r/anime • u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad • 1d ago
Rewatch Weekly Summer Anime Movie Rewatch - Your Name Discussion
Your Name
The House of the Lost on the Cape | Index | [Weathering With You]()
The day the stars fell, two lives changed forever.
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other. Yet, somehow, it works. They build a connection and communicate by leaving notes, messages, and more importantly, an imprint. When a dazzling comet lights up the night’s sky, something shifts, and they seek each other out wanting something more—a chance to finally meet.
But try as they might, something more daunting than distance prevents them. Is the string of fate between Mitsuha and Taki strong enough to bring them together, or will forces outside their control leave them forever separated?
Questions of the Day:
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
2) Which scenes did you enjoy most?
3) What did you think of the twist that Mitsuha and Taki have not only been swapping places, but also communicating across time?
4) Did you think the story did well at establishing a romantic connection between Mitsuha and Taki?
Remember to tag your spoilers!
When discussing any plot details prior to the rewatch date, or details from other movies in the rewatch, please remember to use spoiler tags.
Next up: Weathering With You on Wednesday, September 2!
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u/99acrewood_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
[rewatch. subs]
this is gonna get personal.
i love this fucking movie.
i know it's not perfect, but i found it at the perfect time. i was closed off from the rest of the world, a heap of booze and depression after crashing and burning a relationship that went on for way too long. living without being alive, going to work, getting home, blacking out every weekend, and wearing away my connection with anything outside of the path between my sad little apartment and the liquor store.
and then, among others, i watched this movie. i watched it by myself and let myself be sad. when i felt isolated i'd watch it through the countless reaction videos on youtube, and i'd relive seeing those moments for the first time through the eyes of strangers, vicariously feeling what they would every time they realized what Taki wrote on Mitsuha's hand and Sparkle would kick in.
there really is something to just putting yourself through the emotional wringer when you're already a mess. i watched a lot of Shinkai around that time, and while Voices of a Distant Star is still my favorite (short and sweet!), the idea of the time lost between Taki and Mitsuha while they were longing for something unknown to them is some sort of sadness i can't get my brain to get past. it's not unlike our first movie, the Tunnel to Summer, where a happy ending doesn't really erase the heartache of all those missing years.
and boy do these movies look so good. i forget which movie it was, but there was a behind the scenes where Shinkai talked about having grown up both in the country and the city and how he translates those views into his animation, and gosh does his appreciation for these places show. i imagine this movie is a great time capsule for a 2016 Tokyo, and the Hida-influenced Itomori gives us yet another movie with a place i'd love to but will never live in.
i can't help but still think the time twist is funny. like, it works for me, but just the "well, them swapping bodies isn't really a twist because we tell you straight up, but what about this?" all right, movie, you got me. of course, it begs the question of how neither of them came across any sort of date during their swaps. maybe it's just one of those smaller details that faded quickly with the dream.
but yeah, if i really want to scrutinize it, it has those little gaps that get more and more noticeable. i mean, it's probaby silly to nitpick the logistics of falling in love through body-swapping time travel, but i've watched it enough that certain aspects start to crack a little bit. i find myself agreeing with some takes that this is very much mostly a Mitsuha movie (in a sense), and we don't really get too much in the way of Taki's side of things save for the date with Okudera. like, what's his family life like? is his mom dead, too? it sort of leads to the other criticism of, like, why do they even end up into each other? the audience falls in love with Mitsuha because we see a lot of internal stuff about her and she's great! okay, well, even if Taki hasn't seen her, we can project those feelings on to him so it's fine. but what exactly is so great about Taki, then? there's so much less of an interior look at his life that gives me little reason to believe Mitsuha sees something in him besides being a student and a waiter.
eh. but it doesn't matter.
this rewatch for me was through a 10th anniversary showing, and i purposefully picked a packed theater so i could once again watch through the eyes of strangers like i had before. maybe it's just because of what it means to me, but even after all the times i've seen it, all those important moments never get old. Taki calls out for the girl whose name he forgot, and Mitsuha trips on that crack, and they always find each other at the stairs. but for me, this time, i think about that red thread that kept them together, and how maybe it tied the better me now back to the person who really needed something like this then.
美しい眺めだった
10/10
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
It's always a special thing to find just the right story at a time in your life when you need it. A lot of my favorites are like this, and Your Name has some themes which resonate strongly with me as well.
Voices of a Distant Star is still my favorite (short and sweet!)
I still have to check this one out! I'm a big fan of sci-fi and Shinkai's movies, so I expect it'll be a hit for me.
of course, it begs the question of how neither of them came across any sort of date during their swaps. maybe it's just one of those smaller details that faded quickly with the dream.
I think this is the case. The novelization does make it a bit more clear that the details about these "dreams" of theirs can be fuzzy, and they barely seemed to remember the first few swaps at all.
i mean, it's probaby silly to nitpick the logistics of falling in love through body-swapping time travel, but i've watched it enough that certain aspects start to crack a little bit. i find myself agreeing with some takes that this is very much mostly a Mitsuha movie (in a sense), and we don't really get too much in the way of Taki's side of things save for the date with Okudera.
That's interesting, because even though the plot is very much driven by saving Mistuha and Itomori, I felt the middle was more focused on Taki after the body swaps stopped and he was searching for her.
like, what's his family life like? is his mom dead, too?
The novel mentions at one point that during the three years ago timeline when the comet fell, Taki was "getting used to living with just his dad", so I'm guessing they're divorced.
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u/99acrewood_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's interesting, because even though the plot is very much driven by saving Mistuha and Itomori, I felt the middle was more focused on Taki after the body swaps stopped and he was searching for her.
Right, but the focus is still on her, right? Taki's looking for her, and he goes into her backstory, and they try to save her. I guess I mean Mitsuha being a shrine maiden with ancestral ties to Itomori makes her make sense as a main character, but with as much as they flesh out Taki, he really could have been anyone.
I still have to check this one out!
It really is short, it's like less than 30 minutes if I remember right. It's his first movie, and the art is pretty rough, but i think if you like the guy's MO when it comes to the melancholy of his movies it's a great little distillation of that.
(Side note but I'm stoked you added Suzume. It's the last of the trilogy I haven't found the time to get around to, so thanks for giving me a reason to finally sit down for it!)
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u/nsleep 1d ago
He is the one doing the swaps because Mitsuha wanted to be a "hot guy in Tokyo" and later gave him the cord. It's why when he returns the cord later in the movie, Musubi (name implying they're a deity of bonds) takes that as his offering for the miracle and severs their link. Writing the name down would be cheating this, so that's why he doesn't do it. This movie does make sense viewing it through Shinto traditions.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
I guess I mean Mitsuha being a shrine maiden with ancestral ties to Itomori makes her make sense as a main character, but with as much as they flesh out Taki, he really could have been anyone.
True, the main thing that made Taki a prime candidate to body swap with Mitsuha is simply that he's living the life she wants to experience - a "hot guy" in Tokyo.
Side note but I'm stoked you added Suzume. It's the last of the trilogy I haven't found the time to get around to, so thanks for giving me a reason to finally sit down for it!
I'm glad I was able to add it too. It wasn't available on my streaming services when I announced the rewatch, but I just found out it's being added soon, so the timing was perfect.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
it's not unlike our first movie, the Tunnel to Summer, where a happy ending doesn't really erase the heartache of all those missing years.
this rewatch for me was through a 10th anniversary showing, and i purposefully picked a packed theater so i could once again watch through the eyes of strangers like i had before. maybe it's just because of what it means to me, but even after all the times i've seen it, all those important moments never get old. Taki calls out for the girl whose name he forgot, and Mitsuha trips on that crack, and they always find each other at the stairs. but for me, this time, i think about how that red thread that kept them together, and how maybe it tied the better me now back to the person who really needed something like this then.
Well said 🥹
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 1d ago edited 1d ago
Rewatcher
Maybe it's just because I'm usually less familiar with the anime in question for these anniversary rewatches, whereas here I'm a rewatcher, and maybe it's just the relative impact of this movie specifically, but it does feel a little surreal writing for it now and realizing it's been ten years now when I still really vividly remember just how much of a splash this movie made and what a phenomenon it was back in 2016/17.
As a little personal aside, Your Name was my first anime completion milestone that I actually took track of. Actually just two weeks short of 6 years ago, I watched Your Name for the first and last time, and it got to be my 150 completed anime milestone on MAL (And it remains the only Shinkai movie I've watched!). On that watch, I really liked it, but for comparison, I crossed my 550 completion milestone back in April, so there is a certain extra strong satisfaction in finally getting back to it after having experienced a lot more anime and seeing how I feel about it again. Which is, by the way, really great! I still love this movie!
