It finally happened. I liked a Makoto Shinkai movie! I never thought this day would come since I find most, if not all his films either unbelievably doll or shallow. His films are often pretty, I will give you that. However, He tries so hard to be “emotional” or try to evoke emotions. It never really worked on me. SO, with that being said, why is this movie so good? What does he do better this time? The answer may surprise you.
Your name does something better than any other anime or maybe even any other film. What is it? Well, you have to find out later. I am not going to just tell you right away now am I?
The movie is about a young girl who lives out in the countryside. Her name is Mitsuha Miyamizu. She wishes one day to be a handsome boy from the city. One day she wakes up and wouldn’t you know. She has indeed swapped bodies with a handsome, bland boy named Taki Tachibana. So the story is basically a freaky Friday thing (or Kokoro Connect). They live each other’s lives and become closer throughout the movie.
Here is my first problem with Your Name. I think the romance comes a bit out of nowhere and was not properly developed. (half the film Taki is going after someone else) This is a shame since the emotional scenes that hit later in the film are really well made and pack an emotional punch. The two scenes that hit me were. Towards the end, Mitsuha falls and looks at her hand (you all know this scene).
The second is the actual ending when they see each other in their separate trains. The ending also ties beautifully together with the beginning. Where they both wake up crying and do not know why. In that regard, the beginning of the film is enhanced on a repeat viewing.
The characters are unfortunately not that interesting, both in terms of design and personality. This is a bit of a problem since romance anime is about liking the main characters and rooting for them to be together. The characters themselves are not really what makes the film good. What is good are the scenes surrounding the characters. There is the vibrant and energetic montage of them living each other’s lives. Taki’s fever dream in the cave. When Mitsuha finally stands up to her father, and so on. There are plenty of very well-made and memorable scenes. Compared to his other works, the scenes and story are actually engaging for once.
The visuals have always been Shinkai’s “strengths”. I think he goes a bit overboard in most of his films. Where the animation and the background are so overdone. This leads to a form of visual chaos and unclarity (see five centimeters per second). I find my eyes being strained while watching. Your name avoids this problem entirely. The backgrounds are pretty while not being distractive. The meteor shower is beautiful, but the film does not linger too long on them. Giving the viewer time to breathe and to take everything in. From the tranquil countryside to the urban cityscape.
The plot is not that great either, sorry but it’s true. If you think about the plot for more than half a second it all starts to fall apart. The story is full of plot holes and inconsistencies. The most prevalent plot hole is, of course, the fact that neither of them realizes that when they switch bodies, they are also going forward and backward in time. This plot hole takes an amount of suspension of disbelief that can be a dealbreaker for most. That is not to say the story itself is bad. The story has a lot of small pieces that Shinkai leaves for you to pick up on. An example would be that the grandmother indicates that this whole Freaky Friday thing has happened to her in her youth. She does not say it explicitly though, and that is kind of wonderful.
Okay, it’s time for me to reveal what your name does so well. Are you ready? Drum roll, please.
Insert songs! The music, in general, is okay, but the insert songs single-handedly elevate the film to a new level. All the scenes I have talked about in this review are all made better by the songs. The songs yumetourou, zen zen zense, sparkle, and nandemonaiya all add so much to the film. When the music builds and explodes in an emotional climax (see the ending scene on the trains, or when she looks at her hand) I simply can not avoid tears. And for a moment, my otherwise cold heart is filled with warmth. The way the song kicks in at the perfect time. The song hits when the emotional beat of the scenes is at its highest.
If you have read this review, you might have found my opinion to be all over the place. For everything good about the film there are two things I don’t like. That’s true. The plot and the characters are not that great. BUT! I feel like we have lost something. We have put character development and a tight plot on a pedestal. Making it the most important thing in a story. We have lost something in our search for finding a matrix in which we can evaluate art. We have this one size fits all approach. If you ever find yourself saying “a good story must have X.” Then you are already missing the point. Art is different and unique; it will hit people differently.
It’s true. The characters are bland as a piece of white paper. There are giant plot holes that make for a mess of a film. So why do you like it so much? you might ask. Well, it’s quite simple. I find myself thinking of your name a lot. I think about it more than most anime films, to be honest. Every time I hear a song from the film I get a little emotional. I find myself returning to it more and more. Over time it has stayed with me, it lingers. Art is an experience, you can talk all you want about bad writing and bland characters. If you get something out of it every time. If you keep thinking about it. Then you know you have found something truly special.
The truth is. You don’t really choose the art you like, it chooses you.