Global Shinkai Day 2011 will be held on the 12th of March.

Crunchyroll are spearheading preparations with their brand-new DVD release of Shinkai’s most recent film, 5 Centimetres Per Second. The site is also running a competition in which one talented fan can win an autographed poster featuring Shinkai’s upcoming project Hoshi o Ou Kodomo (check this page for details on how to enter).

In addition to Crunchyroll, I’m keeping a watchful eye on the Shinkai fan forum Cherry Blossoms Falling for more information as the event approaches.

Note: For broader coverage, this post has also been published on my personal blog. Mark your calendars and spread the word, comrades.

The 28th of February 2009 is the first annual Global Shinkai Day. Anime enthusiasts from all over the world are encouraged to take part in the event by watching the noted animation director Shinkai Makoto‘s films and joining the discussions at the fan forum Cherry Blossoms Falling.

To mark the event, Crunchyroll is currently streaming three of Shinkai’s major works: Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5 Centimeters Per Second. A new dub of 5 Centimeters Per Second will be shown for the very first time today, featuring a different cast from that of the English dub commissioned by ADV for its now out-of-print R1 DVD release.