I love Shinkai MakotoI’ve seen all of his films, have comics and art books of his work, and even went to a pop-up cafe in Japan when the hit movie Your Name first became an international sensation.
Like Hayao Miyazaki, his creativity and vision were able to break through the mainstream and create magical animations that received critical and commercial recognition. He is the iconic director of the modern era of animation, and for good reason.
However, Shinkai’s huge global success has undoubtedly overshadowed other breakout directors of the same period, at least in mainstream Western cinema. Hosoda Mamoru.
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Hosoda and Shinkai have long been referred to by some as “the next Hayao Miyazaki.” Just a few years after Shinkai’s debut, Voices of a Distant Star, Hosoda began creating his own brand of original animation with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
Although their careers began at similar times, more casual anime viewers may be less familiar with the outstanding work of Mamoru Hosoda and more familiar with Makoto Shinkai, who has produced two of the five highest-grossing films in Japanese history.
If you’re not familiar with Tadaichi Hosoda, you’ll soon have a chance to rectify that, as three of his classic films have just been acquired by two new distributors. Screen International reports that the rights to Tadaichi Hosoda’s classics The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and Wolf Children have been acquired by UK distributor Anime Limited and Germany’s Plaion Pictures.
Anime Limited is the UK company behind the fantastic All The Anime series, which includes beautiful Blu-ray editions of beloved series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Naruto, Berserk and many more.
Plaion has also acquired the rights to Mamoru Hosoda’s 2015 fantasy adventure film “Monster Child,” while both Plaion and Anime Limited already own the rights to Oscar-nominated film “Mirai” and Hosoda’s latest film, “Beauty and the Beast.”
Interestingly, the companies are reportedly preparing a “World of Hosoda” theatrical season, which would make it possible for some of Hosoda’s works to be shown in a theater near you and open up his films to a whole new audience.
Of all the upcoming movies, my top pick is undoubtedly Summer Wars. This 2009 sci-fi drama tells the story of Kenji, a timid high school math genius who is invited by his classmate Natsuki to join her for a family reunion in rural Japan. There, he must pretend to be Natsuki’s boyfriend while Natsuki’s family gathers to celebrate her great-grandmother’s birthday.
However, when a brutal AI is unleashed in the VR world of OZ, things start to take a turn for the worse. This VR world is basically what the Metaverse would be like if it actually worked. In OZ, people have their own avatars and can hang out with friends, shop, play games – leading a fun virtual life. However, this may not be the best design decision, OZ is also inseparable from real life – people can pay bills, run businesses, and more here. So when an evil AI is unleashed in OZ, it causes chaos in the real world, but Kenji – who gets caught up in the online farce – may have the know-how and the wisdom to save the world.
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This is a brilliant, uplifting, thrilling anime filled with human drama, clever twists, and heart-wrenching moments. Like Hayao Miyazaki and Makoto Shinkai, Hosoda of Summer Wars excels at blending fantasy with human drama to create a timeless anime that anyone who loves the genre should experience. If you’ve never seen it before, you’ll soon have a chance to see it and the rest of Hosoda’s masterpieces on the big screen.
If you can’t wait that long, you can buy Summer Wars and other Hosoda films, such as Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki on Blu-ray and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time on DVD, from Amazon. You can also rent or buy Beast Children and other Hosoda films on Prime Video.
For more anime content, be sure to check out our guides to watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan in which order. You can also find out the release date for the highly anticipated Uzumaki anime and read our story on Kiki’s Delivery Service 35 years later.
