That last ask sorta sparked a bit of a debate about the quality of anime and it’s value to animation. I’ll spare everyone the posts and say this: Just like in America, there are both good and bad movies/shows that are created in Japan but that doesn’t make anime as a whole any less important to the animation world.

There’s a movie I’ve been wanting to post about for a while, because it was one of the films that drove me to become an animator, but I haven’t been able to find much production art from it. That movie is ‘Voices of a Distant Star’ by Makoto Shinkai and 2012 marks it’s 10 year anniversary. Not only is the film touching and visually stunning, I feel it’s important for another reason: it was made entirely by one man in his own home. This 25 minute movie really shows what one person can create if they are passionate and driven enough to see a project through. And on top of that, the film itself is gorgeous. Since then, Shinkai has been able to found his own studio and create more films like 5 Centimeters per Second and A Place Promised in Our Early Days. Check out if you get the chance, it is worth watching at least once.