Your Name, also known in Japanese as Kimi no na Wa is a 2016 romantic/fantasy/drama film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. It was the last animated film I had the pleasure to watch and I must admit that it became one my favorites.
I had the chance to become familiarized with Japanese animated movies with the studio Ghibli's ones, being Spirited Away the most famous one as it won an oscar. However, this is one of the first films that I watch that aren't from this studio, and I was pleasantly surprised, wanting even more of these types of movies.
This film is about two teenagers, a girl, Mitsuha, and a boy named Taki. These two don't know each other, they have completely different lives and they don't even live in the same city, Taki being from Tokyo while Mitsuha lives in a town. However, one day their destinies collide as for some unknown reason they exchange bodies.
This body-swap happens at random times and they must learn to live the other's life while this happens. This causes them to start chatting via messages they leave for each other, building a meaningful connection and wanting to finally meet each other, however, as they want to see each other, they realize that the situation is even more complicated than they imagined, something much more mysterious is behind this body-swap.
I really loved this film. It's fun, engaging and I did not expect the story to be so rich. At first I thought it was just going to be a body-swap type of story, however, as it goes on, you realize there is so much more. The mystery is engaging and it's truly exciting to root for our main characters to finally meet each other or realize that they have feelings for each other.
The animation is gorgeous, there are many colors and the scenery is amazing. I adore how Japanese this film is, the town and the city feel real, many locations being actually recreations of real-life ones. You even catch a glimpse of Japanese culture and their customs, such as the big festivals they have.
Your Name is a beautiful animated film, full of heart and care. It's a genuine delight and an emotional roller coaster, you'll want to laugh, cry and even fear for our characters, desperately wanting them to finally be together. It's an amazing blend of romance and science fiction, I can't recommend it enough, you should watch it!
The way that the story unfolds is very original, it's about connection, destiny, and a meeting that is meant to happen no matter what.
