Your Name

I went in to see Kimi no Na ha without knowing anything about the movie. I had simply been intrigued by the movie poster with the comet as a background to two high school students living in wildly different environments - and the excellent reviews on its Friday release convinced me to see it just the day after.

Not knowing anything about the movie made me relish every single moment of it. The two main characters would, it seems, never have the occasion to meet each other, but through a mysterious circumstance are led to share some of their waking hours with each other. At first, the movie struck a compelling, funny and nostalgic view at high school life in Japan, love, friendship, puberty, teenage angst and some elements of mysticism. It felt like a very fresh and charming sentimental love comedy with a dash of depth and teenage angst. And it already utterly captured me at that point.

Yet midway, the movie veers resolutely into dramatic, and more mystical territory, while managing to keep the lighthearted tone it had reached during the first half at just the right moments. Together with one of the main characters, I was shocked and powerless upon learning of one aspect that had eluded both protagonists, as well as the audience. At the same time, a trope often used in science-fiction got thrown into the mix and the stakes suddenly get much higher, making me look back to the first half of the movie and thinking "wwwooooowww I get it now", while following the paths of the protagonists, which, just like the Kumi Himo (thread making?) that Miyamizu Shrine makes, represent time itself. Meeting, diverging, tangling, getting cut, doubling back. The second half of the film is a perfect adventure, full of suspense, humor, hope, and yes, tears. And at some points, it gets close to tragedy (one scene in a train left a huge lump in my throat). In some respect it reminded me of Spirited Away (my long time favorite animation movie), in which both main characters grow thanks to the other, and whose paths had crossed and would cross again, beyond memory or reality.

Saying more would spoil the movie, so I have been very, very vague. Suffice it to say the movie made me laugh, cry, get the goosebumps, and got me to the edge of my seat at some points. It really had great storytelling, pacing, characters, and emotions throughout. I loved it.

The visuals were also gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Tokyo is more real than the real Tokyo, and the director, animators, background artists, and computer artists seem to have devilish fun playing with lighting and getting some of the most beautiful scenes and moments I can recall in an animation movie.

I should mention the music as well, which was very, very good. I know RADWIMPS (I went to see them live a couple of years back), but was surprised at the tone they achieved, and how well it fit with the movie - the music, along with the visuals, really help in getting a full immersion into the story.

However, some of the most hilarious jokes in the movie seem to be untranslatable to English - in particular the "dialects" of the main characters, as well as a specific moment that makes use of several of the ways that Japanese people use to refer to themselves, depending on context and sex (watashi, watakushi, boku, ore). So I'm looking forward to seeing how those scenes will be handled in the translation!

I have since seen the movie one more time, bought the OST, and bought and read the novelization (which is almost like the movie, but does give more insight into each character's thoughts and thought processes.). Highly recommended!

Absolutely fantastic! Recommended for everyone.

Just watch it.

Amazing characters, scenery, city life and town life, story. Everything is just wow. So fine! The suspension, the empathy, the scenes. The thoughts. It's playful and pleasant, but serious and funny at the same time. It makes you want to feel it and live it, while you just keep cheering for everything.

This 1.5 hours was one of the most well spent time in my life. It was so good, that I actually sit down and wondered why we can't we live like that? Why can't we be in that village? In that anime Tokyo?

Every minute is a time well-spent. It's a time SO well spent, that I was afraid when it's going to end. I literally just realized that this would be the end of an anime. Than this would be the end of an hour long movie.

I was so afraid when it's going to end. It borough such a beautiful and marvelous utopia before my eyes, with all it's mistakes, conflicts. That I actually wanted to live there. I actually realized however, that I'm not good of a person to be worthy of such utopia.

However it is very close to reality. Every time something out of order happens, you remember. This is a certain reality. People can die, be ashamed, punished. Everything can end in a tragedy. But when something wrong happens, nobody really cares.. and I was like: "Why? Why aren't you moving? Are you not afraid for your lives?" Than I remembered.. this is a certain utopia. Even for the people who live in it. Nothing bad happen to them, nothing really could. They are peaceful, good people, in a modern world. Nothing bad happened in the last 3 generation, why would anything happen now?

This movie gave me a new set of feelings, viewpoints, happiness, thoughts and desires, I might have lacked or just not realized before. I'm really glad I watched it. It was a piece from my dreams.

Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa) tells the story of two teenagers with vastly different backgrounds. One is a boy who lived in Tokyo and has the word "city" described all around him. One is a girl who lived in rural town far from technology and anything interesting. One morning, somehow, they found out that they have swapped bodies. Together, they must help each other find solution in daily life problems, and solve the mystery of the reason why this whole conundrum started.

This may sound like your typical body-swap romantic comedy situation, but you may find yourself on the wrong side of the spectrum as this movie takes you into an incredible journey. With a storytelling so divine, complex, yet understandable, this movie captures the essence of what romantic comedy movies have lost nowadays, a heart and a charm to lure you in.

Japanese animation movies tend to have a bit of a stereotype, but the movie successfully shown very little of that. Transitioning from one scene to the other effortlessly, Radwimps deserves an incredible applause for their talents in the movie, as every song and every score fits perfectly to the scene currently shown.

Although the movie does end in a predictable way, the voyage to that predictable end is more than enough to keep you satisfied. There are some usage of stock characters and several clichés throughout, something that maybe will drive some of the audiences away or cloud their judgment. But beside all that, the story is still original and well executed.

What seems to be a silly premise evolved into something even more trifling. But with its unbearable charm, it worked astonishingly well.

Your Name is just a good movie. This movie felt long, but not too long. All the way through, I was asking what would happen next. It was clever, emotional, and left me crying after the movie. The twist was done really well, and I almost wanted to pause the movie. Also, the animation is gorgeous. You get to see detailed images from many angles and perspectives, and there were hundreds of animators! The credits didn't start out with the cast like it usually would. The first thing you saw after a black screen was hundreds of names of animators and designers. I watched this movie again and I still felt my muscles ready to let tears out. I would not recommend this movie any less than the next guy, so what are you waiting for? Get a couple of friends and watch Your Name!

I have followed Makoto Shinkai's older works and most of them really have a bad ending, though still good, but this movie's sweet. He really know how to play with our emotion, especially for his work's fans who have followed his works, i'm hoping its not a bad ending during the entire movie.

But man, this work is a true masterpiece. When i looked at Makoto's older works, I suddenly think, he had the potential to beat Miyazaki's spirited away, and there he goes. I'm not saying this is better than spirited away, they had a different genre and makoto had his own stunning style.

How this piece of animation would turn my emotion really hard? Even Spirited Away, When Marnie was There, and 5cm per second can't do that. This is a movie that you must watch before you die, really.