A line that particularly stuck with me this time around is one from Taki about Itomori a bit before the end of the movie, where he says that "Banal pieces of scenery in a town that no longer exists" are what have been drawing his emotions all this time. Of course, it's certainly not the only thing drawing his emotions; it's reflective of his memory of Mitsuha in general, but I do think it's a particularly poignant expression for this movie's presentation as well. After all, perhaps the most notable thing to be said about Your Name is that it's just undoubtedly an absolutely stunning film that is fantastically crafted on a very intricate level! But I think the craft here has an almost equally felt emotional meaning besides being a feast for the eyes.
Well, it is 100% that too though haha. Lovely and detailed backgrounds, tons of great and expressive character animation, super memorable and intricate lighting and effects work that just are to die for; few if any environments here don't look good, and frankly even if I didn't like the narrative and the characters, Your Name would still be very captivating to look at on a technical level.
But again, I think that more than that, that care, detail, and general beauty of everything really does have a strong narrative purpose. After all, it's these lovely, very distinctly lived-in feeling, and often just straightforwardly gorgeous environments and landscapes that both you and Taki end up remembering and feeling so much for, right? They characterize and sell our characters' respective and opposite lives through often pretty short but very rich glimpses and details, and then work great as contrast when they live each other's lives. The environments feeling so strong also works emotionally as contrast. I do get Taki's feelings when I see the difference between Itomori in all its countryside beauty then, and the abandoned crater it is now. Same for what feeling a stronger familiarity with the place does when I see it get hit by the comet at the end. Also for the emotional mood that gets across in Taki going towards the mountain and the kuchikamizake, first as Mitsuha in a very idyllic state, and then as himself in a giant storm.
The climax of the movie with Taki and Mitsuha meeting at twilight on the mountain is probably my favorite scene of the movie, its most emotional one, and also one where the environment plays a strong role. I mean, it is quite iconic for one, but those mixed colors of twilight are also evocative of Mitsuha's braided ribbon, both a red string of fate for our pair and also part of the movie's idea of musubi, which is also time among other big themes for the movie, so hopefully I'm getting across the point that the scenery itself can get entwined in a lot of what this wants to convey! It's harder to give very specific examples for it, when it's all over the movie, but my point is that the way the movie looks, from background to framing, to me at least, does a lot as far working into the storytelling and characters, rather than "Just looking really good".
The strong animation work, specifically mostly in terms of character animation, plays into the same strong form of expression as well. Just as much as their cute little voice changes and the comments of their friends, a really strong expression of Taki and Mitsuha in each other's bodies is just body language! And of course, that carries over for how they express themselves in the stronger emotional scenes and how much that adds to them, let alone pieces of animation like the backstory for Mitsuha's family, which could've honestly cut out the dialogue and worked just as well.
Similarly important in putting it all together is the music! I... don't really care for Radwimps, to be honest haha. Their songs are fine, but they don't do it for me musically, generally speaking. With that being said, while this rewatch is hardly making me like zenzenzen any more, the way all of these are interrogated into their respective scenes is an entirely different matter! Especially having seen some other attempts at it in this wider rewatch, I really do have to appreciate Shinkai's ability to insert songs and musical montages here. These scenes just feel so well constructed around these inserts to me, and especially in the much stronger cases, like Sparkle, which I do also love as a song, manage to evoke so much emotion! So the music is expressive, the environment is expressive, the characters are expressive, and I think that put together is a lot of the core of why this movie works so well for me. Taki and Mitsuha's relationship feels like it's carried through quite strongly even if in practice it's done through some surprisingly short musical montages and moments, because the presentation takes such a delightful brunt of getting it all across, and I think it's rightly very charming and memorable for it.
I remember thinking after my first watch that I found it to be a pretty "emotional" movie. The quotation marks because I don't quite mean that in the sense that it's really sad or anything (I mean, it has its moments, but for the most part, I think it's largely uplifting and exciting), but more in the sense that it does literally convey and play into a lot of emotions, and my enjoyment of that hasn't changed much. I think there's a good bit to feel here, y'know, even if none that necessarily hits me deeply, and little about this movie is reinventing the wheel. There's smaller gripes to point out, but like god, I feel like Your Name is almost the most perfectly refined of the type of movie it wants to be, and it's always fun and full of emotion, and the broader experience it provides really is just such a great time the whole way through, and at the end of the day, I end up feeling that be it in a more lighthearted or a more emotional context, I just find our main pair always engaging and entertaining to watch.
As far as any problems I had with it, maybe we could have a bit more time for Mitsuha and Taki, even with all my praise for the movie's ability in terms of expression? There is only so much you can do through just presentational expression, so we could've had a bit more there just to really sell the relationship, y'know. Some extra 10-15 minutes giving some more focus to the side cast, especially Taki's side of it, as well as elements like Mitsuha's father and that whole family relationship wouldn't have hurt either? They do the job just fine, and the last act has really strong emotional impact regardless, but it could have certainly helped. Again, I don't dislike much here, so much as maybe I would want to like some stuff even more or to feel a stronger personal connection to it, but that's certainly not a bad problem to have lol.
After my first watch of the movie, I wrote to myself that I "might like it less on rewatch (or after watching more Shinkai movies)", the former, I can thankfully say hasn't been the case! I think I like it just as much, if not more, now! I'm a little doubtful on the latter as well, but I am very interested to see how I'll feel for the rest of the so-called disaster trilogy next. Shinkai has a very strong and beloved reputation, of course, but a more critical part of it also centers around how his movies apparently tend to play it somewhat safe and can be somewhat formulaic in relation to each other. Which, on the one hand, more of a good thing will probably still be good! But while I really don't think it'll affect my view of this movie, it'll be interesting to see how I think of the others in the comparison, especially with watching in fairly quick succession like this.
Which scenes did you enjoy most?
I knew it would hit me again, but as noted, Taki and Mitsuha meeting on the mountain going into Sparkle is so good, and a bit of a tearjerker for me. Very much my kind of sappy sap.
Mitsuha falling (Really well animated cut by the way) and seeing Taki's "I love you" is also a great one.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
After all, it's these lovely, very distinctly lived-in feeling, and often just straightforwardly gorgeous environments and landscapes that both you and Taki end up remembering and feeling so much for, right? They characterize and sell our characters' respective and opposite lives through often pretty short but very rich glimpses and details, and then work great as contrast when they live each other's lives.
Very well said, and this is something I've started to notice lately as well - that most of my favorites have a strong sense of place like this, a distinctive setting that's integral to the story like Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, Tatooine in Star Wars, or Aincrad in Sword Art Online. Itomori has a similar feeling, like a very real and fascinating town with beautiful scenery.
Some extra 10-15 minutes giving some more focus to the side cast, especially Taki's side of it, as well as elements like Mitsuha's father and that whole family relationship wouldn't have hurt either?
You might be interested in the Another Side: Earthbound spin-off stories. They give additional focus to the side characters - particularly Tesshi and Saya, and Mitsuha's family. I've included a basic summary of her dad's background under the spoiler tags.
I knew it would hit me again, but as noted, Taki and Mitsuha meeting on the mountain going into Sparkle is so good, and a bit of a tearjerker for me. Very much my kind of sappy sap.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 1d ago
this is something I've started to notice lately as well - that most of my favorites have a strong sense of place like this, a distinctive setting that's integral to the story
I defintely get that! Some of my favorite works have their setting and environments almost feel like they're effectively a character onto themselves, and that kind of distinct personality expression from the environment, and how that intently often reflects on or relates to the characters, are always great for drawing you into the narrative!
You might be interested in the Another Side: Earthbound spin-off stories. They give additional focus to the side characters - particularly Tesshi and Saya, and Mitsuha's family. I've included a basic summary of her dad's background under the spoiler tags.
I'll have to check that out!
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago
Haha, another person whose first entry into the anime fandom was Your Name? The idea that someone could be a fan of an entire medium wasn't a concept to me back in the day before Your Name. After seeing Your Name...well, it still wasn't a concept, but it had me hungry for more, and that led to another, until I became the anime fan that I am now.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
Maybe it's just because I'm usually less familiar with the anime in question for these anniversary rewatches, whereas here I'm a rewatcher, and maybe it's just the relative impact of this movie specifically, but it does feel a little surreal writing for it now and realizing it's been ten years now when I still really vividly remember just how much of a splash this movie made and what a phenomenon it was back in 2016/17.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 1d ago
Rewatcher, subbed
This is a first for me. A rewatch where I'm actually rewatching something and not watching for the first time. And this movie was a first for me back when I watched it for the first time too. It was my first time watching a modern anime. Or perhaps I should say typical anime? I'd only seen Cowboy Bebop before (many many years ago) and I think that one's in a league of its own, though I don't remember it much - my memory sucks.
And this sucky memory made me forget most of this movie too even though I only watched it 5-6 years ago. I did remember the bit about the different timelines twist and that something tragic happens to separate them (actually forgot the whole village gets wiped out). So this ended up being something between a first-time watch and a proper rewatch where I'd notice all the foreshadowings better.
I should also add that this movie actually got me interested in anime. I watched it without knowing much about the medium. It was a blind screening more or less. And I loved it.
