Though I've seen some quick write-ups from some lucky bastardspeople who got to see (and meet) Makoto Shinkai at the BFI in London, Martin was another of those lucky bastardspersons who got to even shake his hand and wrote about the experience at Nakama Britannica.

A new member at Cherry Blossoms Falling1 had pointed out an interview of Makoto Shinkai on the Electric Sheep Magazine site, the first I've seen since Shinkai released his Five Centimeters Per Second last year.

What interested me most was the real reason Shinkai did without color in Other Worlds and She and Her Cat:

1. 1. Please ignore the banner there. If you don't know what I mean by that, don't worry about it...

Here's the new trailer directed by Makoto Shinkai for the game "ef - the latter tale", Music was composed by Tenmon.

I haven't gotten a chance to watch it yet. My internet connection is being very obtuse right now. Hopefully, it will clear up in the morning so I can actually watch the entire video.

(Heads up via Daike. He also has links to where you can download higher-quality WMVs, which is probably the route I'll try to watch this.)

One thing that has struck me about Makoto Shinkai is how his style had evolved over the years, and watching through all of his short films emphasized that point. He’s always been an expert at the little details, and the background scenery was gorgeous from the start. Paying proper homage to Chobi the cat seemed to be seemed to be the hard part, though. Here's four shots that have little to do with that point.