The red braided cord that Mitsuha wears represents the invisible red string of fate that is said to connect someone to their fated person, according to Japanese tradition.
This is the first anime film not made by Studio Ghibli or Hayao Miyazaki to gross ten billion Yen at the Japanese box office (about US$98 million). It was also the second highest grossing anime film before being surpassed by Demon Slayer: Mugen Train La Película (2020) four years later.
Mitsuha's name means "three leaves" and follows a family trait. Her grandmother, Hitoha, is "one leaf," her mother, Futaba, is "two leaves," and her little sister, Yotsuha, is "four leaves."
Although Itomori is a fictional town, it was majorly based on the existing Japanese town of Hida.
Japanese band Radwimps worked closely with director Makoto Shinkai on the script and story to create complementary music. The process of them working together led to the initial script changing.