Your Name
It has been hailed as one of the greatest animation in the century. Its ratings are as high as the sky, while most people will say this is the best anime they've ever seen. The hype is very high with this one. All of my friends will readily say that this is a masterpiece. But, does it really live up to my expectations?
*UPDATE*: While my initial reaction towards this film has since then calmed down a bit, I still can't bring myself to give the film a green light. However, I found parts of the movie itself that are quite interesting and might be its redeeming qualities. I have updated sections of the review that strike me as lamentable and obsolete.
Details
- Directed by: Makoto Shinkai
- Produced by: Noritaka Kawaguchi, Genki Kawamura
- Screenplay by: Makoto Shinkai
- Based on: Your Name by Makoto Shinkai
- Music by: Radwimps
- Cinematography: Makoto Shinkai
- Edited by: Makoto Shinkai
- Production company: CoMix Wave Films
- Distributed by: Toho
- Release date: July 3, 2016 (Anime Expo); August 26, 2016 (Japan)
- Running time: 107 minutes
- Country: Japan
- Language: Japanese
Synopsis
From MyAnimeList.net:Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl, yearns to live the life of a boy in the bustling city of Tokyo—a dream that stands in stark contrast to her present life in the countryside. Meanwhile in the city, Taki Tachibana lives a busy life as a high school student while juggling his part-time job and hopes for a future in architecture.
One day, Mitsuha awakens in a room that is not her own and suddenly finds herself living the dream life in Tokyo—but in Taki's body! Elsewhere, Taki finds himself living Mitsuha's life in the humble countryside. In pursuit of an answer to this strange phenomenon, they begin to search for one another.
Kimi no Na wa. revolves around Mitsuha and Taki's actions, which begin to have a dramatic impact on each other's lives, weaving them into a fabric held together by fate and circumstance.
Story
If I can sum up my entire review for the film with two words, I would say "incomplete" and "paradoxical". To be honest, I was quite surprised after watching the film both in a good way and a bad way. Before going into that, this particular film has been called to Shinkai's finest work and the best animated film of all time. Any attempts to discredit it or even to criticize it will be regarded as trolling by the public so it seems. I try to see the film itself as a work of art, nothing more or nothing less. Therefore any subsequent praises or critics I give which can be seen as deranged are what I think they are.My feelings towards the film are quite mixed. It is certainly unique and intriguing in its own way. Yet at the same time, it is not what I would call a good film because of its constant issues and flaws. Yes, I know it's quite contradicting but I'm afraid it is the reality.
Because this particular review will be long, these are my main views of the film for those of you who don't really like reading long text:
- Widened the demographics, but confusing the message.
- Interesting premise, but boring execution.
- Fusing two different themes, but using brittle storyline.
- Culturally accurate & religiously moving, but holey plotline hinders experience.
- Has a somewhat"good" ending, but left so many questions unanswered.
- Contains a tons of symbolisms & metaphors, but contains lots of awkward "fan service" or teenage jokes.
- Slow paced and predictable.
This particular film is what I call an attempt to cast larger net. Shinkai's works have been known to be quite esoteric to the point
that many people would simply deny them a chance because of their nature. If
you read my reviews about his other works, you will find that I almost speak
positively for them. That's because Shinkai is one of the people that seems to always
quench my thirst for heavy and mature body of work. While his past projects are
not always what I would call "masterpiece", I would enjoy myself in
the evening watching one of his films, even though I kind of dislike his
approach to narration and point of view.
However, this work seems so un-Shinkai like. I mean even if
you can find his signature directing style from the visual and metaphors, I don't
find that spark of existence which I found in his past works, even in his short
films. It has less dense atmosphere, more merry-go-round attitude, and even
lighter mood. That's why many people will find it more relatable because its welcoming nature to teenagers or young adults. It is certainly trendy, containing the formula to make a best-selling anime series. Crude humour, lots of fan service, somewhat melodramatic moments, and most importantly edgy philosophical statements read aloud using voiceover.
The themes that are used in the film are not something many
of you won't be familiar with. While you can argue with things like it focuses
more on the emotional and spiritual side connection, in a nutshell it is still
body swapping and time travel combined. I know that's oversimplifying things,
but I want to give a baseline so I know what I want to deal with.
