'Suzume' Makoto Shinkai "Cultural resistance and barriers have been broken down"

Director Makoto Shinkai believed that cultural resistance and barriers were being broken down regardless of political relationships.

On the afternoon of the 27th, director Makoto Shinkai was interviewed about the success of 'Suzume's Door Break' at Novotel Ambassador Seoul Yongsan.

On this day, director Makoto Shinkai was asked, "Do today's younger generations agree with the idea of 'Yes Japan'?" Contrary to this question, anti-Japanese sentiment has recently arisen in Korea, leading to a 'No Japan' trend.

Director Shinkai began by saying, "Rather than saying 'Yes Japan', I think it's a matter of people's resistance to accepting culture disappearing."

"Japan also likes Korean dramas and K-pop and consumes a lot of them. In Korea, people are watching a lot of 'The First Slam Dunk' and 'Suzume's Lockdown' recently, but I don't think that's because they're only Japanese. When it comes to content, the country is I don't think it matters. I just think I'm enjoying something fun. Korean K-pop is very popular, but I think people enjoy the content from the perspective of 'the song is good' or 'the singer is pretty' rather than because it's Korean. “I realize that the cultural barrier to this has disappeared.”

Director Shinkai said that it was 'a happy and good thing' that Japanese animation is receiving great love in Korea. He said, “I think it is a happy situation that many people are watching all Japanese animation, regardless of whether it is ‘Suzume’s Lockdown,’ ‘The First Slam Dunk,’ or ‘Detective Conan,’ and it is gaining strength.” “I think it’s very good that Japanese animation is being recognized as a genre just as it is gaining popularity as a genre,” he said.

In particular, director Makoto Shinkai said, “I hope that Asian animation will be recognized around the world.” “I hope that content coming from Asia, such as Japan, Korea, China, and Thailand, will have power. I think it would be good if the power of animation in Asia becomes stronger.” The announcement attracted attention.

He added, “I’m looking forward to animations coming out of Korea in the future,” and added, “I hope all of Asia will have power in the animation genre.”

'Suzume's Lockdown' tells the story of Suzume, a girl who accidentally opens a door that causes disaster, and desperately tries to close it to prevent disasters occurring throughout Japan. The movie takes as its main subject the Great East Japan Earthquake, which had a magnitude of 9.0, the largest ever observed in Japan.

'Suzume's Lockdown', which attracted 10 million viewers in Japan, is a long-term box office hit with 4,975,30 viewers as of the 26th. This film is ranked first among domestically released films this year, and has reached the top spot among Japanese films released domestically.

Director Makodo Shinkai, who completed the disaster trilogy with 'Suzume's Lockdown' following 'Your Name' (2017, 3.81 million viewers) and 'Weather's Child' (2019, 740,000 viewers), received favorable reviews for his work and also gained popularity. It was a box office success and became Makoto Shinkai's representative series. Among them, 'Your Name' and 'Suzume's Lockdown' were listed among the top 3 most successful Japanese films ever released in Korea.

'Suzume's Lockdown' was released on March 8th and has been a long-term hit, close to exceeding 5 million in sales.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr