Even though it’s no secret that Makoto Shinkai is one of the biggest names in animation right now, especially following the globally-renowned “your name.”, it’s apparent that the memo for which tracing his work would likely get you caught wasn’t passed on. Such was the case with recent revelations that the Justice Party, a South Korean political party formed in 2012, had traced an educational commercial directed, edited, and storyboarded by Makoto Shinkai himself for their own political advertisement.
Originally screened alongside the theatrical release of “your name.” in Japan, Makoto Shinkai’s “Cross Road” anime short was originally created for Japanese cram school Z Kai in 2014. Through the comparison video above, it becomes quite clear that there’s some level of uncredited content stealing being committed by South Korea’s Justice Party; a fact which would later be confirmed in a public statement. During the statement, it’s revealed that the individual who helmed the advertisement project was a massive Makoto Shinkai fan and that he traced the creator’s work to meet tight deadlines.
That’s not all, however, with the Justice Party fully apologizing for not only tracing Shinkai’s work but also stealing his compositions for their own campaign. It’s disappointing, to say the least, that in this day and age, individuals still believe that they can get away with blatantly copying the work of another creative. There’s taking inspiration from those you love, and then there’s taking the entirety of someone else’s hard work; don’t be like that.
Source: Kotaku