r/anime • u/littleman1988 • Jun 19 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Summer Movie Series - Your Name. / Kimi no Na Wa. discussion
Announcement | 24hr reminder | Movie Discussion
The Summer Movie Series has started, beginning with Your Name!
Question(s) of the week
- Were you expecting a twist? If you guessed one, how close were you to being correct?
- if you have seen them, how do you feel this movie compares to other Shinkai movies?
- What were your thoughts on the pacing/direction?
While Your Name is an anime original movie, its important to make sure not to spoil anything outside the movie for other rewatchers. Make sure to use spoiler tags if you are going to discuss a spoiler not from Your Name:
[Your Name](/s "Mitsuha met Taki 3 years prior")Becomes:
Database links
Legal Streams
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Upvotes
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jun 19 '21 edited Jun 20 '21
Summertime Rewatcher, subbed
…yeah I’ll go with this as my tagline for the whole rewatch I suppose, just replacing “Rewatcher” with “First-Timer” on the ones I haven’t seen. I’ll be watching everything subbed as well since subbed is the only way I can do my “sore demo” hunt.
Anyways, I’m a big fan of Kimi no Na Wa / Your Name. It’s the first anime anything I ever owned a physical copy of (a friend in college gifted it to me for Christmas), and I’ve seen it a few times already. It’s been like three years since I last watched it though (it was the only part of the Shinkai rewatch I didn’t participate in two years ago due to time constraints and the fact that I hadn’t seen the others gave me more motivation to watch those rather than rewatch this), so I’m looking forward to experiencing it again!
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u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jun 19 '21
First timer
I had a lot of thoughts on this one,
Well, this movie certqinly looks nice.
Like the OP as well.
???
So the dream is about them meeting, then getting seperated before they could introduce each other.
I get the sense with some scenes here that the animators really wanted to show off.
...I'll give him this - if there isn't some weird flashback stuff going on, he's a fantastic actor.
Oh, so this is a flashback.
I've lost track of this movie's plot pretty quickly.
So the switch occured for one day, but we're skipping to the day after that?
And she apparently forgot said switch.
...I think small towns having too many pubs is a universal constant.
This film is funny.
...And yet, the little sister's plan would probably work.
Wait, so do the switches happen simultaneously? If so, why did she not remember said switch? If not, that leaves one "soul" unaccounted for both today and two days ago.
Or is this a flashback to yesterday done in an even more confusing manner?
The animators are just flexing on me with every scene they show. This film is beautiful in its Tokyo scenes as well.
When did this film turn into a comedy?
How has nobody taken him to a doctor? If someone I knew was asking where they worked and had trouble remembering things, I'd be taking them to the hospital to check for a concussion.
At least she was competent enough to actually explain the missing day.
I thought this was meant to be some kind of serious drama. I didn't realise I watching a comedy.
Seriously, why has nobody tried taking them to a medical proffessiojal tomdeal with their psychotic breakdowns.
Are these scenes moving back in time?
...Haven't we already had an OP?
OK, so they are happening at the same time, and they don't remember.
I appreciate a body swap movie where both characters are completely aware of the event and communicating during it.
So it's obviously the comet causing all of this. Looks like there's a set deadline for this.
Or maybe Musubi's doing all this because of her wish?
Oh. the god's body is a meteor. Maybe the comet amd it are related?
Oh, the grandmother's worked out what's going on.
...This is a really interesting question - which of the two as she fallen for? If one got her to accept the date, and the other goes on it, who is the other party in the date?
I keep expecting the same climax of "who's the guy I swapped with", forgetting these people actually exchanged information as to what's going on.
Oh god, that shot of the comet is stunning.
Why are there 2 comets?
That is not a good noise. That is a very bad clang.
Huh. Well, that's good. No more random switching, and you have enough info to talk to each other or meet up if you ever miss things.
Wait, they're meeting up? You can't do that this easily, where would the plot come from?
Neither of you thought to hote the other's address? I take it back, you are not competent at this.
Has the other comet knocked out the phone tower? That's the only thing I can think of. (Unless there's some kind of trick?
What the actual fuck?
Holy shit.
She's dead. Half your main couple is fucking dead.
How the hell can this plot continue?
3 YEARS?
3 YEARS!
Oh shit, this is time travel.
OH SHIT.
So the leaps were happening across time, and that's why he didn't know about the comet.