At first, Your Name has a really interesting premise because
while body swapping and time travel have been done separately from each other
before, I don't think no major works have combined both of them. Although, I'm
sure that lesser known works exist somewhere in the deep dark web. But, upon
seeing it on the first time, I couldn't help to realize just how familiar Your
Name looked and felt. I discovered afterwards that my hunch was right by
viewing other reviews. Given its themes and natures, I wasn't completely
surprised that the film is eerily similar with many movies. The body swapping
theme is common occurrence in the entertainment industry. There are films like
Freaky Friday & It's a Boy Girl Thing. Notably, these films are usually
comedic in nature, which is the same with the first part of this film. It's a
bit tricky to see where the second part takes up, but Ditto and Il Mare, two
Korean films released in 2000, seem to fit the profile with their dramatic
tones.
While in an interview Shinkai told us that he drew some
inspiration from old Japanese folklore, there are also many striking
similarities with Shinkai's own movie: The Place Promised in Our Early Days. It
may be true that Your Name touches a little bit more about the supposedly
spiritual and emotion, but I can see many parallel lines running between them.
For example, the theme about alternate "timeline" and most
importantly their reunion scene where the two supposed lovers connected even
though they are not physically in the same place. The setting sun in the
background and the way their fingers connected make both scenes kind of
similar. Another example is the feeling of forgetting something important that
both Taki and Mitsuha feel everytime they wake up in the morning. The male
protagonist in Place Promised also has this kind of feeling recurringly. The
dream concept is also more or less the same in both cases, in which both
protagonists unconsciously developed relationship with each other.
I don't think it's lazy writing, but the fact that it has
similar scenes and feels with other works means Your Name is not really the
first one to deliver these kind of things that many people seem to believe.
Makoto while managed to wrap it up in at least watchable way, doesn't really have a
lot to offer. Mixing two overused
themes into a film can be such problematic. The time travel and body swap part
are not blended in such a way that they become one entity, but two separate
acts. In turn, what this movie wants to be become blurred. A comedy slice of
life film? A tear-jerking romance drama movie? Seems that it wants to be both,
but fails at mixing them together into a cohesive storyline. It doesn't really
come off as fluid or as natural, rather like being forced. The first part
really contrasts with the second part in a way that if you split them, you can
make two films out of one. Well, to be honest, that makes the film kinds of
cheesy and cliched and has no real purpose other than to pleasure the audience
with its take on romantic comedy.
I know at this point people will scream about things like
the way it resonates deeply with them in terms of discovering soulmates,
connecting two different people, and so on and so forth. The way I see it, all
of that which Your Name can actually achieve is lost the moment Shinkai
presents cringey and awkward teenage jokes. I was too distracted by the first
part of the film that by the time I reached the second part, I wasn't too sure
how to approach this movie. I can't even seem to take the second part seriously
after watching all of that perverted scenes that have been displayed previously
by many other animes. I was really disappointed to see such indecent things
coming. My friends really like “the fan-service” (part of the teenage jokes,
such as grabbing the upper part) given in this film, but I’m not really
comfortable with it because there is no point.
The genre-bleeding combined with the lighthearted scenes
that are supposed to be serious or vice-versa muck everything up, ultimately
making it a movie with no clear objectives or message, other than spiritual and
cultural aspect of Shinto in Japan to convey. Which is actually one of its
redeeming features.
The cultural aspect of the film itself is not the one that
most can hope to achieve. Shinto religious and cultural significance are deeply
rooted in the Japanese culture. They are accurately represented and portrayed
in Your Name. It seems very otherworldly yet sternly anchored to the reality. I
was captivated by the concept of religious symbolism that flowed freely
throughout the film.
Another thing to be noticed is the metaphors Shinkai uses in
the film to convey ideas. There are tons of it, but the ones that stand out
from the rest is the meteor splitting and the red thread of fate. I won't tell
what they mean because it is the same with telling you the entire film. I do,
however, want to stress out that these symbols have Shinkai's lingering spirit
infused with them. That's why it's so subtle yet so powerfully moving. I think
that's why many people will like this movie if they seek these kinds of details
that reward people who don't space out or they are not focusing on the
characters.
Now, what I write in the following section is not really as
annoying as the vagueness. I don't think you have to overextend your mind to
enjoy the film. I admit, if only I don't care about plot holes I won't be
complaining about the time travel theme and maybe I can enjoy some of its
better scenes. But, here we are. Numerous plot holes were introduced
constantly, which really saddens me as a viewer because it lessens my viewing
experience. I think some of you will say: “You should’ve turned your brain off
at this point, it's a fantasy movie! Everything is permitted!” That doesn't
really do it or any films out there justice because by turning off your brain,
you will definitely miss a lot of things that Shinkai had intended to show or
portray, especially with the sheer amount of imageries and symbolisms.
