Makoto Shinkai's 'Suzume' Gets A Bonkers New Trailer

 

Makoto Shinkai arrived on the world stage in a major way with 2016's Your Name. He had been working for some time to acclaim from anime fans, but it was the body-swap romantic fantasy that made the wider world take notice. His follow up, Weathering With You was also a hit -if not quite on the same level. Now Shinkai is preparing to release his newest film Suzume- known as Suzume No Tojimari in Japan.

Now, ahead of the Japanese release on November 11, distributor Toho has debuted a brand new trailer. The first trailer was very much a teaser, more of a mood setter than anything else. By contrast, the second trailer reveals a lot more... and it's safe to say this film looks bonkers.

In the past, Shinkai has taken one fantastical element- such as Your Name's body swapping, or Weathering With You's controlling of the weather- and grounded it with a more relatable side to the story. In most cases he does it with a spin on teenage romance.With Suzume, he seems to be heading more into full blooded fantasy.

As previously revealed, the story surrounds the sudden appearance of mysterious doors that appear out of nowhere all over Japan.  17 year-old Suzume meets a young man and discovers that she has the ability to close and lock these "doors of disaster".

It's just your standard story of boy meets girl, boy gets turned into a chair by a talking cat.... (we're not joking, check it out for yourself).

Suzume is written and directed by Makoto Shinkai and produced by ComixWave Films in association with Story Inc. For the music, Shinkai has reteamed with RADWIMPS and composer Kazuma Jinnouchi. It will be released theatrically in all major territories in early 2023 by Crunchyroll and (in some cases) Sony Pictures Entertaimnet.

Synopsis

17-year-old Suzume’s journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob…

Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Souta is known as a “Closer” who travels across Japan locking these doors shut. As the door opens, however, the mysterious white cat nicknamed “AristoCat” appears before them. “I love Suzume, but you [Souta] are in the way” as it uttered those words, Souta becomes Suzume’s childhood chair, she has cherished since she was little.

Souta chases the cat as a 3-legged chair, and Suzume sprints after Souta in a panic. Eventually, they will travel together from Kyushu to Shikoku, Kansai and Tokyo on their journey to close doors. On her travels, Suzume encounters several people who help her as she helps them. But what awaited her at the end of her journey was a certain truth that has been long forgotten.

Guided by these mysterious doors, Suzume’s journey is about to begin.