Age: 53
male
Makoto Niitsu (新津 誠, Niitsu Makoto), known as Makoto Shinkai (新海 誠, Shinkai Makoto) is a Japanese animation director, author, and manga artist. Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) She and Her Cat (1999). Beginning his longstanding association with CoMix Wave Films, Shinkai then released the science-fiction OVA Voices of a Distant Star in 2002, and followed this with his debut feature film The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004). Shinkai's second feature film, the romantic drama anthology 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), gained critical acclaim, as did his subsequent releases, the dramas Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) and The Garden of Words (2013). Shinkai's 2016 fantasy romance Your Name was a critical and commercial success, becoming the third highest-grossing anime film of all time. His 2019 film, Weathering with You, also achieved similar critical and commercial success. His seventh film, Suzume, was released in Japan in November 2022.
In the serene yet harsh landscapes of rural Japan, during the late Taishō and early Shōwa periods, a man of boundless imagination and compassion emerges—Kenji Miyazawa, a visionary poet, educator, and idealist. "The Milky Way Poet" is a sweeping, heartfelt biopic that traces Miyazawa’s life journey, from his idyllic yet challenging childhood in Hanamaki to his transformative years as a writer and social activist, culminating in his quiet but profound legacy. The film opens with a young Kenji, captivated by the mysteries of the natural world and inspired by the shimmering stars above the rugged Iwate countryside. Guided by his devout Buddhist faith and his father’s call to carry on the family business, Kenji struggles to balance tradition with his restless pursuit of artistic and spiritual truth. When tragedy strikes, he turns to literature and science as a means of healing and hope. We witness his passion for teaching farmers modern agricultural techniques, his advocacy for social equity, and his deep empathy for both people and the planet. His poetry—vivid, otherworldly, and suffused with cosmic wonder—becomes a mirror of his inner conflicts, loneliness, and yearning for a utopian society. Interspersed with dreamlike sequences, the film draws from Kenji’s poetic imagination, including animated depictions of his iconic works like Night on the Galactic Railroad and Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru (Night of the Milky Way Railway).
