CoMix Wave Films has released a trailer for animator Makoto Shinkai’s latest film. The Garden of Words (「言の葉の庭」, Kotonoha no Niwa) depicts the budding relationship between Takao, a 15-year-old boy aspiring to be a shoemaker, and Yukino, a 27-year-old woman struggling to relearn to walk. Miyu Irino will play Takao, and Kana Hanazawa will play Yukino. On YouTube, the trailer includes subtitles in English, French, Russian, traditional Chinese, and Korean.
Praised by some as the next Hayao Miyazaki, Makoto Shinkai began work on his first animated short, Other Worlds, in 1997. Since becoming a full-time animator in 2001, he has created several other films, including Voices of a Distant Star, 5 Centimeters Per Second, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices. Lost Voices is his most recent work, released in Japan May 2011, in North America on DVD and Blu-ray November 2012, and in the United Kingdom on DVD and Blu-ray January 28, 2013, as Journey to Agartha. The Garden of Words will be Shinkai’s fourth feature film.
The Garden of Words will debut in Japan May 31, 2013. CoMix Wave has not yet announced international release dates. The movie has an official website and Facebook page, both in Japanese. For information in English, visit CoMix Wave Films’ English Facebook page.