For me, there's life before Your Name and life after Your Name. Back in 2016, I was still dipping my toes into anime's deep waters – Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, and a host of other 'beginner' must-see series – before being emotionally sideswiped by Makoto Shinkai's masterpiece.
In one fell swoop, it became the first anime to legitimately trouble my movie Mount Rushmore (or, if you're that way inclined, your Letterboxd four favorites), proving that Japanese animation was something altogether more profound than I had ever anticipated. It was the start of a long and beautiful journey with Shinkai's movies and the medium at large. But, a decade on, his best-known work remains his peak.
