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Makoto Shinkai's The Garden of Words Trailer Posted With Subtitles

CoMix Wave Films posted the first trailer for director Makoto Shinkai's newest film The Garden of Words (Kotonoha no Niwa) with multiple language subtitles on Wednesday.

CoMix Wave describes the story:

We have met, for each of us to walk forward.

Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches …

Kenichi Tsuchiya is designing the characters and overseeing the animation process. Hiroshi Takiguchi is serving as the art director, and Daisuke Kashiwa is composing the music. Miyu Irino and Kana Hanazawa headline the cast as Takao and Yukino, respectively. Motohiro Hata contributes the theme song "Rain" with lyrics and music by Senri Oe.

Shinkai previously wrote that The Garden of Words will be his first story about love in the traditional Japanese meaning of the word. Originally, "love" was written as "lonely sadness" (koi), and, according to Shinkai, the modern concept of "love" (ai) was imported from the West. While his new film is set in the modern era, it will be about koi in the original "lonely sadness" meaning — of longing for someone in solitude.

The film will open on May 31. Midori Motohashi is adapting the film into a manga in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine starting in April.

Shinkai began his career by creating his own anime titles almost singlehandedly — being responsible for the writing, directing, and even voice-acting. He now works with CoMix Wave Films and other staff members on anime projects. His titles include She and Her Cat, Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters Per Second, and 2011's Children Who Chase Lost Voices.