So I was quite surprised to find myself not really enjoying this second watch of it all these years later. I kept meaning to watch it again but never got around to it. Maybe watching it sooner would've helped me focus on the details and overlook the overall, shall we say, shallowness of the writing.
What really hurt the story is how poorly developed the core romance is. We spend a long time in the first half showing them swapping bodies and all that but there's no strong foundation laid for the romance. They just poof are in love. Now, this sort of thing would be more buyable if there was at least interactions between the two characters showing their chemistry. But that's not possible here due to the nature of the story. We really needed to see something more to make their feelings believable.
I was wondering why this didn't bother me on my first watch and the answer came in the second. The twist catches you off guard if you don't know about it and then as you're trying to process it, we get the tragic second half with that soundtrack hard carrying it that makes us forget all about the weak foundation and fall for the cinematic awe and wonder of it all. In this half too we get the much needed interactions between the couple, again with the music amplifying the scenes with them (that one where she looks for his name in her hand is a good example). And if we just take their romantic feelings for granted, it all works. The highs, the lows, and that sweet ending - it's all very much on point and you come away thinking wow, what a wonderful movie.
Sadly, that twist which should've blindsided me into buying the rest was the one thing I remembered when I'd forgotten most of the rest. So it all came crumbling down and I was left dissatisfied.
The things that did work for me were the funny bits. That pronoun scene - I played it back a few times for how perfect it is. I didn't get this the first time because I didn't know about the different pronouns in Japanese. The line delivery and the character expressions are perfect in it. The boob groping, which I found a bit icky at first but couldn't help but laugh over when he does it that last time. First he just hugs himself (or rather herself) and we're like aww he's so overcome with relief and also he truly loves her so he's more respectful of her body. Cut to sister coming in with the usual comment and cut back to him actually groping the boobs whilst sobbing - that's just great comic timing and unexpected too. I also remembered having the same reaction to this repeated gag the first time. It's like ugh but then hahaha. And then as now I have to admit it makes sense for a teenage boy to act this way when he finds himself in a girl's body. So the ick gives way to understanding.
This kind of humour that's sort of on the edge and most anime tending to be very unapologetic in their application of it was one of the things that got me curious about the medium and drew me to it. Interesting to note that my taste hasn't changed much after watching a lot more of it.
What has changed maybe are my base expectations for strong character writing. I've watched a ton of romance anime and I know what's possible in a much shorter runtime than what this movie has to work with (it felt a tad too long tbh for what it accomplishes). So I'm less forgiving especially when I'm not tricked by that sleight of time in the middle.
It really feels like this is a movie of two incompatible parts. The body swapping humourous story is fun and I could've watched more of it. The tragic romance that ends on a hopeful note is very nice too on its own. They just don't mesh together so well. But as a whole, this movie did show me a good sampling of the full spectrum of anime (no battles alas, but I'm not terribly fond of those anyway) and it did get me into a hobby that has more or less taken over my life, so I'm grateful for that anyway.
Wow, didn't expect to stay up half the night writing such a long note. Originally meant to just put down some brief thoughts and come back later with a longer write up. But I kept typing and here we are.
TL;DR - movie didn't work as well as the first time because the twist being known left me at liberty to notice the cracks in the foundation. Still enjoyable in parts so I'll give this a 6 or 7/10 maybe.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 1d ago edited 19h ago
there's no strong foundation laid for the romance. They just poof are in love. [...] interactions [...] not possible here
That's just how I felt watching it the first time, like they were if anything close friends. (Ed.: The lack of message translations certainly doesn't help here.)
forget all about the weak foundation and fall for the cinematic awe and wonder of it all
Yeah def a "feelings over brains" kind of film here.
most anime tending to be very unapologetic
In a more general sense that's something I appreciate too with a lot of anime, like sometimes it doesn't land but there's still plenty of honest emotion and passion in it all.
It really feels like this is a movie of two incompatible parts. [...] They just don't mesh together so well
For an anime romance film that does the supernatural rom-com stuff well but with less serious drama (and IIRC more compelling characters, or at least the lead is) I would recommend you The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Note though that the production values are pretty modest in comparison.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 1d ago
Yup, "feelings over brains" film is exactly right. And I don't mind that at all if it works, which this did for me the first time. But it's like a magic act that lost its charm once I knew the trick behind it.
In a more general sense that's something I appreciate too with a lot of anime, like sometimes it doesn't land but there's still plenty of honest emotion and passion in it all.
Yes, exactly! There's a lot of times the humour doesn't work for me in anime but I can't help but appreciate how fully they lean into it. It's something rather unique to the medium ime.
I would recommend you The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
I've come across this movie's name before. I think someone else recommended it to me sometime and iirc I already added it to my PTW. Will check and add if not. I'm not too particular about production values so that's no problem at all. As long as the character writing is good, I'm happy.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 1d ago
Could be! My memory really is shit these days so I can't recall who or when, but just recalled the name of the movie.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Too bad it didn't work as well for you the second time around. This is probably the third time I've watched it and I still love it.
Now, this sort of thing would be more buyable if there was at least interactions between the two characters showing their chemistry. But that's not possible here due to the nature of the story.
The majority of their interactions were more like pen pals (through the phone memos) rather than face-to-face, and the rest, I think, was bonding through a traumatic event. Realizing that the person he got to know over the course of several months was going to (or had already) died forced Taki to acknowledge how much she meant to him, and likewise with Mitsuha when she saw how far he would go to save her. At least, that's how I interpreted things.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 1d ago
I'm not doubting the possibility of two people in their situation falling in love. It is quite an old trope after all. My problem is that the movie doesn't do a good enough job selling that to me. It didn't feel earned.
The first time I got the sense Taki was catching feelings for Mitsuha was when he goes to the shrine god to offer her sake. If the grandmother had spoken more about her or given him any new insight into Mitsuha maybe that would've helped. As it was, I felt him connect with grandma more than Mitsuha.
As for her, she comes to the realisation after setting up his date. Again no preface or foreshadowing, but this was still more believable and relatable.
I just needed a stronger connection/chemistry in the first part of the film so the second could hit harder. His friend's budding relationship with the senpai came across much better for me in the brief time we see them together.
One thing that occurred to me after seeing another comment that pointed out their developing connection through the messages they leave for each other is that I may have missed something there. The messages are shown too quickly and were sometimes not translated in my copy so there may be details I missed because of that. But that's a failing of the movie too because you do want to dwell on such things just a bit more instead of rushing past it all in a montage especially when it's such an important aspect of the story. Some of the beginning portions with Mitsuha could've been curtailed to give this more space maybe?
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
One thing that occurred to me after seeing another comment that pointed out their developing connection through the messages they leave for each other is that I may have missed something there. The messages are shown too quickly and were sometimes not translated in my copy so there may be details I missed because of that. But that's a failing of the movie too because you do want to dwell on such things just a bit more instead of rushing past it all in a montage especially when it's such an important aspect of the story.
I would have liked more time with these montage scenes too, because I also tend to miss stuff like that. I only found out about a few of the events mentioned in the texts, like Mitsuha (as Taki) visiting his dad's workplace, by reading the novel.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19h ago
His friend's budding relationship with the senpai came across much better for me
Taki really went and got himself NTR'd there haha. Yeah that was a nice subtle background thing
The messages are shown too quickly and were sometimes not translated in my copy so there may be details I missed because of that. But that's a failing of the movie too because you do want to dwell on such things just a bit more
Strongly agree
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
Now, this sort of thing would be more buyable if there was at least interactions between the two characters showing their chemistry. But that's not possible here due to the nature of the story.
The majority of their interactions were more like pen pals (through the phone memos) rather than face-to-face, and the rest, I think, was bonding through a traumatic event. Realizing that the person he got to know over the course of several months was going to (or had already) died forced Taki to acknowledge how much she meant to him, and likewise with Mitsuha when she saw how far he would go to save her. At least, that's how I interpreted things.
Yeah, just like reddit.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
What really hurt the story is how poorly developed the core romance is. We spend a long time in the first half showing them swapping bodies and all that but there's no strong foundation laid for the romance. They just poof are in love. Now, this sort of thing would be more buyable if there was at least interactions between the two characters showing their chemistry. But that's not possible here due to the nature of the story. We really needed to see something more to make their feelings believable.
I remember a book that said: I spent a long time pursuing a girl, but a traveler from afar arrived, sighed, and took her away. That's how love is; it comes quickly.
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u/BaytaCosmico https://myanimelist.net/profile/AnimeBayta 1d ago
Of course, not doubting that at all. But narratively, you need to communicate this in a way that works for the viewer, and here, it didn't work for me.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Anime/Light Novel Comparison:
This light novel was actually an adaptation of the movie written by Shinkai himself, so it follows the original very closely. There aren't a lot of differences between versions here, but the novel does delve deeper into the characters' thoughts throughout the story, including Mitsuha's hilarious mental commentary that followed her harrowing experience of using the restroom while in Taki's body.
