Director: Makoto Shinkai
Starring: Kana Hanazawa (voice), Etsuko Ichihara (voice),Ryûnosuke Kamiki (voice), Mone Kamishiraishi (voice), Masami Nagasawa (voice), Ryô Narita (voice)
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Rating: 12A
Release Date: 18/11/16
Perhaps we were all quick to judge 2016 in terms of Movies as it was universally agreed during the summer that this was a bad year for Films. However, we all forgot that whilst the summer is the dishevelled home for countless outdated blockbusters, it’s the autumn and the winter where the good stuff truly lies.
Just these last few months we’ve had some incredible content, both original and from franchises and whilst there’s been nothing quite as stellar as my top three of 2015 (Inside Out, The Force Awakens, Whiplash), my top 15 of 2016 include a wide variety, of interesting and often brilliant Movies.
YOUR NAMEÂ is undoubtedly one of them.
Following two high schoolers, Mitsusha and Taki, living in rural and metropolitan Tokyo respectively, who one day miraculously swap bodies. What starts as a fun, light-hearted young adult romp soon takes a more serious turn when they realise that their connection may have something to do with a passing comet and an even greater significance beyond the two of them.
Many are describing Shinkai as the new Miyazaki and with good reason. This is a majestic, beautiful animation that will surely go down as a classic.
From its sumptuous animation to its delightful score, stylistically this is as gorgeous as anime gets. Beyond that the story is as enthralling as the comparisons to Ghibli would make you believe. The characters are likeable, grounded in realism and engaging to watch, the two leads, in particular, are tough and endearing.
The story also builds its world well, with great side-characters and detail to fill out the edges and an awful lot of heart. Where the script from Makoto Shinkai shines, apart from its charming humour and poignant drama, is in its subtext. There’s a very clear divide between the lives of the two leads, in particular of their genders, that really creates a socially complex world.
From the outset, the script moves in mysterious ways never opting for ordinary, bending the story in a twisty-turny timey-wimey fashion, and it never feels predictable. There are some genuinely surprising things at work here and moments of genuine awe throughout which help to ground the magical world.
At its heart, it’s a love story come teen drama with plenty of the tropes of the genre plastered throughout. Yet, when it takes in the science-fiction elements and plays with themes of memory, it succeeds in being evenly balanced between them.
It’s not cheesy, it’s not schmaltzy, it just manages to be serious and funny without being too much or too less.
If you like the works of Studio Ghibli and wish to broaden your knowledge of anime, then this is the perfect way to start. Whilst it is as emotional and complex as the Ghibli canon, it also has a more modern edge that will play well to new audiences.
It’s bright, funny, engaging, emotional and bruisingly beautiful. It’s the sort of film you find yourself thinking about days after before saying “Damn, I want to watch that again”.
Verdict