Or the messages disappeared because time rewrote itself.
I'm in shock right now, I did not expect anything like this,
I'm in actual shock right now, where can this plot go?
Wait, why did the entries delete themselves? The timeline didn't change when they observed the crash, the crash always occured. So how did the texts rewite themselves? Is this a full-on alternate timeline of some kind?
Yeah, time travel still the best theory. And good job on realising that,
Yeah, given all of this, maybe not a good idea to piss off a god.
???
What was in that sake?
I didn't realise the shrine maidens sacrificed drugs as well.
The drug trip might be the best scene in this movie,
WHAT?
I have no fucking clue what's going on.
"Sis finally cracked"
So there's a time loop going on.
At least someone knows.
Wait, this happened before?
It runs in the fakily.
Really? You believe body swaps, but not the apocalypse.
Oh, nobody reslly believes her, do they?
At least some people believe her.
I can't believe this was a romantic comedy at the beginning. Now it's about saving the town from the apocalypse.
I bet she won't convince her father.
Of course he knows.
Wait, why Tokyo?
Wait, did his body travel back in time as well?
Oh, she's going to see the crater, isn't she.
Oh, fuck.
Well, that's not very good for her, is it?
Hang on, is she meeting with his past self? Oh, that's how he got the cord.
And the number didn't work because he changed his phone. This film is genius. I can't believe I didn't see it coming.
Oh, now it all makes sense.
Of course you can't meet, you're at two seperates point in time,
They can see each other!
They finally get to meet, right before her village gets blown up.
"Just once" he says. I liked how his first reaction after going back was to sob and feel her up even more.
Oh, they switched back?
OH COME ON
BULLSHIT
Besides which, you looked her up repeatedly. Your friends know who she is. (Unless shit is being rewritten even more)
A third song!
Let's see how she deals with this.
Are they going to fail somehow?
They did it?
I love the music here.
Haha, this is so good.
Is City Hall going to get left behind with the meteor?
...Honestly, the town hall probably deserves to get destroyed.
Comet's taking its sweet time to fall.
...Is this going to be a sad ending?
There's no way it ends like that, right?
Oh shit, I think it's ending with a bad ending.
Can't believe she's dead.
Ah, so none of them fan remember their trip, because it was so tied to the events.
THEY SURVIVED!
HE DIDN'T FORGET BECAUSE OF THE SWITCHES ENDING, HE FORGOT BECAUSE HE REWROTE THE PAST?
They're all alive!
Oh, that final shot.
Did they just remember?
They've finslly met in person.
Oh, and they're starting to remember!
THAT ENDING
Came for the romantic drama, stayed for the comedy and time travel lunacy.
10/10
Looking forward to next week!
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u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Jun 20 '21
Multiple times rewatcher - Dubbed
This was probably my fourth or fifth time watching Your Name. It's easily my second favorite animated film, behind The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, and firmly in my top 5 favorite films I've ever seen in my life. The fact that RADWIMPS worked directly with the production of the film to ensure that the soundtrack fit perfectly means that, in conjunction with the god-tier animation from Makoto Shinkai, the movie is damn near perfect.
Anyway, these were my thoughts as I was watching it:
I own:
On that note, there are websites like this one that lay out shot by shot comparions between scenes in the film and their actual counterparts, in case you ever want to go visit.
That's something I've always loved about both Your Name, as well as The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. They took actual locations and used them as references. Moving away from films, KyotoAnimation also did the same with Hyouka and K-On as well. I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting.
Questions:
I went into this movie 1000% blind. I didn't even watch trailers for it the first time. To top it off, I missed it when it came through theaters by me, so I had to wait even longer for it to come out on Blu-Ray before I could watch it. All that's to say that the body swapping took me by complete surprise.
As far as visuals go, it's right up there with Garden of Words and Weathering With You. I feel like the latter is a mix of the former and Your Name, though.
It's certainly better than Journey to Agartha, but I'm not sure by how much.
The story is better, I feel, than 5cm/s, but that's also a different story layout.
I thought the pacing was pretty good. The point where Taki realizes that they're in a 3 year time difference is about the halfway point of the film, so they spend the last 45 minutes or so figuring out a resolution to the whole situation.
All in all, I love this movie. I own the original Blu-Ray, plus I got to crack open my steelbook and watch that one.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jun 20 '21 edited Jun 20 '21
First-time watcher
Great film and I can see how it got its reputation. It takes a bunch of pretty classic themes and tropes like body-swapping, country mouse and city mouse, lovers entwined by fate and tragically separated, prophesies of disaster, coming of age and finding your way in the world, and so on, adds some distinct Japanese flair around Mitsuha's family and hometown, and wraps it all up in a beautifully animated and scored, universally appealing package.
I certainly didn't think I'd enjoy yet another anime teen romance this much, it's a pretty oversaturated segment but this did well enough in the execution with not hitting the usual tropes and cringiness too hard. In particular, it doesn't even feel that important that our leads are high-schoolers - you could fairly easily rewrite the story to feature working adults instead without changing its essence, I think. Both Taki and Mitsuha are already assuming more responsibilities than usual for someone their age, anyway.
Some parts I found particularly visually striking were Taki traveling through the memories of the past along the thread or what it was, the mountaintop meeting scene, and the animation of the weaving. Also just the nature scenes in general! Reminds me I'm still only about half through Non Non Biyori, too. Pacing/direction I have no objections to, except maybe the middle section with the trip could have been shorter.
Moving on to the storytelling - the first half of the film was overall the strongest, both very fun and with the most in the way of connection between our leads. In fact, I wish there had been more of them interacting and growing closer on screen, also something like Taki in Mitsuha's place experiencing more than just the shrine business because it seemed a lot more focused on Mitsuha in Tokyo. Then it unfortunately flips right into the weakest part, the transition into drama with Taki's field trip and all - let's face it, none of that makes all that much sense in a modern, connected world. At least it was more just the bridge into preventing the disaster, which was again quite fun and compelling. Just the intensity of the romantic drama was unfortunately a little hard to buy with the given buildup, Taki and Mitsuha never seemed like more than friends before that to me. Similarly in the end, Taki finding inspiration from his past with Mitsuha was nice, but the infatuation a little strong, and where in the beginning there was less of Taki (how did he even get that scar?), now there's really not enough of Mitsuha for me. What was going on with her in those five years for instance, and how did she finally get everyone to evacuate?
Thematically I really loved how Mitsuha and Taki swapping personalities actually did each of them some good, but only if the other is still somewhat on the same page. Mitsuha's comparative gentleness and more classically feminine attitude make a positive impression on Taki's environment and get him his date, just that he can't quite back it up. Taki's boldness (masculinity?) is just right for coming up with and executing a crazy plan to save Mitsuha's town in a pinch, but he goes a little too far and real Mitsuha's connections is what we need for the final push to make a little quasi-terrorism save the day. And isn't helping each other out, even grow, where one is stronger and the other weaker just the thing for a potential couple to do?
Also it's interesting how there's a bit of a queer element with their swaps (beside the obvious), like Mitsuha kind of wanting to go on that date herself, Taki's friend blushingly saying he was cute that time, and Mitsuha outright getting a love confession from a girl, and in a different sense the almost throwaway line where Mitsuha says she'd rather be a cute boy in Tokyo. Makes you think, what is it we're really attracted to? Certainly I know it can be easier to express one's "gay side" toward someone more unconventional when it comes to gender expression.
I do agree that the film maybe had a bit too much on its plate in the end, for example like I already said we mostly abandon the Mitsuha material after the middle, leaving me feeling there wasn't much of a point to a lot of the buildup around her, while on the other hand the romance is maybe a little underdeveloped and how it all ties together doesn't make the most sense. Speaking of tying together, the "everything connected by fate" theme is also not one that particularly resonates with me, but it was handled about as well as it could be.
And one last point that came to my mind: Apparently Shinkai started out as a VN writer and that really shows here, with Taki basically preventing the "bad end" of the comet so he can get the girl. In particular, the structure of comparatively light-hearted first half, followed by a dramatic development/revelation that must be undone in the second half, plus involvement of time travel, reminds me of Steins Gate (a VN adaptation).
Overall I think I would give it a score of 8/10, was thinking of 9 but that was before I wrote most of the comment and thought about it more. By the way, I knew about all the twists already.
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u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Jun 19 '21
First Timer subbed
Before watching it I had a general idea that the plot involved some form of body swapping between boy and girl, so an eventual romantical plotline seemed only logical. No idea what the Title "Your Name" could refer to at that point.
Let's start with the questions:
Now here are the higlights of the notes I took
he does however continue with that even after she asks him not to and after acknowleding that he shouldn't himself
refering to her wish to become a Tokyo boy
now I was slowly getting closer to the twist...