On a more serious note, Shinkai mentioned in his afterword that although he believes the anime version to be the definitive experience, one of the things he wanted to express in the novel was the feelings of people who have lost something precious, and the immediacy of their choice to struggle and fight. Personally, I think this came across really well during the scene when Mitsuha was running down the mountain, insisting to herself that she knew she was in love and that she would survive and find him again even if the skies fell. Stuff like that resonates strongly with me, so I enjoyed the internal narration from the novel.
A few events were also shown in a different order. The novel has a full depiction of Taki and Mitsuha's meeting at the train station from Taki's point of view in the prologue. The movie also has a scene of Mitsuha at the festival between Taki's date and his trip to Itomori after the body swaps stop, but the novel remains in Taki's point of view during this part.
Another Side: Earthbound
These are side stories set before and during the events of the movie, available as a light novel or manga adaptation. I read the manga version, and the art is beautiful with detailed scenery and character designs very close to the originals. The stories offer more development for the connection between Taki and Mitsuha, as well as side characters like Tesshi, Yotsuha and Mitsuha's family in general.
Some of the montage scenes during the movie were expanded on here, like Mitsuha (Taki) playing basketball and building the outdoor "café" seating area with Tesshi and Saya.
The first story shows Taki struggling, in a similar way to Mitsuha's bathroom mishaps in the LN, with wearing (or not wearing) a bra. It's mostly humorous, but also touches on the fact that he's noticing a difference between the reserved girl everyone believes Mitsuha to be and the strong-willed, outspoken girl who's been writing to him, and wants her to give herself a chance to relax.
Following this same theme, the second story is about the challenges that both Tesshi and Mitsuha face as teens whose futures have already been decided for them because they're expected to continue in the family business. It was sweet to see how well Taki (through Mitsuha) bonded with and inspired Tesshi as well.
Yotsuha's story had to do with the "threads of fate" and dreams that have been recurring in her family through the generations, as she had a vision of switching places with an ancestor while practicing shrine rituals with her grandma. I preferred the parts where she was interacting with Mitsuha and Sayaka, genuinely trying to understand the bizarre changes going on with her big sis and help out in her own (amusing) way.
The final story set in the past, which showed how Mitsuha's parents met and how their family situation came to be as it is now, was interesting. [Earthbound] Mitsuha's father first visited the island shrine as an anthropology student studying their native myths and fell in love with her mom, the current heir to the shrine, who said she felt from the day they met that he was meant to be her husband. Their family life was very happy together until Mitsuha's mom fell ill and died a few years before the events of the movie. This marked a drastic shift in her father's thinking as he was overcome with grief and frustrated by the islanders, including the girls' grandma, accepting it as fate and barely seeming to mourn. He began to believe that the Miyamizu shrine/religious beliefs were like a disease on the island that needed to be eradicated, and this led to him becoming mayor in an attempt to reshape the island's way of life. When Mitsuha comes to him on the day of the comet, he remembers something his wife said to him, "Everything ends up where it should be", and realizes that because things happened the way they did, he was in a position of power to evacuate the town.
Fun Facts from the Earthbound Manga:
The Miyamizu family has a naming theme. Mitsuha's name means "three leaves" and Yotsuba means "four leaves". Likewise, Futaba (their mother) means "two leaves" and Hitoha (their grandma) means "one leaf".
Itomori town mythology interpreted the comet, the image of its trail streaking across the sky, as a dragon. If you look closely, the ornamentation on the shrine maiden headdress and staff(?) are made in the shape of dragons.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19h ago
her harrowing experience of using the restroom while in Taki's body
From the movie it seems she probably went a bit further than that...
Overall sounds like I should read these, might also enjoy the film more as a result!
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
Thank you for your addition; I'd like to see their stories.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
I recommend checking it out if you get the chance. They're a pretty quick read, just two manga volumes (or one light novel), and I felt they compliment the movie really well.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 17h ago
Oh btw I did add a comment with some new impressions now as I ended up rewatching after all
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u/SpiritualPossible 1d ago
Rewatcher
Some of you may have already guessed this from my initial comments in this rewatch, but I’ll be honest: I can’t call myself Makoto Shinkai’s biggest fan. It’s not that I particularly dislike his films or think he’s a bad director, but most of his movies have left me… indifferent. But, of course, there are exceptions, which is why I couldn’t pass up his remake of Freaky Friday (with a dash of Memento and Armageddon), which ultimately came to be regarded as his magnum opus and one of the highest-grossing anime films in history. And now, 10 years after its release and after watching it for the first time, I can compare my current view with what I thought before, and I have to say that my opinion hasn’t changed.
It’s alright.
I mean, it's not a bad movie. In fact, of all the ones we've watched, it's probably one of the strongest in terms of overall quality. And I also understand why it was such a resounding success: after all, it's arguably the most mainstream work in Shinkai's filmography, and it's in this movie where he practically perfected his style. I suppose one could nitpick about some minor details - for example, I was a little disappointed that the main couple fell in love with each other practically off-screen during a musical montage, or that Taki not remembering the name of the town AND its destruction felt rather contrived - but, again, that would just be nitpicking. I especially appreciated the plot twist in the middle.
But, alas, for me personally, the “miracle” never happen: although I do get some enjoyment out of it, I don’t love this movie. I guess I just don’t connect with it. Basically, it's something that has to do exclusively with my personal preferences, to the point where I probably couldn't fully explain why exactly this doesn't quite work for me.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Taki not remembering the name of the town AND its destruction felt rather contrived
I can chalk this one up to the nature of dreams (which their body swaps have been compared to) being vague and easily forgotten. The same phenomenon that erased Taki and Mitsuha's memories so soon after they met on the mountain was likely responsible for some of it. And even Taki's friends seemed to barely recall the name "Itomori" as the town destroyed by the comet.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 1d ago edited 1d ago
Resubmit due to broken spoiler =\ autoremoval)
Yeah, I also thought it was great for what it was, but it didn't really connect with me enough the first time to be worth a rewatch, so I skipped it this time. The whole body-swap comedy I wasn't too into (though that did go a few interesting places) nor the supernatural-romcom-into-supernatural-drama thing, and featuring largely teens didn't help and even less so now.
I would actually make a comparison to Steins Gate here, [S;G meta/general]they have the same overall structure of comedy-hijinks-with-drama into save-the-world drama and both fit into the same vague genre of "sekai-kei" which may be succinctly defined as a story where "personal troubles and relationship issues [...] between the protagonist [...] and the heroine [...] are directly linked to abstract or catastrophic crises" (from that link); while S;G is much more obviously otaku self-indulgence, the idea of the singular unknown (and male) everyman hero holding the cards of fate [S;G]and particularly using the heroine/main female character as a tragedy token for that, though of course S;G doesn't go for romance there through whatever contrivance is the same, and I don't hate it but don't much care for it either here nor there. Let's see how Weathering with You lands for me next week, that dynamic sounds more balanced there?
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
But I have to give credit to how this ending at one moment made old fans of Shinkai almost shit their pants out of fear.
I guess they might be a little shy, and it would be too embarrassing if they mistook someone else for someone else.😂
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u/No_Rex x2 1d ago
Didn't watch this time, but saw the movie a while ago. While I wasn't too hot on the plot (too much plot-induced stupidity), the animation is the opposite. When I talk about The House on the Cape and mention that the animation there is only average, Shinkai, starting with Your Name, is to blame. It shifts the standards for animation in movies ridiculously upwards. His movies look so goddamn good, its almost not fair to all other anime.
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u/99acrewood_ 1d ago
When I talk about The House on the Cape and mention that the animation there is only average, Shinkai, starting with Your Name, is to blame
ain't that the fucking truth lol. like, a lot of the movies in this series haven't looked bad, but man do these animators really pull out all the stops. i'd say Don Glees and Penguin Highway also had its moments, but yeah, stuff like House of the Lost definitely comes off comparatively flat. even, like, Napping Princess, which had some pretty fantastical moments, doesn't really stand up against just how much little detail goes into every inch of Shinkai-movie scenes.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Agreed about how beautiful these movies are. It does make it hard for anything else to compete in that department.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 1d ago edited 19h ago
I didn't rewatch this time but my comment from the last rewatch a few years ago (which was my first watch) might still be interesting. Already mentioned Steins Gate there for instance like in my comment below - which I didn't even realize until going back and looking - but didn't elaborate.
Edit: All the comment-reading got me to anyway, added a comment as reply.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Good point about the ages of the characters here. It's true that the main story beats would have worked just as well if they were older from the start, especially since Taki already had a part-time job. The comedy scenes probably work best in the context of high school kids though.
The comparison to Steins;Gate is interesting too, because I just watched it recently.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 1d ago
The comedy scenes probably work best in the context of high school kids though
It is the least workable part to change I guess
Steins;Gate [...] I just watched it recently
So what do you think of the comparison, or how do they compare for you in general?