If you are being critical at this point, you will find many questions left unanswered or at least answered but not satisfyingly or completely. Using time travel as a plot device is risky, especially if you don't know how to wield its power. Harnessing it correctly will get you a "timeless" work such as Back to the Future (not an animation I know, but still a masterpiece film), Steins;Gate, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and many more. Failing to become its master will lead you to brittle and holey plot.
I'm going to quote from a review that a person from my country made after viewing Your Name to sum up all of my questions about plot holes. Thanks to Theodora Sarah Abigail for her review. I'm sorry for all the bad words. I'll try to keep it civil here. I think some of her questions can be answered if one watches the movie in detail, although I'm not really sure because Shinkai doesn't really convey the information well.
This movie struggles with an issue many beautiful films also face. It’s a great, grand beauty, but it’s superficial and masks thin plot mechanized by some sort of vague emptiness. This issue is compounded by the fact that essentially all Makoto Shinkai films employ the “lovers separated by time/distance/both” trope; although Kimi No Na Wa is the best yet, it doesn’t change the fact that he is no Miyazaki and his vision has yet to emerge. Essentially, a beautiful, beautiful film, and so pleasant to look at, but not compelling in the slightest.Some choices that the characters make also don't really make sense. In the part where they were corresponding with each other, why didn’t they try to find each other’s address? Taki didn’t even know where Mitsuha is yet he remembered her name and face so clearly. Don’t you think the first thing to ask a person is his/her contact or at least ask him/her to meet up? That's how you start building a relationship. I can't help but to ask all these questions in my mind while watching the movie.
Questions and concerns I had after watching the film:
- Why don’t they ever simply write each other’s name down on a piece of paper so they don’t forget?
- Does Taki suffer no consequence after drinking sake meant as an offering to the gods?
- Why do Taki’s buddies make an appearance at all? What role does Mitsuha’s father play except to be a foil to the plan to bomb the power plant? Does he have any effect on Mitsuha whatsoever? I don’t even remember the names of any of the characters aside from Mitsuha and Taki.
- Does no one feel alarmed that their friend/classmate/relative seems to be suffering from dissociative personality disorder?
- When did Taki and Mitsuha fall in love? Their entire relationship progression is shown in a three-minute reel in which they only really express mild annoyance at one another; Mitsuha tells Taki about what she does in her “diary” and they get to know one another by literally becoming each other, but that in itself is debatable. When you theoretically become someone else, you don’t get to know them, you get to know yourself portrayed through the lens of another person, and every outside reaction towards you is less a reaction to the person you’ve become but you as the person you’ve become. Essentially, Taki is not getting to know Mitsuha, and only ever sees Taki-as-Mitsuha. So who is he really falling in love with?
- Why does Taki do what he does? What are his drives? When he tries to save the town, is it because he loves Mitsuha or because he is a genuinely altruistic person?
- Who is Mitsuha? What does she like to do? What does she want to do with her life? Why does she want to Tokyo, and what is she expecting to find?
- How is Taki able to so quickly get over his crush on Okudera-senpai? Mitsuha literally helps Taki go on dates with Okudera-senpai. Where is any slight indication that she has feelings for him, enough that she’s willing to go to Tokyo to find him?
- How were they able to evacuate the whole f*cking town when, before the comet hit, 500 people died? They had, like, one minute to evacuate everyone, and somehow everyone manages to get to the school without a single lost life?
- A boy and a girl swapping bodies. How original. Separated by time. And distance. Just like every other Makoto Shinkai film. Amazing.
- Neither of them notice the date? They don’t realize that they’re separated by two months (or however long it was?).
- Is Taki so blatantly oblivious that he doesn’t realize that there was a huge comet explosion thing in Mitsuha’s town? Do people around him not talk about current events or geography? Even though the comet is apparently one of the worst natural disasters in recent history?
- Why does drinking sake somehow take you back to the past? What is so special about sake?
- HOW THE F*CK DO THEY SEE EACH OTHER’S FACES ON A MOVING TRAIN AND HOW DO THEY MANAGE TO FIND EACH OTHER AFTER GETTING OFF THEIR RESPECTIVE TRAINS?
There are complaints about how confusing the storyline is. It's a risk that Shinkai should've known yet he still doesn't properly defuse it when deciding to create this kind of film. (alternate timeline, branching universe, so on and on also have been featured quite heavily in The Place Promised in Our Early Days). Then again, this kind of overly complex plot doesn't really leave much to say even though one might argue it's exhilarating or even gripping for hopeless romantic.