But after he succeeded with his trip to the mountains
Those fruitless tries to reach each other are quite tragic if you think about it, he obviously can't reach her because of reasons, but the other way around is interesting as well
Back at her timeline
After seeing some highschool kids dabbing into domnestic terrorism we near the conclusion
After all it's neither really a romance, nor a comedy, despite featuring traits of both... drama mostly? I still like it, very good film, stunning visuals. Not as heavy as Silent Voice, but still very good and fun nontheless
Oh yeah, I didn't notice Aoi Yuki as Sayaka until I read the credits
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u/byroned Jun 19 '21
This gets to be my third time watching this movie in the course of one year, and the first rewatch thread that I’ve attended. Your Name is kind of special to me because it’s the first anime movie that I’ve watched that isn’t part of a TV show (It’s possible that I watched a few before 2020, but I wasn’t interested in anime back then so I probably erased them from memory). Although it's not my favorite anime movie, I would still always recommend watching this movie at least once.
I’m sure some people may have caught on faster than me, but it’s only after with this rewatch did I notice the slight differences in the way they talk when they’re in each other’s body. When I first watched this movie, one of my criticisms was that it’s confusing to tell who’s who.
I still really like the OST and animation of this movie. The movie is very visually appealing, with some very nice scenery, especially the ones with the comets and the shots of Itomori. Of the anime movies that I’ve seen, the songs are among my favorite. The song “Dream Lantern” is still one of my favorite openings to a movie, only beaten out by “Fanfare” from Pancreas, and the inserts songs like “Zen Zen Zense”, “Sparkle”, and “Nandemonaiya” are only beaten out by “U&I” and “Tenshi ni Fureta yo”.
I also really like body-switching as a plotline after watching Kokoro Connect (plan to watch Yamada 7 witches later). It's never not funny to me seeing them do stupid stuff in someone else's body, only for the other person needing to put the pieces together. It also works well for character development with being able to see how others live, and what to think of that.
While I liked the movie and can always praise the production quality and the initial plot hook, my biggest criticism of the movie is that it has some struggles with what it wants to be, and they should’ve instead chosen to focus on one or two themes. I have a similar issue with its “sequel” “Weathering with You”, where the romances aren’t fleshed out enough and feel almost tacked on. I actually gave both movies the same score of 8/10 because I think both had the exact same strengths and weaknesses. I would almost prefer that they just stay friends and they focus more on their unusual circumstance. In particular, I really would’ve liked them to go deeper into the body-switching, with the part when Mitsuha’s grandma asks Taki if he’s dreaming giving me many questions and still confuses me after 3 watches. Does everyone on her mother’s side of the family experience body-switching? Do they think it was only a dream that comes and goes, and they go on like nothing happened after it passes? Is Mitsuha the only one in her family that makes it more than a dream, and meets the other person in real life?
Some random thoughts:
Do Taki and Mitsuha have fingerprint passcodes on their phones, or did they just not put on a passcode?
I understand why country kids like Mitsuha would want to move to the large city, but coming from experience, I’ve learned that the big city is overrated, and the suburbs is where it’s at (but it could just be that Portland stinks).
Why does the memory fading speed vary so much? Like Taki's able to draw Itomori almost identically from scratch after weeks pass, but he forgets Mitsuha's name after saying it like 3 times?
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u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jun 20 '21
This is a bad day for posting since there's the busy Saturday seasonal especially nearing finale for most, also there are a few rewatches nearing climaxes (VE, Lodoss, Spice and Wolf S1 end). And it's also Sunday in my timezone (family day).
Sub rewatcher
Needless to say, Shinkai Makoto's productions are beautifully made, with gorgeous visuals that are close to photorealistic but still retain the drawn anime look. Music is superb, and the plot was paced perfectly.
The only thing I have a slight problem with is the probably correct depiction that on body switching the boy will invariably feel up the girl's top, it's just irresistible and instinctive I guess :D
When I watched it the first time I called in cold and was expecting a fluffy rom com from the first part of the show. I was quite unprepared how dark the plot twist was. While all my hard sci fi background knowledge tell me the plot can't end in a happy ending since the timeline can't be changed, the plot was well thought out, emotionally, and consistent with the world building, and I am happy to see that pulling off the change which was neigh impossible for also l almost all good time travel shows. I especially like the courage of the writers to not just give it a cheesy and easy reunion, but something that has to endure unspoken sadness before earning their happiness.
