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Looper: Makoto Shinkai Says He's Tired of Making Boy Meets Girl Stories

If you watched Suzume and was struck by how the male love interest spends a solid chunk of the film as a chair while the heroine hangs out with other female characters, it turns out that there was a reason behind it. In an interview with Looper, director Makoto Shinkai explained that he wanted to downplay the romance, hence Sōta turning into a chair.

In fact, Shinkai indicated that he's getting tired of making boy meets girls films in general. "I felt that in your name., I [did] everything that I possibly could in terms of 'boy meets girl' and 'will they, won't they, will they meet,'" he said. "At first, I wanted to turn this story into a movie about Suzume and another girl journeying." He added that he wanted to "pivot to a more sisterhood type of romantic story," but his producer told him to stick with a romance more in line with his previous work because even if Shinkai is sick of it, his audience still loves it.

On the other hand, Shinkai said that he was not too concerned about LGBTQ commentary, but rather with telling a human story with universal themes. He said that the story of Suzume would work the same if the heroine had been male or even non-binary. "It's not necessarily the context of male/female; it's about a human overcoming something."

Looper also reported (based on a tweet by freelance journalist Mihoko Aoyagi last April) that Shinkai told members of the Japanese press last year that a producer thought it was "too early" for a road trip movie about two women.

The film opened in Japan at #1 on November 11. The film has earned about US$5 million at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, where it opened on April 14. Crunchyroll is screening the film in Japanese with English subtitles and with an English dub.

Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Wild Bunch International, and Eurozoom began screening the film worldwide except in Asia starting on April 12. Crunchyroll is handling North American distribution, while Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment are handling distribution in Latin America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Africa, and portions of Europe. Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Wild Bunch International, and Eurozoom are releasing the film in French- and German-speaking Europe. The film is planned to screen in 199 countries and territories.

Source: Looper (Link 2) (Reuben Baron)