The pacing is for me at least, a little bit slow. Many scenes are simply fillers. The first part I think can be shortened into half of its length. The second part is missing the tension because of how predictable the ending is. Yes, it seems that the ending is one of the "better" in a sense that doesn't really make you uncomfortable. I feel like this whole film isn't meant to be shown in this kind of medium. I would rather watch it as a series. The material itself is not really one that can be fitted in a 107-minute timestamp. This kind of hollow feeling makes me feel like Shinkai left it unfinished or at least half-baked.
Visual
The visual style of this film is stunning, to say the least. Makoto was quite punctual in choosing his color and tone. The
main attraction for me is the way he potrayed these characters daily lives
with a hyper-realistic tone. I remember a scene where Mitsuha was tidying her
hair and I thought she was a real person from the back. I was immediately smitten by the
lighting and cinematography. But, like I said, only from the back. On the front side, while the overall quality is astonishing, I am quite disappointed with the character design, which I will talk more in its section.
Audio
The music is not as displeasing as the story, blending each scene with rather energetic feel. Although I felt that the presence of Japanese rock songs (which are performed gorgeously according to my friends by Radwimps if listened separately, whose vocalist also composed the soundtrack) was a little intrusive for my experience, especially how the vocals was constantly ever present (apparently, that's how Makoto wants it to be: to convey the dialogue using lyrics), I still managed to barely listen through it.
Many people attributed the success of Your Name to the soundtrack. Having a different taste of music, I won't scrutinize it. The use of rock songs certainly mirror the way Shinkai wants to give to this film: youthfulness. I sense that many people will certainly resonate with one of the songs because it reminds them of their youth if they are adults or their past if they are adolescents.
Many people attributed the success of Your Name to the soundtrack. Having a different taste of music, I won't scrutinize it. The use of rock songs certainly mirror the way Shinkai wants to give to this film: youthfulness. I sense that many people will certainly resonate with one of the songs because it reminds them of their youth if they are adults or their past if they are adolescents.
Characters
Like many of Makoto Shinkai’s films, it
suffers a syndrome called shallow characterization. However, it seems to me this is the most shallow of them all. There are so many of
characters who are introduced just to fill the running time. Taki's & Mitsuha's friends and family, Okudera-senpai (questionably), so on and so forth.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but to feel more sympathetic towards Katsuhiko (I have to check the character names list to even know his name), a friend of Mitsuha. I know this is just plain wrong, but what can I say? I resonate with his character more than anybody else I think.
In the beginning, we are shown how Mitsuha and Katsuhiko were dictated to live their lives by their demanding fathers, especially Mitsuha's father constant orders, which makes me think that they can relate to each other and in the end will certainly feel mutual attraction. I am little upset by the sad truth that Katsuhiko wasn't shown again until the end of the second part, this time having settled with Mitsuha's other friend in a rather ridiculous manner. (whose name I still can't remember... damn it! Ah yes, it's Sayaka)
At the same time, I couldn’t help but to feel more sympathetic towards Katsuhiko (I have to check the character names list to even know his name), a friend of Mitsuha. I know this is just plain wrong, but what can I say? I resonate with his character more than anybody else I think.
In the beginning, we are shown how Mitsuha and Katsuhiko were dictated to live their lives by their demanding fathers, especially Mitsuha's father constant orders, which makes me think that they can relate to each other and in the end will certainly feel mutual attraction. I am little upset by the sad truth that Katsuhiko wasn't shown again until the end of the second part, this time having settled with Mitsuha's other friend in a rather ridiculous manner. (whose name I still can't remember... damn it! Ah yes, it's Sayaka)
The main characters to me look superficial and hollow. They
don’t have any noticeable flaws yet also no distinguished traits. My friends argued that it
was because of the lack of time to show all of their characteristics and also making the characters more relatable as normal people to the audience. I sincerely
disagree. In the end, there is no significant changes happened to Taki. The same argument can be used against Mitsuha, but at the very least she can stand up to her father at the very end. They are mostly still the same as they started in the beginning.
The Garden of Words, which has a shorter running time, has a deeper characterization and development than them. Children Who Chase Lost Voices, although has a longer running time, can clearly give the example of complex characters. At least Mitsuha gets the deepest characterization and is the most developed, but Taki suffers a lot from it. Like I said, I am more inclined towards Katsuhiko instead of him because there are simply nothing that makes me relate to or care for him.
The Garden of Words, which has a shorter running time, has a deeper characterization and development than them. Children Who Chase Lost Voices, although has a longer running time, can clearly give the example of complex characters. At least Mitsuha gets the deepest characterization and is the most developed, but Taki suffers a lot from it. Like I said, I am more inclined towards Katsuhiko instead of him because there are simply nothing that makes me relate to or care for him.