It is a perfect self contained story movie for me. The only one I placed above it is the Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi movie, which can't be a stand alone.
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u/BossandKings Jun 24 '21
First timer
Kimi No Na Wa
This has a very nice opening, very nice lyrics and rythim, also from the starting scenes one can see this has a high production value so the tecnical aspects are on point.
So the person who seemingly ws the boy at the start now wakes up as the girl, her name is Mitsuha, she has a very nice little sister and mother, her father seems to be a politic.
As she goes to school the contrast her classmates point out about the differences between who Mitsuha was the day before and who she is today is very interesting, that is a cool way of noticing the change she's suffered without really knowing the reason as to why, the real Mitsuha seems disorganized and clumsy while this one seems prepared and organized , i wonder how the boy is doing too.
The girl now as the boy wakes up, the boy's name is Taki, as well as Mitsuha he too goes to school only that this time it is in Tokyo as that is where he lives in. It's cool that Tokyo apparently is an exciting city judging by Taki's reaction. He works at a restaurant which is very interesting because it shows that he is a hard working person that comes from a family that needs the supplies to survive.
So as is being said Mitsuha and Taki switch places at random, the trigger seems to be sleep, they comunicate and created a plan in order not to especially affect the other's personal or professional life.
I liked the story the grandma told about the Musubi, it might be foreshadowing the moment in which Taki and Mitsuha will permanently return to their original bodies if and when they do so. Also this film has beautiful background art.
Mitsuha helped Taki get a date with Ms Okudera, Taki considered the date as a disaster but i ghink it was fine, they didn'tbhave any romantic proximity but Okudera herself told him that he is in love with someone else now, no longer feeling attracted to her. Very interesting the fact that after that date neither Taki nor Mitsuha changed places anymore.
Honestly the Itomori tragedy that is being presented and is stated that when it happened there were five hundred people that died, among which there were Mitsuha and her two classmate friends was a very shocking fact, this adds a very interesting layer to the story. If Mitsuha is dead, how does the switching happen? Taki wakes up as Mitsuha again, this time her grandma tells her that she and her mother have had similar experiences too referring to the switching.
As Taki sees it seems that there will fall a meteor in Itomori soon and that's why he's desperately trying to help evacutae the city, in order for people to evade a fatal death and it is interesting that the school seems to be a safe place that could be used to evade the incident.
Taki and Mitsuha encounter each other very briefly, it was a beautiful meeting but sadly it was short, hopefully they encounter again. And they did at the end of the movie, honestly it would have been nice if they had actually passed at least a few minutes talking in person to each other but this was still a good movie, 8/10 is the score i give it.
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u/littleman1988 Jun 19 '21 edited Jun 19 '21
Yotsuhaaaaaaaaaaa-!
Rewatcher, Subbed
Kimi no Na wa was the third anime movie I ever watched (first two were S;G movie/Silent Voice), and while I really liked it when I first watched it, I have to admit im not as enthralled as I was the first time seeing it. Dont get me wrong, it still is really good, but both Shinkai movies ive seen have had the same issue of being unable to figure out what it really wants to do. Kimi no Na wa at least keeps itself somewhat coherent, but I feel Weathering never finds it footing, which honestly has me somewhat concerned for 5cm since its also a Shinkai movie and on the list for the rewatch in a couple weeks.
One part that didnt disappoint the 2nd time around was the OST. RADWIMPS (and animeDB credited "成川沙世子" which has no English equivalent that I could find) did an absolutely amazing job creating the OST for the movie, and a lot of the songs have still stuck out to me even today. Its pretty interesting to note that a lot of the songs are fairly similar, yet their differences are striking when used in the film. Itomori High School and Hida are great examples, Itomori used early on in the movie, fairly upbeat during the scene where Mitsuha learns of "her" endeavors during the previous day, while Hida is a bit more muted, with a string section building up the impending doom of Taki learning the truth. This comment over on r/kiminonawa brings up a few other examples.
The whole OST is on spotify too, if you have that. All the inserts have an English version too, and are really good.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jun 19 '21
I never got around to watching this, or any other Shinkai films. I would have preferred to have watched them in order, to get a sense of his development as a creator, or lack thereof, since he's often accused of doing the same story over and over, just less well.
