What I Adored About Kimi no Na wa (Your Name)

To begin, let me just scream into the ether for a moment.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! THE FEEELLLSSS!!!!!

Okay. I’m better now. Mostly. My feelings are still tingling down in the depths of my soul, but that’s normal. Right?

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This movie was everything I had hoped it would be and much more. It sure gave me more feels than I expected and it deserved the right to hold its title as a box office giant in Japan.

For those who are unaware and would like to know the premise of this movie, read on. For those who would like to stay completely in the dark (which might be a good idea, frankly), don’t read past this sentence; though, I won’t delve into too much spoiler area:

Your Name (cleverly titled, honesty) is a romantic drama about two teenagers. One is a girl named Mitsuha, who must carry out her family’s traditional shrine duties, yet feels trapped by her small town. Tired of the traditional country lifestyle, she makes a wish on a star to meet a boy from Tokyo.

Enter Taki (a boy from Tokyo) living his life day-to-day by working a job, attending school, and all the while dreaming of architecture. In a mystical, wondrous event, Mitsuha’s wish comes true (just not as she expects) and Taki and Mitsuha switch bodies. Hilarity (and heartbreak) ensues.

Thus, here are just a few things I wanted to highlight about the film.

The Stunning Visuals

The first thing I heard about this movie was how gosh darn pretty it was. If you hop over to IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes or any review site, really, you’ll see, “gorgeous!”, “Amazing animation”, “Top of the line graphics”, etc.

They weren’t wrong.

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In fact, I think they even downplayed how beautiful this piece of art truly is. The attention to detail that the movie paid far surpassed anything that I’ve seen recently and even rivals that of Studio Ghibli. The solar flares, glittering rainbows, even threads on a main character’s sweater take your breath away! Also, the red string of destiny, so blatantly throw around for symbolic effect, could not be missed, which was a good thing!

The Characters

And not JUST the main characters!

Okay, so let me preface this with the fact that the main characters are completely and utterly captivating. Taki and Mitsuha (remember those gosh darn names!) are from extremely different worlds but find comfort and friendship in each other during their adventures.

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What’s also nice, though, is that their friends, especially Taki’s , are much more understanding than I ever expect anyone could be and it’s truthfully heartwarming . I mean, in a romance/drama, one doesn’t expect friendship to play a major part but in this movie it does. It’s a win for the power of friendship, for sure!

In fact, all of the characters in the movie were well-rounded and interesting.

The Format

Originally, I wasn’t a fan of the storytelling technique. It’s confusing. It actually begins, not at the beginning like most stories, but at the moment where they’ve already switched bodies, and though it took me a moment to realize all this, I agree on and can appreciate the set up.

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In fact, the movie makes it a point to tell people that time doesn’t run in a straight line, and there is a certain realization later on where it makes the format okay for me. Though, a bit confusing, it isn’t hard to follow once you realize how the director decided to present the story.

Japanese Culture

This is kind of a given, since the movie was made in Japan, but I’m always fascinated about other cultures and love to see that culture reflected in foreign films.

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From food to traditional dances to the spirit world and beyond, this movie was immersed in cultural flavor and was simply delicious to devour. Regurgitated rice sake anyone?

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Halfway Through

I won’t spoil it for you, but about halfway through the movie, I was devastated. Just halfway!! What happened was entirely unexpected and left me awe-struck. I had to pause the movie to process what had just erupted onto my screen.

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In fact, the story keeps you on edge the entire time, with broken promises but persistent love. It was a roller coaster of a movie and I couldn’t get enough.

Have you seen Kimi no Na wa? What did you think?