The Anonymous Post: Your Name
Anonymousxcxc Hey guys, Anonymousxcxc here, so before I start the review I want to say a few things. In case anyone didn't read the last review I posted (the link is here: https://www.thetoptens.com/disney-channel-cartoons/62481.asp ), I said that I'd post some reviews within the next couple of weeks just to get this post series back into swing, sort of. Also, I know that I had a Friday and Sunday time schedule for reviews that I made up in my last review, however because I didn't get to post this one yesterday so I'm making up for it now. Also, if you're new to the series then greeting and if you want to know more about me or check out my lists and comments go to my profile page or just message me a hello, I won't answer right away, but I'll try to come on when I can (and want).Anyways, let's examine today's case: Your Name.
Alright, before I actually get down to the nitty gritty details I want to note out that I watched the Japanese dub with English subtitles so when I get down to crediting voice actors for characters I will be using the original voice actors that voiced them rather than the English version's actors.
Okay so for anyone who doesn't know about the film, Your Name, or Kimi no Na wa as it's originally called, is a 2016 Japanese animated film, written and directed by Makoto Shinkai and produced by CoMix Wave Films, particularly Noritaka Kawaguchi and Genki Kawamura, about a high school girl in rural Itomori named Mitsuha Miyamizu (voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi) who is bored with her life and longs to live a life in Tokyo, soon starting to periodically switch bodies with a high school aged boy in Tokyo named Taki Tachibana (voiced by Ryunosuke Kamiki).
So first things first, when this film first came out in mid-2016 people were enamored with it. Critics had given it much widespread acclaim and not only that but it was a major commercial success. As in, it became the 4th highest grossing film of all time in Japan, 7th highest grossing traditionally animated film, the highest grossing anime/Japanese film, and the 5th highest grossing non-English film worldwide. Not only that, but it won several awards for its animation and musical score and there's even a live-action remake of it in the works. In other words, the film did really really well and it is still continuing to succeed, but is it really worth all of the hype?
Well, in some ways yes, my personal strongpoints of the film were about the same as most of the others who have seen it. The animation is absolutely stunning for one thing. The characters look very highly detailed with their lines drawn sharply and crisply, allowing them to express a wide variety of different emotions. The color scheme is bright and colorful, common in a Japanese animated film, but something about the settings have a sense of realism and cleanliness that I just adore. For instance, there was this one scene in the movie where Taki (in Mitsuha's body) had to take a special ritual alcohol (called kuchikamizake) to a shrine in the mountains and when I first saw the shrine I was just as captivated as the character was. The nature surrounding the shrine looked absolutely gorgeous, so much so that I actually wanted to go out there and touch the grass and feel the trees. Also, I loved how fluid the animation was and the obvious effort put into the film by the animators, especially since the film is traditionally animated too, since in an industry now predominated by computers the prospects of traditional animation somehow seem to be even harder than it already was. In other words, the animation was easily one of my favorite parts of the movie as it helped enhance the other aspects of the film to the next level and without it I don't think the movie would have done nearly as well as it did.
Also, I enjoyed the wide range of emotions felt throughout the film. There was happiness, there was tragedy, remorse, love, belonging, intrigue, wonder, and everything in between. The writers clearly knew how to execute the emotions brought on by the characters, you could genuinely feel what they felt and experience what they experienced. I also like how unlike most films with a similar underlying premise of a love story that this one doesn't necessarily end on an unrealistically happy ending. Without giving away too much all I can say is that it is an ending that sort of ambiguous and will definitely leave you craving for more (or at least that's what happened to me).
In addition to the animation and the film's emotional impact, I also enjoyed just the characters themselves. I like that there's no real villain and I like that not every character is some snarky, disrespectful, and entitled spoiled brat, the characters really do feel like people. I believe for every second that Taki is a kind, yet sometimes short-tempered guy and I admire how his character works very hard to get what he wants, which is a quality that nearly anyone can relate to. You want to see him accomplish his dreams and you want to see his hard work pay off eventually. On the other side of the spectrum you can also experience every single emotion that Mitsuha goes through as well. You can feel her excitement when she sees Tokyo for the first time (albeit in Taki's body), you can understand her longing for greater things, you can feel her pain when she is unable to fully obtain her wishes of true love. These protagonists are in general very real and relatable to many people as many have gone through or are currently going through the same struggles that these characters face throughout the film.
Now that's not to say that the side characters didn't feel real. They were very much lifelike (for example I enjoyed Mitsuha's friends and little sister), however, the film clearly put more focus on the two main characters and their emotional journeys. Exactly where it should be.
Despite the great animation, characters, and emotional depth of the film, at the same time the hype really is more than what it actually turned out to be. Story-wise I wasn't too crazy about it. Don't get me wrong, it's written very well and for a love story it's actually pretty good, but for me the plot still wasn't the greatest. I'm sorry, love stories really just aren't my thing and in its undertones Your Name really is just a love story between the main leads, albeit a well-executed one.
Other than that the things that I have against this film really are nitpicks. For instance, a lot of the supernatural elements featured were a little too vague for my liking and some of the transition scenes (ones that looked more like anime openings) felt really awkward and out of place. Also, for the people that have seen this movie, I may get hate for this one but I personally don't find the soundtrack as great as many claim it is. It's not a bad one, on the contrary, it's a good one, but the only pieces from it that really stuck out to me were the instrumental pieces. The other songs were just, meh.
Also, this film got a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. 97%?! Don't get me wrong, it is a very good movie, but 97%? That's a little overboard, sure it's good, but certainly not good enough for a percentage that high. A 92% probably, but definitely not a 97.
However, at the end of the day, despite the nitpicks and the slightly weaker plot, Your Name was indeed a wonderful film. The animation was stellar, the characters were grounded and relatable, and the emotional impact of the film was indeed quite deep. Heck, the animation alone could have probably won me over. In short, Your Name is a modern-day masterpiece, with its flaws sure, but it truly is the result of a team of animators' years of hard work and effort and honestly it deserves the praise that it gets.