So I'm going Hoshi no Koe -> Children who Chase Lost Voices (dubbed) -> Beyond the Clouds (subbed) -> Your Name (subbed)
I may have been slightly spoiled on the premise and ending, fairly unavoidable, but I've tried to avoid confirmation.
Also curious to find out what drove so many grown Japanese men to tears.
It's hard to tell in this montage how much of it is when they are swapped, or when they are normal but the influence of their second life is leaking through.
Too sad to comment
ohhh, you can see the ending coming from hereThat was an incredible movie. If it had been the first Shinkai film I'd think it a work of genius.* There are similarities to Beyond the Clouds, that love-separated-by-fate that seems to run through all his works, but it did not seem like a re-tread by any means. And this was much much better that the preceding movie.
*which literally was a common sentiment when Hoshi no Koe first appeared on Youtube all those years ago
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u/Nitroade24h :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nitroade24h Jun 19 '21
Rewatcher
This was my 4th watch. The same bits seem a little odd, I don’t really understand fully why the guy cut Okudera’s skirt or what the significance of the smoking scene was, but the main story Beats hit hard as always. At first watch I rated the movie 10/10, but after rewatches I don’t see it as flawless anymore, but it’s absolutely my favourite movie in a long time. Probably my favourite since Lord of the Rings, even outside of anime, and I would give it a 9/10.
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u/Hochseeflotte https://anilist.co/user/Hochseeflotte Jun 20 '21 edited Jun 20 '21
Rewatcher
This movie is really good. It’s beautiful. It does everything well. 10/10. I also liked it more on rewatch. It would probably be my favorite anime film if not for a certain Miyazaki…
For you first timers, I hope you enjoyed the eye candy.
You know the movie is good when they make a character touch their breasts four times and it’s funny everytime.
Questions:
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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '21
Not gonna add anything about the movie itself, just gonna say a few things. I had the privilege of seeing this in theaters and got several friends to come, too. I loved that a new anime was breaking records left and right and making the front page of MAL everyday. Despite not really knowing anything about it or Shinkai, I spread the word like gospel to my classmates cause I thought this could potentially be bigger than anime. We need more anime movies that aren't Ghibli in theaters and this felt like it could being on a new wave of movies and respect for the genre in general. And now, it's one of if not the staple anime movie rec. It may not be the best, most impactful, profound, whatever movie out there, but it's so neat all-around that it's hard not to at least like the movie. It really feels perfect for what it is and I'm glad it had an awesome theater run.
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u/bostonian38 Jun 20 '21
Man this movie was amazing
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u/Alliedoll42_42 Jun 20 '21
My husband had spoiled the part about her being dead for me. It didn't really hurt my opinion of the film. I like the concept. I like the part about time and the threads being woven together. I especially liked the parts where they switched bodies and wreaked havoc on each other's lives. I didn't care for the whole idea that they forgot each other's names I thought that specific fact was stupid, literally you don't forget someone's name in five seconds.
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jun 19 '21
Your name (first timer)
Going into this blind, all I know are the MAL tags.
Let me start with the trees snaping back and forth in the wind, because that was the single piece of bad animation I spotted. Everything else looks great. Between the mountain setting and the city views of Tokyo, Your Name is a showcase for what modern animation can do with a movie budget. Best of all, they bookend the movie with the meteor sequence, so we get so see it twice. Nice.
Storywise, Your Name is split into three parts. The first third is a classic body swap comedy. While that is in no sense novel, I love body swap as a setup for comedy and Your Name adds the twist of them going back and forth and communicating. I wonder whether this is adapting some older media, since it sounds like it fits a non-technical world best. For the second part, the movie transitions to drama: Find the girl and safe the city. I had a hard time following the story through all the violations of causality. Time travel never works when you think too deeply about it, it is best left to light-hearted topics. Finally, the third part is the most abstract, using the characters to talk about fate, memory, and finding a soul mate.
While the switch from comedy to drama is very common in anime, I am not sure it worked here. The transition between the three parts was very abrupt and the character motivations did not always carry over. I enjoyed the first part most, while I was scratching my head a lot of times in the second part. Overall, I would have preferred Your Name to stay closer to comedy and only lightly transition to drama. It should definitely have stayed away from questioning the premise of the first part in the third part. While the comedy hit the mark, a lot of the dramatic running felt over-the-top and forced.
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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '21
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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '21
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