Record-Breaking 2023 Makoto Shinkai's Anime Blows Up Netflix's Top 10

Summary

• At the beginning of April, a new full-length anime movie was released on Netflix.
• It's the project of none other than Makoto Shinkai, one of Japan's most famous filmmakers.
• In the week of its release on the streaming service, the movie made it into Netflix's Top 10.

Of all the American streaming services, Netflix is the one that relies most heavily on international projects. Its most critically and popularly acclaimed films and series are regularly projects originating in Europe, K- and J-dramas streamed on Netflix receive high ratings on review aggregators, and, of course, the company is betting big on anime.

Japanese animation arrived on the service in 2014, when Knights of Sidonia was announced as Netflix's first 'original' anime series, followed by many other original and licensed, failed and successful projects, as well as live-action adaptations from Death Note to One Piece, and now, 10 years later, the Netflix series Delicious in Dungeon has a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

On that note, the huge deal was the April 5 addition to Netflix's library of the feature-length anime film Suzume by renowned Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai. The film received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike during its theatrical release, grossed an impressive $316.8 million worldwide, and competed with Hayao Miyazaki 's The Boy and the Heron at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Remarkably, the film's success continues a year after its theatrical release, as Suzume has become one of the most-watched non-English language films on Netflix.

What Is Shinkai's New Movie About?

Suzume is the latest feature film from anime auteur Makoto Shinkai, known for such cult projects as She and Her Cat, 5 Centimeters per Second, The Garden of Words, and Weathering with You. But even if you haven't heard of any of those anime, you've certainly heard of Your Name, which made just as much noise around the world in 2016 as Suzume.

Like Your Name, the plot of Suzume, which references the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, focuses on the Japanese people's ability to withstand the elements, looking at natural disasters with an awareness of their coming and going nature, which is what makes the Japanese people so unified and easy to look forward to tomorrow, even if it's full of tragedy. Despite their optimistic conclusions, Shinkai's films are full of melancholy, largely caused by generational trauma.

The story follows Suzume, a high school student living in Kyushu, who meets a mysterious young man named Souta. His job is to prevent disasters all over Japan by closing magical doors through which forces from another dimension enter. But he accidentally turns into a chair, leaving Suzume to do his job.

A Full-Length Anime Movie Has Made Its Way to the Top of Netflix

In addition to being enthusiastically received by audiences worldwide (the film has an impressive 96% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes), Suzume broke a number of records that put it on par with The Boy and the Heron. It became one of the highest-grossing films of 2022 and 2023 in both Japan and other markets, including China, the US, and South Korea.

And now, with its addition to Netflix on April 5, it has also become one of the most popular full-length anime on the streaming service. For the week of April 8-14, it broke into the top 10 most-watched non-English films worldwide.

All of this speaks to the acclaim Suzume has received for its colorful visual style, touching story that touches on the pain of the inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago, and, of course, a plethora of references, including both Shinkai's previous works and Studio Ghibli's anime projects. It's also telling that Netflix, along with Crunchyroll, is one of the most sought-after homes for high-octane anime movies and series.