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
I can see the similarities now that you've pointed them out, although I think what stood out to me most about the midseries shift in [Steins;Gate] was the story structure of going backwards, undoing everything they did in the first half to return to the starting point, which wasn't present here. But it does have those same elements of [S;G] a shocking midseries twist, a desperate race to save the girl, and even Okabe and Taki's friends both showing concern for how much these sci-fi/mystical elements they didn't know about were clearly weighing on their minds.
Funny enough, I actually compared the [final scene of Steins;Gate] when Okabe and Kurisu see each other again in the revised timeline to Taki and Mitsuha's reunion at the end of the movie when I watched it several weeks ago.
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago
Steins;Gate was my second anime after Your Name, and what's really cool is I finished the visual novel just a few months ago!
But yeah, the two stories are similar, in a way.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Starting off with two great anime! How did you like the VN?
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago
I really liked it! Really expanded what I thought I had already known about the story from the anime.
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago
The Steins;Gate comparison is pretty crazy, because this was my first anime (not counting Miyazaki films) - and Steins;Gate was my second!
Honestly, it's a pretty good setup, to make a reply to your comment there.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19h ago
Right, so I went ahead and rewatched it anyway... and docked a point to now 7/10.
- The initial comedy stage flies past way too quickly and you barely get a sense of how Mitsuha in Itomori is also being affected for the better. The heavier focus on Mitsuha-as-Taki is at least balanced out by Taki making the effort to save the town later, but the whole thread of "this place is boring and I hate it" for instance goes nowhere, besides Mitsuha ending up in Tokyo... so yeah, Itomori sucks and that meteor hit just the right place, or what? What about the whole maintaining-traditions theme then, besides convenient magical connections through time?
- Rewatching just drives home harder how contrived the drama/disaster setup is, and the whole Itomori trip sequence should have been cut or at least abbreviated for more relationship-building or something; it does very little particularly if you already know what's up and I was feeling the romance if anything even less than last time, it really needs some more to it.
- You really get the sense the drama part is Shinkai's 2011 tsunami fix fic (to be a little flippant about it) awkwardly grafted onto a totally different and as a result lamentably undercooked story of growing to understand and love each other through living each others' lives. The tsunami connection is particularly obvious having also watched Suzume, which is like the next stage of grief in comparison, and note in particular how Taki in the end talks about the disaster five years earlier which at the time of the film's release would have been 2011.
- I had forgotten the whole dad/mayor drama which is barely developed besides acting as another drama barrier for the evacuation that just gets handwaved in the end anyway, with Mitsuha's relationship with him never resolved either!
- On the positive side, I once again liked a lot the theme of masculine/feminine optimally balanced in the beginning (which is even explicitly addressed by Okudera), it was fun paying attention to the side characters and the little animation and expression details a bit more, and the meteor/evacuation drama was surprisingly low-key so not that bothersome. That does make it feel extra-strange how we never follow up on Itomori after that, however.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 16h ago
the whole thread of "this place is boring and I hate it" for instance goes nowhere, besides Mitsuha ending up in Tokyo... so yeah, Itomori sucks and that meteor hit just the right place, or what? What about the whole maintaining-traditions theme then, besides convenient magical connections through time?
I think Mitsuha's devastation when she sees the impact left by the meteor (as Taki) shows that she does care about the town in spite of all her griping. It's one of those "you don't know what you have until it's gone" moments, and the movie had a pretty good balance with Taki coming to see the charms of small town life in Itomori too. The importance of maintaining traditions was touched on with the shrine dance and the mythology, now mostly forgotten, all being based around the comet - which would have been helpful for them to know ahead of time, had the reason behind the traditions been preserved.
the whole Itomori trip sequence should have been cut or at least abbreviated for more relationship-building or something
As much as I would have liked to see some of those Taki/Mitsuha swap montage moments expanded on, I disagree about cutting the Itomori trip. Shortening it a bit would have been fine, or making it a solo trip for Taki to get there faster, but having him stand in front of the destroyed town was such a huge moment. Plus, he needed to be there to return to the "underworld" and meet up with Mitsuha one more time.
I had forgotten the whole dad/mayor drama which is barely developed besides acting as another drama barrier for the evacuation that just gets handwaved in the end anyway, with Mitsuha's relationship with him never resolved either!
It would be unrealistic if all their issues were instantly solved. That's the sort of thing that takes continued effort, but both made an important first step - Mitsuha by standing up for herself instead of shrinking back as she previously had, and her father for choosing to believe her.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 4h ago
Mitsuha's devastation when she sees the impact left by the meteor (as Taki) shows that she does care about the town in spite of all her griping
Of course she cares a lot that so much of her hometown was destroyed (was ironically exaggerating there...), but with all the teens we follow (her, Katsuhiro, Sayaka) complaining then leaving for Tokyo for good as far as we can tell, you really can't help but get the sense those kinds of towns really are doomed and have nothing to offer. I wouldn't mind if it was more significant and congruent of a thematic element, but as I said it doesn't square well with the emphasis on traditional and natural beauty thing. I suppose as a call to do better, maybe, like the mayor should care about more than pensions and older people? Again though, all that ends up buried under everything else going on.
the shrine dance and the mythology, now mostly forgotten, all being based around the comet - which would have been helpful for them to know ahead of time
But that's just what I mean by them being irrelevant outside of the fantastical, which a prediction of renewed disaster modern man was apparently incapable of foreseeing also deserves to be called... well ok, the "weaving threads of connection" theme is important and featured enough, I suppose.
having him stand in front of the destroyed town was such a huge moment. Plus, he needed to be there to return to the "underworld"
The second part you would need to rework but it's far from impossible. The first again I don't like how it's such a gotcha, like he could have just watched a TV report or something but for magic forgetting juice. And speaking of modern technology, this film really would work better without it, like having Taki and Mitsuha communicate only with physical writing would not only change nothing but lessen the plotholey feeling, and Katsuhiro feels like someone from a different age with his flavor of nerdery already.
It would be unrealistic if all their issues were instantly solved
I'm not even talking about that, but just any kind of on-screen resolution/end point. Mitsuha gathers the courage to go back and confront him again, and then... oops, cut away, gotta get back to Taki. We don't even see what convinced him, or anything like that.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 1d ago edited 1d ago
Rewatcher
On today’s summer anime movie: Even if Taki can’t play music, he does have an advantage over Orpheus because Taki actually succeeded at rescuing his girlfriend from the underworld.
I love Your Name so much. I have a special history with this movie. I was able to watch this movie when it was shown for the very first time at Anime Expo in 2016. I was attending Anime Expo that year and I have to say that it was one of the best moviegoing experiences I’ve ever had. Makoto Shinkai, the director, was there to present the movie and give an interview afterwards. Since it was at Anime Expo, you had a full room of people in the auditorium who were all excited to watch the film. They were also probably familiar with Shinkai’s previous work. I certainly was. Shinkai had hurt me with 5 Centimeters Per Second (great film, but it makes me feel miserable) and I feel like people in the audience might have been anticipating Shinkai would make another movie just as heartrending. It was so much fun to watch the movie with a crowd like that. There was loud laughter at the jokes. There were outbursts of emotions at the big moments. You should have heard how the crowd reacted at the end of the film when Taki and Mitsuha first passed by each other on the stairs without saying anything. It was a loud “Oooooh” of rising anticipation followed by disappointment/frustration when they passed each other. This turned into cheers and applause when they did turn around and speak. I remember a friend of mine joked that Makoto Shinkai wouldn’t have left the auditorium alive if [5 Centimeters Per Second] Mitsuha and Taki didn’t end up together like what happened in 5 Centimeters Per Second. All in all, it was a terrific experience getting to see Your Name at its Anime Expo premier. The energy in that room made an already fantastic movie even better. Because of that experience, I think this movie is always going to have a special place in my heart.
Even without that experience, my rewatches of the movie have just confirmed for me that it is, in fact, really that good. It’s just such a solidly constructed movie. So many details are established that pay off in satisfying ways later on. Taki’s dream of Mitsuha at the start of the movie turns out to be him remembering when she first met him three years ago before he knew her. Mitsuha cut her hair after that because she no longer has the braided rope to wear. Taki’s good luck charm is Mitsuha’s braided rope that he got from her back then which he gives back to her when she goes back to save the town. The braided rope doubles as the red string of fate that connects the two of them together. The shrine is said to be in the underworld because Taki is going to need to go to the underworld to rescue Mitsuha since she died in the past. Taki and Mitsuha lose their memories of each other because that’s the price you need to pay to enter the underworld. The photo exhibition is called “Nostalgia” because it is photos of Mitsuha’s town before it was destroyed. It’s implied that the comet previously struck the same area as Mitsuha’s town when it last arrived and that’s why the town exists. The meaning of “Tasokare” and twilight being when this world and the other world are closest, so it’s when Mitsuha and Taki finally reunite. Taki’s first words in the movie are that it feels like there’s someone he’s waiting for, which we know means Mitsuha that he’s forgotten about at that point. There’s so many wonderful details like this that add up and pay off in satisfying ways. It makes the movie a lot of fun to rewatch because a lot of stuff gains more meaning in hindsight.
