Shinkai Makoto is not your typical animator. He differs from the anime community, although he is a significant artist. His works can are sometimes seen as 'art-house', so he's certainly something of an anime-outsider. Shinkai doesn't rely on other colleagues, he does all the animation himself, and that makes him pretty special. He's very thorough with depicting nature and conveying a strong sense of atmosphere. These are few of great examples of his work.