari," is almost upon us. Produced by CoMix Wave Films, the filmmaker's seventh film will be coming out in its home country of Japan on November 11. For Western audiences, it may not premiere until early next year.

Nevertheless, fans of the director's filmography have already gotten a tease of some elements to expect in his upcoming movie. For one, the movie's beautiful main theme — which is sung by TikTok creator Toaka — is already available for all those who want to listen to it. The theme is also present in the trailer released by distributor Toho, which showcases the main characters and their respective voices — Nanoka Hara as the high school protagonist Suzume Iwato, and Hokuto Matsumura as Suzume's partner in adventure Sōta Munakata — and the setting, which mainly takes place in the island of Kyushu. In addition, the "Suzume no Tojimari" trailer also teases the three main fantastical concepts behind the plot, which Shinkai has also briefly elaborated on himself.

According to Anime News Network, Shinkai described his upcoming film as a "road movie," wherein the characters must travel all across Japan to lock the mysterious supernatural doors. But these real (albeit magical) doors serve as a parallel to the metaphorical doors that one must inevitably find a way to close during one's life — a tying of loose ends of sorts. Not only does "Suzume no Tojimari" attempt to speak to a generation with its thematic depths, but it also, Shinkai hopes, will serve as an incentive for people to go out of their houses and come visit the movie theater.

It should not come as too much of a surprise that the Coronavirus pandemic, and the subsequent lockdowns, had an influence on Shinkai's next film. The disaster which occurs in "Suzume no Tojimari" is not to do with the spreading of a dangerous disease, but instead with the opening of magical doors which cause unforeseen destruction. But Shinkai believes that in the end, in both cases, people will keep on finding ways to survive the unexpected.

In the filmmaker's words: "Right now, I want to make a film that shows what happens after the apocalypse. Something will end," Shinkai said. "It is not a film where there is something that has to be held at bay. In the midst of a changed world, what kind of adventures will play out? How will people get in touch with their feelings? How will people live and overcome the shock of change? I want to make a film that depicts the things that we have to confront after the end of the world."