Your Name is actually a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy movie produced by CoMix Wave Films and then released by Toho. It depicts a high school boy in Tokyo and also a high school girl in the Japanese countryside who suddenly and inexplicably begins to swap bodies. The movie was commissioned in the year 2014, written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. It features the voices of Ryunosuke Kamiki and Mone Kamishiraishi.
The particular movie won Best Animated Feature Film at 49th Sitges Film Festival, the 2016 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, and also the 71st Mainichi Film Awards. Other than that, it was nominated for Best Animation of the Year at the 40th Japan Academy Prize. A live-action remake set in the United States is currently in development by Paramount Pictures.
What ‘Your Name’ Is About
Your Name follows two Japanese teens that are a big-city boy Taki and also rural girl Mitsuha who mysteriously wake up one morning in each other’s bodies. Mitsuha has dreams of life beyond her provincial town and wishes to be a handsome Tokyo boy, and she seems to get her to wish. At first, she thinks it’s just a detailed dream because the teens don’t know when they’ll wake up like each other. It lasts only from the time they each wake up until they fall asleep, and it could happen up to a few times a week. When they realize it’s “really” happening, they begin to leave reports on each other’s cell phones, recounting important events.
Mitsuha helps Taki get closer to his crush, a beautiful older server at the restaurant where he works, while Taki helps Mitsuha become more assertive, extroverted, and athletic. Eventually, though, they begin to have feelings for each other, since they know each other so well. But when Mitsuha and Taki try to find each other as themselves, it becomes clear something is wrong.
What Can Be Said About ‘Your Name’
Stunningly animated and well-acted, this extraordinary Japanese coming-of-age tale is equal parts body-swap comedy, time-travel romance, and adventure film. Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai and based on his own novel, the story is engrossing enough to appeal to older tweens, teens who might think they’ve graduated from animated movies, and adults who appreciate well-crafted animation. The parts are familiar: two people who mysteriously trade bodies, a love/hate romance that blossoms from notes and messages, and a disaster film in which a few realize the danger and must convince everyone else. But how Shinkai weaves these pieces together is original, compelling, and unforgettable.
It sounds contradictory, but this is a sweeping love story in which the couple doesn’t really meet, yet knows intimate details about each other. Taki and Mitsuha understand nearly everything about each other because they’ve literally been each other. It’s one of the reasons it’s so amusing and entertaining to watch the montage of them getting frustrated with each other. And while there’s a running gag about Mitsuha “loving her boobies” (when she wakes up as Taki), it’s depicted as humorous curiosity, rather than prurient or off-putting. Like the older-skewing Studio Ghibli titles, Your Name is a perfect choice for middle schoolers and up who will appreciate the combination of adventure and romance in a way that younger viewers aren’t mature enough to enjoy.
Sources: YouTube All The Anime
