Your Name Creator Ripped Off By Korean Political Ad

Back in 2016, Your Name creator Makoto Shinkai directed, edited and storyboarded a short commercial for an educational service. A recent Korean political ad has been accused of ripping it off.

Shinkai’s short commercial, titled “Crossroad”, was screened along with the previews during Your Name’s Japanese theatrical run.

Via NicoNico News, below is a comparison between the political ad from South Korea’s Justice Party (on the left) and Shinkai’s “Crossroad” (on the right).

Here are both spots running side by side.

There are noticeable similarities, no?

This is much more than a series of kwinky-dinks, because the Justice Party has apologised after admitting to tracing Shinkai’s original work as well as stealing the director’s compositions. The person in charge of the political ad’s production is reportedly a huge Shinkai fan and traced the director’s work to meet the commercial’s deadline.