The next point is romantic development. The romance doesn’t come up as natural as a real one might be, rather it looks as it is
being forced upon the two of them through the concept of fate. (by Musubi, the enigmatic entity that can bend space and time, whom I also suspect is a trickster) My opinion about the romance is pretty much summed up in Theodora's review up there.
I also hate the plastic doll-like facial expression. It's quite displeasing to wonder why Shinkai has changed his art style. His previous work, which is The Garden of Words, uses a style that I think pushed the limits of animation.
Here are Mitsuha and Taki, the main characters of Your Name.
Look at her eyes. It's like moe syndrome all over the place. I thought Shinkai had already passed that stage of drawing after Children Who Chase Lost Voices.
Check out Taki's eyes. His is shown to have the same size as Mitsuha's. I know it's to make him feel feminine, but come on. This guy is supposed to be the hero? You've got to be kidding man.
Here, look at Taki in his uniform. I think this is from the promotional material. His face is shown to be plain and doesn't have the depth. It evokes a kind of child-like feeling, even though he is in high school.
Last image, look at Taki's eyes again. Looks like a girl's eyes to me.
Here are Takao & Yukino, the main characters of The Garden of Words:
Compare Mitsuha's eyes to Yukino's. While they can still be considered as large, they are still reasonably scaled to her face.
I mean look at this. Takao's face is shown to more details. Yeah, his eyes are still large, but not as large as Taki's.
Look at him! More detailed and less cartoon-like facial expression.
Watch Takao's eyes. You can see his soul showing in his eyes regardless of his expression.
Yeah, it's quite disappointing to see Shinkai trying to appease the mass. What results from this is a campy style film with no remarkable characters. Maybe it's my taste or preference, but I'm sad to see the characters design devolving from such a grand state.
I also hate the plastic doll-like facial expression. It's quite displeasing to wonder why Shinkai has changed his art style. His previous work, which is The Garden of Words, uses a style that I think pushed the limits of animation.
Here are Mitsuha and Taki, the main characters of Your Name.
Look at her eyes. It's like moe syndrome all over the place. I thought Shinkai had already passed that stage of drawing after Children Who Chase Lost Voices.
Check out Taki's eyes. His is shown to have the same size as Mitsuha's. I know it's to make him feel feminine, but come on. This guy is supposed to be the hero? You've got to be kidding man.
Here, look at Taki in his uniform. I think this is from the promotional material. His face is shown to be plain and doesn't have the depth. It evokes a kind of child-like feeling, even though he is in high school.
Last image, look at Taki's eyes again. Looks like a girl's eyes to me.
Here are Takao & Yukino, the main characters of The Garden of Words:
Compare Mitsuha's eyes to Yukino's. While they can still be considered as large, they are still reasonably scaled to her face.
I mean look at this. Takao's face is shown to more details. Yeah, his eyes are still large, but not as large as Taki's.
Look at him! More detailed and less cartoon-like facial expression.
Watch Takao's eyes. You can see his soul showing in his eyes regardless of his expression.
Yeah, it's quite disappointing to see Shinkai trying to appease the mass. What results from this is a campy style film with no remarkable characters. Maybe it's my taste or preference, but I'm sad to see the characters design devolving from such a grand state.
Conclusion
Although Your Name is currently ranked #1 in MyAnimeList and does very well in the Box Office, even surpassing Ghibli's films, and becomes the first of Shinkai film that actually makes it into my country, I still can't bring myself to like it. I am quite surprised that even with the niche lore and sense of amazement I felt after discovering the cultural aspect, this is the first of his work that I don't truly enjoy.The plot which is the backbone of an animation reprimands me. This is a purely feels-good animation, rather than the one for pondering and lamentation because it doesn't really leave an afterthought to me, not like Shinkai's other works. I feel like it's quite disconnected from the rest of them. I kept thinking that it's just a parody of some works, not a real film. Having constantly being reminded of it by my friends makes me sick of all of its belittling aspects.
The co-founder of Gainax calls the film a rubbish, but I disagree with him. In the end, Your Name is just a half-baked movie which in my humblest opinion is overrated and I surely was disappointed with Shinkai's choice of delivering it. I mean if only it was done differently, maybe, just maybe, I would enjoy watching it.
The great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa once said, screenplay was the absolute foundation of a successful film and that, though a mediocre director can sometimes make a passable film out of a good script, even an excellent director can never make a good film out of a bad script.