Considering many of us live life in a bubble–carry out the same routine day after day–we could all use some excitement in our lives. And Taki and Mitsuha- two 17-year-olds from Japan- are no different. Your Name, the highest grossing anime film of all time (yes, it surpassed Spirited Away) and the latest anime film to hit the United States, takes two teenagers who are in the search for something or someone new in their lives and turns their lives upside down- and takes the audience for an adventure in the process.
The story starts off with Mitsuha, a high school student in the quaint village of Itomori, and she wants nothing more than to break free from the close-knit and traditional community she lives in. Meanwhile, on a completely different tangent, Taki is a high school student in Tokyo who lives a fairly average life. These two characters aren’t related in any way and have no connection to each other (yet), which is implied by the fact that they live completely different lifestyles.
However, out of nowhere, Taki wakes up and finds out that instead of being in his small apartment in Tokyo, he’s in a house in the middle of the countryside, and more shockingly- he’s a girl. His spirit is in Mitsuha’s body, resulting in him carrying his day out in utter confusion. . We then see her spirit embodied in Taki’s body and her carrying on his day, and before long, both Taki and Mitsuha realize that their spirits are switching places after they fall asleep. However, when the switching places abruptly ends, any mode of contact to each other ends. They start to lose their memories of the fact that they switched places to begin with, and aim to go and find each other, and it’s this journey that propels most of the story.
While this movie could have become cheesy teenage movie and both Taki and Mitsuha could have ruined each other’s lives forever, they decide instead to help each other out with their social lives and keep notes about what they did each time they switched places. In this way, they start forming a friendship. The movie, despite being very spiritual and to an extent, fantastical, is a very honest depiction of what Japanese youth culture is like and the problems that Taki and Mitsuha face throughout the movie are all relatable, thus making this movie more appreciable
This movie also seemed to balance comedy and suspense well. It’s often hard for a movie that started off in a humorous tone to switch to a dramatic tone smoothly, however, Your Name did it effortlessly. It has the audience on an all-time high one moment and feeling emptiness the next.
However, one note about this movie is that it has a lot of humor and references that only an avid anime viewer or someone who is knowledgeable about Japanese culture would be able to appreciate. Therefore, many aspects of this movie that resonate in Japan may be completely neglected by the average American audience. There’s also a lot about Shinto mythology in the movie that would confuse an American audience in some ways, however, for the most part, the story is one that all can relate to.
Lastly, the animation in the movie was flawless. The drawings of Tokyo and Itomori were breathtaking and every frame- from the way it was drawn to the colors used- was a piece of art in itself.
Therefore, for those who are looking for an uplifting movie to watch on a Friday night, Your Name is one of the best movies out there right now. It’s definitely one of the best animation movies out today, and it’s a must watch for all.
Featured Image Photo Credit: Posted by Makoto Shinkai / CoMix Wave Films Inc., URL: https://commons.
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