When it comes to animation, Hayao Miyazaki’s name is often mentioned by other anime directors, and Makoto Shinkai is also one of them. The acclaimed director of Your Name and Suzume has long aspired to follow in the footsteps of Miyazaki. However, there’s one individual who ignited Shinkai’s passion for storytelling long before Miyazaki did, and that is none other than the legend, Haruki Murakami.
Murakami, a contemporary novelist known for his surreal, dreamlike narratives, is one of Japan’s most famous authors. By understanding the significance of Murakami’s literary influence and Miyazaki’s animation legacy, we can appreciate how Shinkai has crafted his unique, emotionally charged brand of anime.
Haruki Murakami’s Influence on Makoto Shinkai’s Storytelling
During the time promoting his films at the BFI London Film Festival, Makoto Shinkai shared the details with LWLies about his creative journey; including his first influences and his approach to storytelling. He revealed Haruki Murakami was one of his inspirations for his passion for emotional storytelling, stating,
My first influences were Japanese contemporary authors, including Haruki Murakami, because they describe everyday life, and they accept life as it is. So I wanted to do something like that in animation.
Although Shinkai now follows his own emotions and motivations for directing anime films, there’s no denying that authors like Murakami have significantly shaped his career as a successful storyteller. Murakami’s works such as Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and 1Q84, often blend the mundane with the fantastical, creating a dreamlike quality where everyday life is combined with strange and magical elements.
Murakami’s unique storytelling style has garnered him a devoted following, and he has been long considered a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2016, however, he famously lost the prize to Bob Dylan, a moment that sparked debate in literary circles.
One of the key similarities between Haruki Murakami’s writing and Makoto Shinkai‘s films is their ability to blend the real with the surreal, creating worlds that feel both grounded and otherworldly. Shinkai’s acclaimed films, Suzume and Your Name were based on the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, a tragic event that changed his worldview, as he remarked,
There’s a line in the film – ‘you never know, Tokyo might go tomorrow’ – and I think everyone in Japan is aware of that. That can happen, and it has happened. You can lose that everyday, normal life.
Thus, he created stories of recovery through films like Suzume and Your Name, where the past can be changed, unlike in real life. Like Murakami, Shinkai is interested in the inner emotional landscapes of his characters, particularly how they cope with feelings of isolation, longing, and the passage of time.
Hayao Miyazaki: The Unreachable Ideal in Japanese Animation
Of course, the creative journey of Makoto Shinkai would be incomplete without mentioning Hayao Miyazaki. As Shinkai himself has stated, Miyazaki is “a big ideal” for anyone working in anime. His films are widely regarded as masterpieces, not just for their stunning visuals but also for their deep emotional resonance and strong environmental and anti-war themes.
Despite this, Shinkai has been careful not to chase the impossible goal of becoming “the next Miyazaki”. Instead, he focuses on telling his own stories, ones that resonate with modern audiences through their emotional complexity and visual innovation.
In addition to his skill as an animator, Makoto Shinkai’s success as a filmmaker can be credited to his exceptional ability to combine elements of Hayao Miyazaki’s animation legacy with Haruki Murakami’s literary genius. Although Miyazaki remains the ideal for Japanese animators, Shinkai has carved out his own path by focusing on the internal worlds of his characters, much like how Murakami’s protagonists navigate surreal, emotional landscapes.
Your Name and Suzume is currently available to watch on Netflix.
