The popularity of his works, which triggered a huge boom, was no fluke! The results of the "Best of Shinkai Makoto" competition are announced!

The official voting project "Best of Makoto Shinkai" that was conducted from January 30 (Tue.) to February 14 (Wed.) on "Anipota," an anime portal operated by Akiba Research Institute, has come to an end. How did the 4676 votes cast come out? Let's check the results right away.

No. 1 Your name is...　1438 votes
No. 2 Garden of Words 1269 votes
No. 3 5 Centimeters per Second 1148 votes
No.4 Beyond the clouds, a promised place 229 votes
No.5 Hoshi no noe The voices of a distant star 226 votes
No.6 Children Chasing Stars 223 votes
No.7 She and Her Cat -Everything Flows- 77 votes
No.8 Somebody's Gaze 66 votes

The top three places received four-digit votes, far ahead of the fourth and lower places, which received three-digit votes.

The first place went to "Kimi no na wa. as expected by most. The work that created a huge boom, and its popularity seems to have been the same on "Ani-pota".

In second place was "The Garden of Words," a love story between a 15-year-old boy and a 27-year-old woman. Director Shinkai himself said, "This is my first love story," and it proved to be very popular. We hope that he will make more romance films like this one.

The third place winner, "5 Centimeters per Second," may be a work that divides people's tastes, but it received more votes in "Anipota" and came in third place.

The fourth to sixth places were very close, with only three votes separating each of them. A single vote by one person could have changed the outcome. That is why each work has its own unique charm.

The fourth-place winner, "Kumo no Muko, Yakusoku no Basho," won the Mainichi Film Concours Animation Film Award despite being a first feature film. The sixth-placed film, "Children Who Chase Stars," was Shinkai's first attempt at a full-scale juvenile fantasy film.

And in seventh place was "Her and Her Cat -Everything Flows-. Although not directly directed by Shinkai, this film is based on his early self-produced short film "Her and Her Cat," and is a must-see for fans of Shinkai's work.

Dareka no Manazashi" seemed to gain more votes since it was screened at the same time as "Kotoba no Niwa (The Garden of Words)," but regrettably, it came in last place. Kimi no na wa. Fans who started watching Shinkai's previous works because of the film boom may have not yet given this film a chance. This film, which was originally screened only for a limited run, was screened together with "Garden of Words." We hope you will take this opportunity to see the "future" and "family ties" packed into the short 6 minutes and 40 seconds of this short film.

Kimi no na wa." was thought to be overwhelmingly popular, but "Kimi no na wa. which seemed to be the overwhelming favorite, took the top spot, but "The Garden of Words" and "5 Centimeters per Second," which were up in the poll, and all the films below the fourth place are still full of the "Shinkai World," so if you have not seen any of these films, I highly recommend that you give them a try.

⇒ Best of Shinkai Makoto