Your Name.
Composite Score: 86.83
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryo Narita, Aoi Yûki, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Kaito Ishikawa, Kanon Tani, Masaki Terasoma, and Sayaka Ôhara
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Writer: Makoto Shinkai
Genres: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, suggestive content, brief language, and smoking
Box Office: $405.34 million worldwide
My take on Watching This Film:
Your Name. is Makoto Shinkai’s modern romantasy anime film about two high schoolers who suddenly find themselves swapping bodies despite having never met. The film follows Mitsuha Miyamizu, a rural schoolgirl and daughter of her town’s mayor who is bored of life in her small town, and Taki Tachibana, a Tokyo high schooler whose busy city life includes his job as a waiter at an Italian restaurant and aspirations to work as an architect, as they navigate their own and each other’s lives, seek to understand the nature and origins of their body swapping, and also start to fall for each other. The film is considered one of Shinkai’s best films and one of the best anime films ever made.
Between its themes of adolescence, environmentalism, and fate, the film’s story paints an engaging tapestry of emotion, comedy, and message that should resonate with most audiences on some level. The contrast between the rural and urban lifestyles of the film’s two main characters offers even more commentary on those themes, weaving in concepts of the Shinto religion and spiritualism in general in a way that never feels preachy or shoehorned, easy enough to digest even for viewers completely unfamiliar with Eastern religious practices. On top of all of that, it’s also one of the most unique takes on the romantic dramedy, focusing on two leads who never meet in person but are also inextricably connected due to some unexplained destiny. As their situation starts to become clear (both to them and the audience), we start to see just how star-crossed (no pun intended, if you know, you know) these teens really are, making for a climax that most fantasies and romances can only dream of competing with. Needless to say, it’s fantastic.
To top all of that off, Shinkai’s story benefits greatly from his uniquely gorgeous animation style that blends realism with cool colors and a focus on natural disasters and their connection to the supernatural. Shinkai knows how to make rain and disasters look so hauntingly beautiful and tragic all at once, and we get to see it over and over again in Your Name. to great effect. It’s yet another film from the writer/director that exemplifies the possibilities of animation as a medium, something rarely captured in its fullness in the modern era, but when it’s done like this, you can’t help but applaud.
Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name. is among the best animated films ever made, complete with a compelling story, interesting themes, and a unique spin on familiar genres, which earns it a spot among the Greatest Films of All Time. Some might find its odd rules and lack of coherent explanation for its primary gimmick to be less than satisfying, but I’d argue that those people were never going to enjoy the film anyway and that it doesn’t need those clarifications to be great. You can currently stream this film with a Crunchyroll subscription or rent it on Apple TV if you’d like to see it for yourself.
