Makoto Shinkai, 'Suzume's Lockdown' Disaster Trilogy Finale

Director Makoto Shinkai, a master of Japanese animation, enters the finale of his disaster trilogy with 'Suzume's Lockdown', a work inspired by the Korean drama 'Goblin'.

On the morning of the 8th, a press conference for the movie 'Suzume's Lockdown' (directed by Makoto Shinkai) was held at Megabox in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Director Makoto Shinkai and Nanoka Hara, who voiced the main character Suzume, attended.

On this day, Makoto Shinkai related to using 'door' as a motif in this work, saying, "When I watched the Korean drama 'Goblin', I was very impressed by the use of doors, and I took a hint from that and ended up using doors in this work as well." I tried my luck.

He continued, "I think the door is a 'symbol of everyday life.' We open the door, say, 'I'm going back,' and go out. We say, 'I'm going,' and close the door and come home. Repeating that action is part of our daily life." "I thought it was a disaster to cut off that daily life. Opening the door in the morning and going out but not coming back is a disaster. I thought using the door as a motif would suit this movie," he said.

This work attracted the attention of audiences with richer CG than before. Regarding depicting water several times in the work, Makoto said, "Actually, water is very annoying. When people pass by, it creates waves and water droplets splatter. Although it is difficult for the animators, the audience finds it beautiful and likes it."

Director Makoto said, "It's hard, but I try to draw water well in each work." He added, "Many animators on site ask, 'Is it water again?' My role is to encourage people on site to do things they don't want to do. “I’m doing it,” he said.

Recently, there was also talk about 'The First Slam Dunk', which is enjoying syndrome-like popularity in Korea. Director Makoto began by saying, “Koreans seem to really like Japanese animation. I want to ask why.” He said he thinks the hearts of Korean and Japanese people are similar. “I feel it every time I come to Seoul, the streets and neighborhood scenery are similar. The scenery and the appearance of the city are made to resemble people’s hearts, so I think the shape of the heart is similar.” "he said.

He also said, “Korea likes Japanese animation, and Japanese people watch Korean dramas. In terms of political situations, there are good and bad times and they repeat like waves, but I think it would be good if we continue to go together in terms of culture.” He said that, drawing attention.

Director Makoto has released three works dealing with disasters in a row, including ‘Your Name’, ‘Weather Child’, and ‘Suzume’s Lockdown’. All of these works received favorable reviews and achieved popular box office success, becoming Makoto Shinkai's representative series. Director Makoto said that he felt a greater sense of responsibility for ‘Suzume’s Lockdown’ due to the success of his previous work.

“I thought it was a responsibility because after a previous work becomes a hit, the number of audiences who watch the next work increases. After a hit, the audience can say, ‘Go and see that director’s movie,’ so I didn’t intend to make it just a fun entertainment. So I thought, let's add something, and I thought that if I could express the disaster, which can be said to be a trauma for all of Japan, well, I could convey it to people who have forgotten about this incident. And the entertainment part is that it can leave these memories for young people as well. “I thought I could do it. So this work came out as a responsibility for what I achieved with ‘Your Name.’”

Director Makoto, who revealed that he got the motif for this work from the Korean drama 'Goblin', hoped that his next work would also take hints from Korea. He said, "I plan to make something completely different in the future," and "I have a blank slate for a new work. I think it would be good to get some hints while I'm in Korea."

'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.

Released on March 8th.

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