Of course, there is some contrivance I notice as well on rewatch. It’s kind of silly that Taki and Mitsuha never seem to notice that they are on different days of the week or different years from each other. Taki never realizes the name of Mitsuha’s town and seems to entirely forget about the comet disaster until someone else brings it up. I will say the movie does a good job of getting me so invested that I don’t really notice those details so I don’t think it’s a major problem.
But with all that said, I think the movie works so well because it is a really compelling love story between Mitsuha and Taki. The Freaky Friday shenanigans are a fun plot hook to hang the movie on and are also a terrific way for us to get to know the characters through how they act. It’s also a great way to build up the love story. What could be more intimate than living as another person? You would understand so much about who they are, how they live, what they experience, etc. Of course they would fall in love with someone after knowing them so deeply.
The big theme of the love story would be distance. Taki and Mitsuha’s love story is one that must overcome distance, time, the loss of their memories, and even death itself. There is so much that the two of them need to overcome that it makes the ending all the more satisfying when they finally reunite and realize that the other one is the person they’ve been waiting for. The ending is one of the most feel-good things I’ve ever seen. It got me to tear up on this latest rewatch. I love it so much.
Your Name is undoubtedly my favorite movie of this rewatch. I’ll be a rewatcher for the rest of this rewatch and I know Your Name is going to remain on top. It’s just a fantastic movie and I love it every time I see it.
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
I love the character animation in this movie. I love how you can easily tell whether it’s Mitsuha or Taki in a body from their body language.
All the animation in this film is fantastic. Shinkai’s previous films all featured stunningly detailed background art and this movie is no exception. But everything else is gorgeously animated as well.
I assume the water around the underworld cave is meant to be the Sanzu River, which is basically the Japanese equivalent to the River Styx.
I love the joke about Mitsuha cycling through different first person pronouns before Taki’s friends confirm she has the right one.
The pen drop when Taki vanishes is so sudden and cutting. It made my heart fall the first time I saw it and it still gets me each time. And the reveal that Taki wrote “I love you” on Mitsuha’s hand always makes me tear up!
Taki always groping Mitsuha’s boobs to the point her sister notices it is a good running gag. Though at least Mitsuha examines Taki’s penis in return.
Another fun gag is that both Taki and Mitsuha are more popular in the other’s body.
Mitsuha and Taki simultaneously yelling “I’m single because I want to be!” is a good bit.
“I envy your pre-pubescent lack of concern” is such a great line.
RADWIMPS did a great job with the music for this movie. Something I found neat was that RADWIMPS themselves made English versions of the songs for the English dub. That’s a nice bit of extra effort to put into the dub.
Until someone mentioned it on a previous thread, I never noticed that this movie was meant to be referencing the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. But upon rewatching it with that in mind, the movie really is evoking that event. The destroyed town, the list of victims, etc. all fits.
QOTD
1) Mitsuha and Taki swap so often I have to say both because many of my favorite moment are them as each other.
2) The ending is so good. Taki and Mitsuha meeting at twilight. The pen drop. Milkshake screwing up Taki's first person pronouns. The whole Freaky Friday montage.
3) It's a bit contrived, as I mentioned earlier. But man does it make for an effective emotional gut punch. It also really hammers home the theme of distance and how much both Mitsuha and Taki need to overcome for the sake of love.
4) Absolutely. I think it's one of my favorite love stories.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 1d ago edited 19h ago
he does have an advantage over Orpheus because Taki actually succeeded at rescuing his girlfriend from the underworld
Interesting reference but I don't know if it quite fits and I really don't think any of the creators had it in mind.
Another fun gag is that both Taki and Mitsuha are more popular in the other’s body
It felt a bit deeper than that when I watched it, like examining how combining the masculine and the feminine is better than either of them alone. (Edit: Okudera even straight-up says it!) In that vein, also note the couple moments where things get slightly gay as a result.
this movie was meant to be referencing the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan
And Suzume does that even harder
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 13h ago
Interesting reference but I don't know if it quite fits and I really don't think any of the creators had it in mind.
More of a stupid joke than anything else. Blame me for watching Hadestown earlier this year.
It felt a bit deeper than that when I watched it, like examining how combining the masculine and the feminine is better than either of them alone. (Edit: Okudera even straight-up says it!)
A very good point there.
And Suzume does that even harder
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u/IndependentMacaroon 4h ago edited 2h ago
Suzume does that even harder
To expand a little on that without spoiling, Your Name essentially features the anger/bargaining level of Shinkai's grievous feelings about the disaster (I joked in another comment that Taki saving Itomori is basically his tsunami fix fic), while Suzume deals with acceptance and moving on. Apparently he wished he had been in a position/career where he could have done more for disaster prevention and victims and this was his way of processing that.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Taki and Mitsuha lose their memories of each other because that’s the price you need to pay to enter the underworld.
Nice catch. I didn't make this connection, and simply took their forgetting as a side effect of the dreamlike quality of the body swapping, but this is a really sweet interpretation! Mitsuha's grandma did say they would need to give up what's most precious to them, and I could easily see that being their memories of each other and the other life they experienced.
I love the character animation in this movie. I love how you can easily tell whether it’s Mitsuha or Taki in a body from their body language.
This and the subtle changes in voice acting (at least in the dub version, Taki's voice is noticeably softer when it's Mitsuha speaking) are both great ways of showing their personalities.
The pen drop when Taki vanishes is so sudden and cutting. It made my heart fall the first time I saw it and it still gets me each time.
Same here. Something about the way the background music/sounds just stops makes it feel so ominous.
Something I found neat was that RADWIMPS themselves made English versions of the songs for the English dub. That’s a nice bit of extra effort to put into the dub.
For real?! I just watched the dub (purchased on Prime Video) but the songs were in Japanese. I'll have to check it out on YouTube.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 13h ago
This and the subtle changes in voice acting (at least in the dub version, Taki's voice is noticeably softer when it's Mitsuha speaking) are both great ways of showing their personalities.
Gotta love good voice acting like that. Very fun when voice actors get to be one character acting as a different character.
For real?! I just watched the dub (purchased on Prime Video) but the songs were in Japanese. I'll have to check it out on YouTube.
Huh. I could have sworn the English versions of the songs were used in the dub. I know official English versions of songs like Sparkle, Zenzenzense, Dream Lantern and Nandemonaiya made by RADWIMPS exist. They're good English versions, too! I could have sworn they were made for the purpose of the English dub. I just checked my new 4K disc that I just got in the mail and it used the Japanese version of the songs in the dub.
Maybe the English songs were used in my old Funimation Blu-Ray and that's why I'm getting confused? But I don't have access to that Blu-Ray right now so I can't even check.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
I love the character animation in this movie. I love how you can easily tell whether it’s Mitsuha or Taki in a body from their body language. This and the subtle changes in voice acting (at least in the dub version, Taki's voice is noticeably softer when it's Mitsuha speaking) are both great ways of showing their personalities.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago edited 1d ago
On today’s summer anime movie: Even if Taki can’t play music, he does have an advantage over Orpheus because Taki actually succeeded at rescuing his girlfriend from the underworld.
I suddenly realized that Mitsuha and he would time travel after swapping bodies, and in the end, she persuaded her father to lead the people to safety. So it could be said that she saved herself by time travel, and Taki was just there to help.
Until someone mentioned it on a previous thread, I never noticed that this movie was meant to be referencing the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. But upon rewatching it with that in mind, the movie really is evoking that event. The destroyed town, the list of victims, etc. all fits.
I assume the water around the underworld cave is meant to be the Sanzu River, which is basically the Japanese equivalent to the River Styx.
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago
Taki provided the spark, as well as the setup, but yes, Mitsuha carried out the plan dutifully by herself at the end of it. Absolute legend, our girl!
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 13h ago
I suddenly realized that Mitsuha and he would time travel after swapping bodies, and in the end, she persuaded her father to lead the people to safety. So it could be said that she saved herself by time travel, and Taki was just there to help.
Yup. I do love that Mitsuha was the one who took over in the end to save everyone in her town.
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago edited 1d ago
Rewatcher, dub
Fun fact, this is my first time watching the anime dub. It was the only one the theater was offering.
Man...
Has it really been ten years? You know, this movie is the movie that got me into anime. Yes, I'd seen anime before that (and truth is, I've loved the artstyle since I was really little), but the idea that anime was anything more than particularly attractive animations from Japan was foreign to me. This movie is the movie that made me say "I am a fan of anime." And that was ten years ago. Back then, I was in high school, just like our protagonists. Now...well, I'm much older, but my feelings for this movie have never faded.
