>>280507814>the structure is the sameI'm sure you can come up with a vague enough template that modern Shinkai follows (and keep in mind this is only 3 films). But something like 5 Centimeters per Second is structured very differently from modern Shinkai films.
>target demographicNothing wrong with that. Many creators keep making works for the same target demographic, especially when you have an audience as broad as Shinkai's.
>character interactions are the same, likewise the characters themselvesTaki and Mitsuha's character interactions are not the same as Souta and Suzume's.
>the music is the sameBecause modern Shinkai keeps using Radwimps, but old Shinkai mainly used Tenmon, and they're as different as you can get. There's more variety there than Miyazaki constantly using Joe Hisaishi.
>setting and locations are the sameYou're not going to have a good time with anime if you complain that modern day Japan keeps being used as the setting. And there are works like Hoshi no Koe and The Place Promised in our Early Days that do have different settings.
>emotions you are supposed to feel and how to relate to the charactersSame could be said about Miyazaki.
>is there actually any difference between them if you went out of your way to say that themes and style repeat too?Is there actually any difference between Scorsese gangster films? The answer is yes.