A marriage of spectacular visuals and heart-warming storytelling,“Your Name.” is a dazzling dive into youth, memories and the connections that bind us. Juggling both wondrous levity and intense emotion with ease, Makoto Shinkai weaves a spellbinding love story that spans both time and space. This film is a testament to the power of animation and is the crowning jewel of Shinkai’s filmography.
Trapped in the small rural town of Itomori, where there is nothing to do and everyone seems to know each other, high school student Mitsuha Miyamizu (Mone Kamishiraishi) is desperate for an escape and pines for a life in the city. One day, her wish is granted as she begins waking up in the body of Tokyo teen Taki Tachibana (Ryûnosuke Kamiki). The two are randomly swapping bodies and are thrust into the world of the other. Both are fish out of water, forced to learn how to function as the other and gradually begin to become invested in their new alternate lives.
“Your Name.” overachieves in all departments and none more so than its lustrous visuals. The work poured into each frame is clear, down to painstaking details such as the pencil line details of Taki’s drawings as he tries to sketch his memories onto paper. The animation takes a well-deserved victory lap during a stunning sequence involving a comet that lets the audience soak in all of its visual splendour. The original songs containing vocals bookmark pivotal points in the story and RADWIMPS were even able to translate and re-perform each of these in the English dub without numbing any of their potency.
Somehow managing to rival this is the use of sound. Each magical moment is underscored by an original soundtrack composed by Japanese band RADWIMPS, who go above and beyond to create something both versatile and consistently excellent. At some moments, the film is soars with seismic electric riffs, whilst in others, it is subdued by understated and nostalgia-inducing piano pieces. This soundtrack perfectly complements each scene, injecting them with a layer of heart that transforms already-emotive moments into something unforgettable.
As the setting cuts between Mitsuha’s quaint town and Taki’s sprawling metropolis, the visual and aural components of the film come together to create a transportive effect. An excellent job is done selling both locations and juxtaposing them to the point of the two protagonists truly feeling worlds apart. Every environment pops to life, bursting with depth and texture that pushes the bounds of animation. This quality is consistent and ranges from the large-scale renders to subtle touches such as the blades of grass shuffling in the countryside breeze to the faint halos of lights around the urban streetlights. While the town buzzes with restless crickets, the city roars with passing cars. These background layers of sound add the final touch to complete the verity of the immersion.
A scene from “Your Name.” (Amuse, 2016).
For all its grandeur, “Your Name.” is still very much an intimate story, with a focus on its characters that is never lost in its pageantry. We see both protagonists evolve and become key to each other’s growth. Shinkai’s contrast between the two highlights that Taki and Mitsuha possess character traits that the other is lacking and would benefit from. Mitsuha presents an emotional intelligence and sensitivity that Taki is missing, and this shortcoming appears to be a barrier in forming connections, as has been the case regarding his crush on his work colleague Miki.
Meanwhile, Taki has the firm self-assuredness that Mitsuha needs in order to stand up to her hypercritical and distant father as well as her peers who pick on her for being the daughter of the mayor. Both are able to evolve over the course of the film by incorporating parts of the other into themselves and improving their lives in the process. A large part of maintaining these character natures is in the strength of the performances of the lead voice actors. Kamishiraishi and Kamiki successfully convey the key traits of Mitsuha and Taki respectively, even when emulating one another during scenes in which their characters have swapped into bodies into that of the opposite sex.
Shinkai’s signature sentimental storytelling comes through at its strongest in this film. The frustration of Mitsuha and Taki as they are thrown back and forth between lives, just as they begin to feel content, evokes the magic of dreams and the pain of being woken from them. This pain is only heightened as we forget the dreams and whatever crumbs left behind torment us before they dissipate too. The bond formed between the two characters despite their lack of control over the force that links and unlinks them creates a sense of dread as the audience, like them, have no way of knowing when it will all end.
Shinkai uses this tragic relationship to explore the threads of our connections and the unshakeable sense of loss that comes when they are severed. With a cast of undeniably likable characters and spades of spirited energy, it is difficult not to succumb to the many charms of “Your Name.” and be taken away by this story. The attachment built towards these characters means that the moments of melodrama never feel unearned. This tale is a tour de force that will make you laugh, cry, and hold your breath.
“Your Name.” is an artful masterpiece that will leave you awestruck. It is rare for a film to shine in so many aspects, but this is a perfect storm of all-round excellence that both wows on a technical level and plucks at the heartstrings. This is a beautiful dream that you won’t want to wake up from.
