Growing From Trauma: A Post-Traumatic Growth Analysis of Makoto Shinkai's Suzume No Tojimari

Abstract

This study aims to examine the psychological transformation of the protagonist in the animated film Suzume no Tojimari (2022) directed by Makoto Shinkai through the application of the Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) framework. This study explores how the film's narrative responds to the collective trauma caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method with a clinical psychology approach. Data were collected through structured cinematic observation and analyzed by systematically aligning visual and textual evidence with the five dimensions of PTG proposed by Tedeschi and Calhoun, without involving human participants. The findings indicate that the protagonist's direct confrontation with her repressed childhood memories symbolized by the blackened diary clearly represents the process of post-traumatic recovery. Her physical and emotional journey demonstrates the strengthening of personal capacities, the restoration of interpersonal relationships through acts of self-sacrifice, the emergence of new life possibilities, an increased appreciation of beauty, and ultimately the achievement of profound existential acceptance. In conclusion, the film successfully reinterprets the impact of the disaster by transforming the narrative from a state of psychological stagnation to a dynamic process of active empowerment. Overall, this study makes a significant contribution to the discourse on disaster psychology by demonstrating that contemporary animation serves as a constructive cultural blueprint for visualizing psychological healing and cultivating mental resilience in processing collective grief.