Comix Wave Films, Story Inc, and Toho Co. have released the first teaser trailer and a new still of Makoto Shinkai’s upcoming feature Suzume no Tojimari (working title) and have announced that the film will hit Japanese cinemas on November 11.
Shinkai is best known for his 2016 instant classic Your Name, which grossed over $380 million worldwide, breaking box office records and becoming the third highest-grossing anime film of all time. In 2019, his next film, Weathering with You, was a critical and audience hit, pulling in nearly $200 million of its own. It’s safe to say that Suzume no Tojimari is one of 2022’s most anticipated animated feature releases.
Shinkai’s latest follows 17-year-old Suzeme, after a young man tells her that he’s looking for a door. Drawn in by the stranger’s quest, she stumbles on a weathered door amidst the rubble of an old hotel. When the door is opened a magical destructive force is released, and other similar doors begin opening around Japan, bringing peril to anyone nearby. Suzume quickly sets out on a quest to shut any other such door she can find and prevent further disaster. Shinkai describes the film as “a story about closure.”