Currently Watching: Anime (Your Name)

Your Name

By CoMix Wave Films

               Your Name (2016) is one of my favorite anime of all time! Seriously. I saw it twice while in theaters. Why am I writing about it now? Well that’s because it will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on November 7, 2017! In anticipation of that I have decided to tell you why I love it and why I think you should rent or buy it when it comes out. For those of you who might ask, why don’t you already have it? Well I did order the Japanese version from Japan, but Amazon somehow wasn’t able to acquire it for me… despite the fact I pre-ordered it a few months in advance. *sigh*Amazon, you have failed me for the last time (force choke).

Synopsis

Anyway, this anime’s genre is hard to explain, it is essentially a dramatic romantic comedy. I know on the surface that doesn’t make much sense, but somehow the director, Makoto Shinkai, is able to make it work. This film has two main protagonists, Taki, a high school boy in Tokyo, and Mitsuha, a high school girl in a small rural town. They end up switching bodies with each other and grow to fall in love despite only interacting by leaving notes on their phone and their homes. This part of the film is filled with romcom moments. However, it turns out a meteor destroys Misuha’s home and the film becomes a drama. This portion of the film includes time travel. Again, somehow Makoto Shinkai makes it work. I haven’t really gotten into any detail because it would ruin the plot, so I’ve purposely been vague. However, I will mention the transition from a romcom to drama is not too forced or awkward.

Highlights

The art of Your Name is beautiful. Just straight up beautiful. It makes you go wow, especially if you saw it in theaters. This is a very beautiful film. What is even more amazing is that the locations in the film are actually based on real life locations. When you compare the art with the real locations, it’s insane how similar they are. You will fall in love with the art of the film even if you don’t end up caring for the story.

A strength of the film is how all the different elements of the film fit together including themes, time, and genre. You would never expect a dramatic romcom to be able to work, but they are transitioned with grace. Time travel is a tricky concept to pull off in any medium. While there are some questions surrounding how time travel works in Your Name, it explains time travel well enough that you can accept it. That is an achievement.

I also believe music plays a significant role in a film. It creates mood, and subtly guides the mood of the movie and manipulates the audience’s feelings and perception. Radwimps created a musical masterpiece in Your Name. They did a superb job in conveying the right music in critical situations of the film helping to create the right mood and feelings for that moment. The music strengthened the film significantly. Plus, the music is awesome to listen to on its own. Sparkle is probably my favorite vocal song in the film, but all of the vocals were nice to listen to.

Wrap-Up

With the US DVD release of Your Name coming up, it will be a perfect time to watch it if you haven’t already. Even nominally non-anime fans have enjoyed the film. How do I know? Because I took one such person and he came out saying he liked it and the art was amazing, so lifelike. It can’t be worse than spending 2 hours watching a sub-par American movie can it? Besides, Your Name is the highest grossing Japanese anime film ever. That says something, does it not?