Major Japanese director Makoto Shinkai creates captivating 30-second tourism spot touting Canada

by Charlie Smith on September 24th, 2017 at 8:22 AM

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Granville Island gets a starring role in a new tourism ad promoting our country in Japan.

The 30-second spot was directed by Makoto Shinkai, one of the kingpins of Japanese anime.

He directed, wrote, and oversaw photography and design for the 2016 film Your Name, which was about a teenage girl and a teenage boy who trade bodies.

It's the fourth-most popular film of all time at the box office in Japan. Your Name is also the fourth-highest-grossing non-English-language film in the world.

Shinkai's tourism ad features other well known Canadian landmarks, such as Niagara Falls and Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Watch this video of a Canadian anime tourism ad targeted at Japanese consumers.

The two main characters are Yuya, who travels to Canada with a friend named Satsuki for the first time.

It was more fun than anything they could have imagined.

Anime is commonly used in Japanese advertising. Given the growing sophistication of Vancouver's booming animation industry, this type of imagery could also be something to keep an eye on in Canadian advertising.