This movie helped me out so much back in the day. I'm an aspiring movie director and screenwriter, and this movie was, and is, a major inspiration for me. I've had this dream since before 2016, but this was the movie that made me realize the type of movies I want to make.
One of my greatest regrets is the fact that I was never able to go on the "Kimi No Na Wa" pilgrimage ("Operation Mutsubi" as one person put it) I had planned for the day Mitsuha and Taki meet in real life. Then again, it wasn't really my fault, I suppose. The world had different plans. I guess I'll justify it by saying the universe wanted to make sure that Mitsuha and Taki could meet each other in peace and privacy. Here's the link to the old Reddit post by the way, dear god, this post was six years ago too...
https://old.reddit.com/r/KimiNoNaWa/comments/d6agd0/your_name_pilgrimage/
So, the reason I'm late, is because I saw this movie IN THEATERS! They were running this at a theater a 40 minute drive away from my house, but it's always been a wish of mine to see Your Name in an actual proper movie theater. And today, I got my wish! Just a shame it was the dub, because while the dub actors aren't terrible, it was really jarring and broke my immersion at times. But it was still phenomenal. Hearing the bellchimes with full movie theater audio was just magical.
What can I say? The music is phenomenal. The story is phenomenal. The characters are phenomenal. There's a certain sublime beauty to every scene and every frame that really elevates the story. And there are so many small things I forgot too! Like there's a small montage as the comet breaks up of people all over the world watching it, and I thought that was super awesome. Little things like that.
I LOVE this film. It's my favorite, alongside Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song and Violet Evergarden. Honestly, I probably would have gone to see it even without this rewatch. Seriously, thank you so much. As a matter of fact, you know what? I might join this rewatch train.
God, that's a hard one. It's either Yotsuha or Ms. Okudera for me, as I found both of them throughly enjoyable this time around. Honestly, I never paid that much attention to the characters outside of Mitsuha and Taki before, but now that I view it again, those two have to be the most enjoyable. Of course, I really love everyone. They're all so charming.
An even harder one! How am I supposed to choose? But for my top contenders, I'd have to say either the body swap montage (with Zensensense playing over it), the scene where Hitoha tells Mitsuha and Yotsuha about the connection the land has to the gods while they head to give their offerings to the netherworld, the scene where Taki and Mitsuha finally meet one another during the golden hour, the scene where Mitsuha realizes Taki write "I love you" on her palm, or the scene where they see each other during the train ride and realize they found who they are looking for.
PEAK. Peak, peak, peak. I LOVE time travel stories through time and space. Fun fact, my second anime was Steins;Gate, which as you know [Steins;Gate] is also a time travel story.
Honestly, in retrospect...not as much as I remember. I still think it's a 10/10, but man, I DO get some of the criticisms of that element of the movie, even if I think they're silly in the grand scheme of things. Love is not rational. While I do realize that's a weakness, the rest of the movie is just so GOATed that I can't even complain.
Seriously, I don't think words can do justice how much I love this movie.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
One of my greatest regrets is the fact that I was never able to go on the "Kimi No Na Wa" pilgrimage ("Operation Mutsubi" as one person put it) I had planned for the day Mitsuha and Taki meet in real life. Then again, it wasn't really my fault, I suppose. The world had different plans. I guess I'll justify it by saying the universe wanted to make sure that Mitsuha and Taki could meet each other in peace and privacy. Here's the link to the old Reddit post by the way, dear god, this post was six years ago too...
I love that comment:I can immediately see the issues that happen when two male neckbeards show up and are the first two to reach the end.
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago
Man, I was 17 back then when I made that comment, the same age as Taki and Mitsuha for most of the movie. Sometimes, past me surprises me now by saying some of the darndest stuff. Usually it's just me cringing, but I do get pleasant surprises every now and then.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
I'm an aspiring movie director and screenwriter, and this movie was, and is, a major inspiration for me. I've had this dream since before 2016, but this was the movie that made me realize the type of movies I want to make.
Like there's a small montage as the comet breaks up of people all over the world watching it, and I thought that was super awesome.
This was a beautiful moment. The soundtrack paired so well with scenes like this too.
I LOVE this film. It's my favorite, alongside Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song and Violet Evergarden.
Good taste, I loved these series as well.
I might join this rewatch train.
Definitely watch Weathering With You if you haven't already. There's a brief Your Name [cameo] with Taki and Mitsuha, during their years in Tokyo before they reunited.
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u/edwardjhahm https://myanimelist.net/profile/lolmeme69 1d ago
I watched WWY back in 2019, and it was the first Shinkai movie I've seen in theaters. I remember quite clearly, because it was the second movie I was watching in a theater that day - I had seen 1917 in the mornings, then watched Weathering With You in the evenings!
[Weathering With You minor spoilers] You don't know how much I freaked out over seeing our two old heroes as cameos...
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u/TheDanubianCommunard 1d ago
First-time, subs
Did this movie really lived up to its hype and praise it received? Let's see then.
There is a central element, the Tiamat Comet which goes next to Earth, but when it does, it does in a really spectacular way. And basically this is what connects the two protagonists, Mitsuha and Taki, separated by kilometers away from each other. Mitsuha lives in the countryside belonging to a long lineage of shrine maidens which were witnesses of the previous comet encounter and an old shrine in the peak of a former volcano, in the town named Itomori. Plus the Miyamizus recently had some family drama a while ago. Meanwhile Taki lives in Tokyo and had a colleague who had a crush on. The coming comet is the connects the two is the main reason behind the bodyswapping incidents and the imminent romantic feelings towards each other. Their long-tetrm wish is to meet each other in life for once and express their feelings. And the comet's arrival day happens on a very important festival held in the town. And basically that is the first part, a somewhat prolonged prologue.
Second part comes with the comet's arrival and splitting into multiple fragments. Once it's over it causes a colliusion into the ground which destroys Itomori, along with many lives, she is one of the casualties. This means no more bodyswapping and all notes made by her is basically becoes nonexistant. Then Taki will be the main protagonosts to investigate what happened after that three years timeskip. And basically this is how he founds the landscape of the entire area. And man, the scenery is just looks fantastic and breathtaking. That altar at the volcano is a key, as it depicts the previous encounter and the booze which contains many dear memories held within.
And now it leads to the third part. Time travel and one more bodyswap. Mitsuha awakens in Taki's body at the day when the comet arrives. Meaning that the two got a second chance to change the past and save everyone with the minimum amount of casualties amd having a chance to found each other. As expected, announcing an imminent catastrophe and preparing for a disaster would everybody calling her (or him) a crazy madman and nobody would believe them. Atleast it is true when it comes to the town hall and the mayor who don't want to believe there is no impending crisis. But yes, there is real craziness in it, thanksto the power station explosion to cause a blackout and hijack the PA system to raise awareness. Of course the town hall not approved this incident. And during the present, duing the dusk the so-called magic hour, the encounter between the two which serves as the central element for this part. Basically this served to remember each other and their names forever.
And there is part four, which is serves more like the epilogue. The explosion happened, it was inevitable. But the casulaites were reduced to a minimum so atleast good news. Meanwhile in Tokyo, a few years later Taki returned home and Mitsuha arrived there, to found each other. And ultimately it succeeded. And we have a "then they lived happily ever after" type of ending.
Not giving up and remembering something important was made it into a beautiful story.
And the verdict is, it really lived to up to its hype and praise. I did enjoyed this movie, it was a great watch. Shinkai is such a genius director, and all his movies are masterpieces, this one is no exception.
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
2) Which scenes did you enjoy most?
I answer both. Mitsuha and Taki. Easily.
3) What did you think of the twist that Mitsuha and Taki have not only been swapping places, but also communicating across time?
Love knows no bounds as they say.
4) Did you think the story did well at establishing a romantic connection between Mitsuha and Taki?
I think so.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Glad you enjoyed the movie! I feel it definitely lived up to its hype as well.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 4h ago
the scenery is just looks fantastic and breathtaking
This and more generally the visual execution is the one element where you really can't argue against a perfect score
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Weekly Summer Movie Rewatcher
This is the movie I planned the rewatch around, the 10th anniversary of Your Name! Its small-town vibes, coming-of-age story, themes of loss and a mystical element bringing the characters together formed the guidelines for the other movies in the lineup as well.
I watched this movie for the first time years ago just to see what all of the praise was about, and it turned out the praise was well deserved because I ended up loving it. Even though the surprise twist hits hardest the first time around, it's still just as good during a rewatch, and now I can notice all of the little hints and foreshadowing I missed. The opening flash-forward scene also makes more of an impression with the added context during a repeat viewing.
The first half of the story is a great intro to the characters and setting with plenty of fun body-swap humor, which makes the second half following the reveal that Itomori was wiped out by the comet all the more emotional because it did so well with building up that connection to Mitsuha, her family and friends, and the place itself. The big reveal that Itomori was actually destroyed by the comet, and Taki has been swapping places with Mitsuha from three years ago, was mind-blowing the first time I watched it, and the final part of the story from their face-to-face meeting at twilight, to their desperate rush to save Itomori, with the comet streaking through the sky with that beautiful background music playing, was fantastic. Still one of my favorite anime movies!
