If you’ve ever seen an anime movie and couldn’t control your tears, chances are that you watched a work by Makoto Shinkai. When it comes to making gorgeous visuals and heartbreaking romance, he is arguably the best creator in the entire anime industry.
Over the years, he has made multiple films. While some are just fine, most are simply amazing. In fact, some have even broken box office records around the world, not just in Japan. Let’s rank the best movies created by Makoto Shinkai on the basis of their pure quality.
9. Voices of a Distant Star – A Mecha Story By Makoto Shinkai
This movie is one of the earliest works of Makoto Shinkai. While there is a lot of focus on Mecha and Aliens, that movie itself is about the same wonderful concept that Shinkai masterfully applied to his later stories: love with space and time itself against the characters. The story follows Mikako and Noboru, who initially planned to enter the same school together. However, Mikako ended up joining the space army to fight against the aliens.
Now, they communicate through text, which takes months and eventually years to reach each other. The concept must sound amazing because it is, in fact, amazing. However, it ranks this low because the art and animations are really bad for something that was released in 2002. It is worth noting that it can almost be considered an indie project with the scope it had, as it was 25 minutes OVA instead of a complete feature film.
Where to Watch (USA): NA
8. Someone’s Gaze Is a 6-minute Film About Loss and Family
This is the shortest movie Shinkai has ever made. Someone’s Gaze is only about six minutes long and was actually made as a promotional short for a real estate company, which honestly explains a lot about why it feels so small in scope.
This short story follows Aya, a young woman who moved away from her aging dad and just kind of drifts through her days pretending everything’s fine, until a phone call about her father forces her to confront how distant they’ve become.
The reason this movie ranks low is that because of the short runtime, Makoto Shinkai couldn’t run his magic, which often involves a slow burn and a big resolution. It follows the classic distance and regret theme, and honestly, it’s done really well. It’s simply that, as a complete movie, it could’ve been a real masterpiece.
Where to Watch (USA): NA
7. The Place Promised in Our Early Days Mixes Sci-Fi With Romance
This is the first proper-length anime movie in this ranking, and you can tell this is one of Shinkai’s earlier works from the quality alone. It’s set in an alternate timeline of Japan where it is split into North and South after a major war. It follows two boys and a girl who are connected to the mysterious tall tower and the promise they made.
For the time this movie was released, it’s actually stunning and has a lot of touching moments that will make you pull the tissues out. This movie also does an amazing job of showing a childlike wonder and how it changes as we grow up. It’s a solid “you can see the talent here” movie, but it doesn’t come together as well as Shinkai’s later works.
Where to Watch (USA): Prime Video
6. Children Who Chase Lost Voices Is Makoto Shinkai Exploring His Style
This one is Shinkai’s most divisive movie, and it’s easy to see why. Children Who Chase Lost Voices follows a girl named Asuna who ends up in an underground fantasy world called Agartha while searching for answers about life and death after meeting a mysterious boy and losing him. The movie itself feels heavily inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki.
While it may be appealing to most, that’s really the core issue as well. Shinkai’s biggest strength has always been intimate, personal stories about longing and connection, not big adventure-fantasy quests with monsters and ancient civilizations. The animation is pretty, as always, but the story feels like it’s imitating Miyazaki rather than being its own thing.
Where to Watch (USA): Prime Video
5. 5 Centimeters Per Second Is One of the Saddest Films of All Time
5 Centimeters per Second is told in three parts. The story of this movie follows Takaki and Akari, childhood friends who slowly, painfully drift apart as life, distance, and time pull them in different directions. You can see the themes that Shinkai is best known for in this movie. There’s no big villain or dramatic plot twist here, just the quiet, realistic life of two people who loved each other but couldn’t make it work.
The movie starts with both of the characters as children, when they still had that childlike wonder, and they made a promise together. Shinkai chose to show this time with Cherry Blossoms, perfectly fitting with the optimistic nature of children.
However, we then see the protagonist going to meet his childhood friend somewhere in the distance, only to run into many problems. Honestly, just seeing him silently struggle is tear-inducing. In a very short time, this movie tells a simple story that is unforgettable.
Where to Watch (USA): Prime Video
4. The Garden of Words Is a Short Romantic Masterpiece
At under an hour long, The Garden of Words somehow does more with less than almost anything else on this list. It follows Takao, a teenager who skips class on rainy mornings to sketch shoes in a garden, and Yukino, an older woman dealing with her own struggles, whom he keeps running into there. Together, they share quiet moments, slowly falling in love.
What makes this movie hit so hard is how efficient it is. Every scene matters; every bit of rain and silence adds emotional weight, and the ending feels earned instead of rushed. This is just a recommendation, but if you haven’t watched it, make sure you watch it as it is raining outside. The entire atmosphere will make this movie hit even harder.
Where to Watch (USA): HIDIVE
3. Suzume Is One of the Most Beautiful Anime Movies of All Time
Suzume is the latest movie by Makoto Shinkai. It follows a teenage girl who teams up with a mysterious man cursed to live as a three-legged chair, as they travel across Japan, closing magical doors that unleash disasters. This is a very classic Shinkai formula, and that is also why it ranks at the bottom of the top three, because by this point, his formula starts feeling repetitive.
Yet, this movie also ranks this high because it touches on the concept of natural disasters better than most movies specifically centered on disasters. Furthermore, the structure of this movie keeps things fresh without boring the viewer. It’s not quite perfect since the ending leans a little safe compared to his other work, but as a complete package it’s incredible.
Where to Watch (USA): Crunchyroll
2. Weathering With You Is the Perfect Coming-Of-Age Romance Movie
Following up with the best work of Shinkai was never going to be easy, but Weathering With You came close to matching it. This movie follows Hodaka, a runaway teen in Tokyo, and Hina, a girl who can control the weather, as they build a life together while a bigger question looms: what happens if fixing the weather means sacrificing something huge?
This movie ranks so high because it takes everything great about 5 Centimeters per Second and the romance, the melancholy, the gorgeous rain and sky animation, and adds a genuinely bold ending. Without spoiling it, the movie makes a choice that feels controversial but honest, prioritizing love over anything else.
Where to Watch (USA): HBO Max
1. Your Name Is the Best Movie by Makoto Shinkai
The outcome happens to be not so surprising, as Your Name is the best movie Shinkai has ever created. It follows Mitsuha and Taki, two teenagers living completely different lives who mysteriously start swapping bodies and slowly fall for each other despite never actually meeting. However, what starts as a fun swapping-bodies story soon turns into a plot about preventing a tragedy.
This movie earns the top spot because it’s basically flawless pacing from start to finish. The comedy hits, the romance feels amazing, the mystery unravels perfectly, and the twist changes how you see the entire movie. On top of that, the animation and soundtrack are next-level even by Shinkai’s standards.
Where to Watch (USA): HBO Max
| RANK | MOVIE | MAL Rating (as of July 7, 2026) |
| 9 | Voices of a Distant Star | 7.08 / 10 |
| 8 | Someone’s Gaze | 7.31 / 10 |
| 7 | The Place Promised in Our Early Days | 7.41 / 10 |
| 6 | Children Who Chase Lost Voices | 7.50 / 10 |
| 5 | 5 Centimeters per Second | 7.55 / 10 |
| 4 | The Garden of Words | 7.85 / 10 |
| 3 | Suzume | 8.24 / 10 |
| 2 | Weathering with You | 8.27 / 10 |
| 1 | Your Name. | 8.82 / 10 |
Which Makoto Shinkai movie is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments.
