If you're looking for an heir to Hayao Miyazaki then it's possible he's already been found in Makato Shinkai - his 2011 feature Children Who Chase Lost Voices is very much in the same spirit of Shinkai's favourite film of all time, Castle In The Sky. While Children Who Chase Lost Voices certainly captures the fantastical as impresively as any Ghibli imitator you can think of, his more grounded and contemplative features are far more interesting in their construction and execution. With its back and forth monologues between distant friends and expressionistic use of landscapes, 5 Centimeters Per Second is more cinematic tone poem than straight narrative. 5 Centimeters Per Second is a film for which the evocation of feelings counts for the most, the whimsical musings and poignant observations on life and love as delicately observed as the simple but profound shots of daily life Shinkai uses throughout the film.