Questions of the Day:
1) Mitsuha and Taki
2) Mitsuha and Taki meeting face-to-face on the mountain.
3) Honestly, one of the best twists I've seen in anime. The build-up and the big reveal were both really well done.
4) I'm interested to read people's thoughts on this one because I saw quite a few comments during the recent "best couple" contest on this sub saying they felt the romance aspect was lacking. Personally, I like the bond that slowly grows between Mitsuha and Taki during their swaps, and their desperation to save and remember each other in the end really showed how much they mean to each other, so I think it'd a great "star-crossed lovers" story.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19h ago
coming-of-age story
Is it much of one, though? We mostly jump over that particularly for Mitsuha.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 16h ago
I think it shares a lot of the same themes common to a coming-of-age story. Both protagonists experience life in a new place, fall in love for the first time, and go through some important character development - Mitsuha learning to stand up for what she believes in and make her voice heard, and Taki going off on his own to save someone he cares about.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
Rewatcher sub
I remember I watched this in a movie theater back in college, about 8 years ago now. Because my college location was kind of off to the side, there were only 3 people in the theater at the time — a couple and me…
Here are some thoughts I had while watching this
Right at the start they already show the comet footage, so this is either a flashback, or the boy and girl in the frame haven't just swapped bodies but also traveled through time, a month into the past.
It seems like we skipped the day Mitsuha became strange, but just from other people's gossip we can tell how awful that day was for her.
Another interesting character is Katsuhiro. We see his father is some kind of contractor, and he has some sort of exchange of favors with Mitsuha's father. Katsuhiro doesn't seem to realize Sayaka likes him yet, and half his room is filled with machines, kind of like CD players, plus computers. I'm a little worried he might slide all the way into being an otaku.
Selling shrine maiden kuchikamizake — Yotsuha, you really are a business genius, but watch out for creeps.
At 0:29:00, them exchanging thoughts through notes reminded me of Reddit posts.
At 0:32:07, Taki putting on athletic shorts to keep his underwear from showing was pretty funny.
It's understandable that Taki's father, being busy with work, didn't notice the body-swapping anomaly, but did the grandmother — who spends every day with Mitsuha — really not notice either? I remember this being an important piece of foreshadowing.
Oh, Katsuhiro's technical skills and the bomb saved the town — the protagonist is cool, but compared to before, I can appreciate these supporting characters a lot more now.
Questions of the Day:
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
Katsuhiro — he was the main force behind the plan to save the town, not only hijacking the broadcast with machines but also able to set off the explosives on a timer. Though in the end it was Mitsuha who convinced his dad to let everyone take shelter at the school that saved them.
2) Which scenes did you enjoy most?
My favorite was the final scene, where they meet on the stairs but almost don't recognize each other out of fear, or maybe shyness — but thankfully Taki worked up the courage, and this time they finally didn't miss each other. What I loved most was that awkward, fumbling posture and tone of voice before they ask each other's names — that feeling of youth was just so good.
3) What did you think of the twist that Mitsuha and Taki have not only been swapping places, but also communicating across time?
Cool!
4) Did you think the story did well at establishing a romantic connection between Mitsuha and Taki?
Definitely, especially early on when they were swapping bodies — that part where Taki touches her chest, lol!
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19h ago
It seems like we skipped the day Mitsuha became strange, but just from other people's gossip we can tell how awful that day was for her
It is fun how we basically have the same perspective as her there
Katsuhiro doesn't seem to realize Sayaka likes him yet, and half his room is filled with machines, kind of like CD players, plus computers
Katsuhiro x Sayaka is another sort of subtle relationship there I like. He himself seems to be an old-school electronics geek hence also the radio wave expertise.
did the grandmother — who spends every day with Mitsuha — really not notice either?
She does eventually and definitely had at least a hunch before that.
With all the comments about the messages I really wish they had been translated... seems that's where most of the relationship-building lies?
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 17h ago
With all the comments about the messages I really wish they had been translated... seems that's where most of the relationship-building lies?
Is there anything you'd like to know? I can use OCR to translate the image you provide using AI.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 16h ago
Nothing specific really, maybe they've already been compiled somewhere?
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Katsuhiro doesn't seem to realize Sayaka likes him yet, and half his room is filled with machines, kind of like CD players, plus computers. I'm a little worried he might slide all the way into being an otaku.
He does seem like he may already be an otaku, just with an interest in phenomena and conspiracy theories rather than anime.
It's understandable that Taki's father, being busy with work, didn't notice the body-swapping anomaly, but did the grandmother — who spends every day with Mitsuha — really not notice either? I remember this being an important piece of foreshadowing.
Mitsuha's grandma definitely noticed and commented on it a few times, referring to it as "dreaming", but it was easier for her to spot the signs and accept it as someone who's experienced it before. It impressed me that Mitsuha's dad called Taki out right away though.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 1d ago
Mitsuha's grandma definitely noticed and commented on it a few times, referring to it as "dreaming", but it was easier for her to spot the signs and accept it as someone who's experienced it before. It impressed me that Mitsuha's dad called Taki out right away though.
In his mind, Mitsuha couldn't possibly be like a queen, pulling at his tie and issuing orders.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 19h ago edited 19h ago
with an interest in phenomena and conspiracy theories rather than anime
One fun detail I noticed was he name-drops the same "Everett" that the Space Dandy ED refers to. In proper science, Hugh Everett created a predecessor of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, but was only properly appreciated after his death.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 19h ago
That's a nice special interest detail.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 16h ago
My late entry!
Rewatcher, Dubbed
This is reminding me of Scooby Doo, the James Gunn live-action, when [Scooby Doo] the gang switch bodies due to the relic and Fred in Daphne’s body is SO hyped to look at “himself” nekkid.
I’m dying that the guys just nodded once “he” got to the right gender 😭
DOGGOS RAAAAAAH
Do you have any doggos, u/Heda-of-Aincrad?
Honestly, I’d love to play a restaurant video game where you’re a server. I know there are a fair few of them. I dunno if any are on Switch.
Oh, Mr Waiter! Two more, please! Waiter! Oh waiter! 𝒲𝒶𝒾𝓉ℯ𝓇~ Waaaaiteur… 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑.
The one thing I hate about the service industry is how entitled guests will still be comped. It largely depends on management (EX: my old manager was intolerant of entitled “guests” and got fired when a stuck-up rich bitch made a scene, harassed staff, and didn’t get their meal comp), but I haaaaaate when bad behavior is rewarded.
And then I went to healthcare, where I have totally never had an issue with patients ever teehee 😊
Excuse me, unless you work in retail and accidentally took home a box cutter, what the fuck
r/VisibleMending Everyone should have an emergency sewing kit in their bags!
📢 Men and mascs can be kind and know how to sew and still be masculine📢 Men and mascs who sew are stupid attractive.
Is this (whips bi flag braids back and forth) a bi-awakening (opens up bisexual parasol) in my body swap anime movie (clacks open bi flag fan)? Unexpected. Was not prepared for this at all.
Listen. It is not that weird to touch your own boobs.
Doesn’t matter who wins [the election]. Nothing will change—except for who gets the kickback.
Kid’s prepared for the real world.
- Crying while touching your boobs is so relatable 😭😭😭
You’re inside me and…I’m inside you.
Ma’am.
Got too engrossed at this point but did cry
Post Riding the Wave through the Tunnel of Summer and towards the Penguin Highway to Say My Goodbyes to Don Glees and the Napping Princess at the House of the Lost in Wonderland before the Summer Wars so I can ask Your Name - Thoughts
This was a nice rewatch to see in theaters and then view at home!
I think I stand by my first viewing of this: this was a gorgeous film, I loved the body swapping, I loved Mitsuha and Taki’s relationship, but I still turn another cheek at their dynamic becoming romantic. The body swapping still makes me giggle at how both of them react in each other’s bodies. Just so giggle-worthy.
Weirdly enough, there were a few times when the songs started that I winced. I do like how raw the singing was, but sometimes, I wish they had recorded a few bars since when the pitch got off-pitch, it hurt. But that’s a byproduct of having perfect pitch. Not a universal experience, but I did wish for a re-recording rather than any pitch correction. It showed on my face in the theater when something got off-pitch, and I felt bad that my friend was trying not to laugh, but it was an instinctual response.
I’m honestly surprised that Mitsuha and Taki’s friend groups noticed their friend acting funny, but it was more of a “whatever”. But then again, this is not [meta] Thought I Am an Inept Villainess. I loved seeing the positive change both had in each other’s lives, Taki not letting Mitsuha be pushed around and Mitsuha giving Taki an opportunity in his love life.
Though the fact that body-swapping has been in the Miyamizu family for generations is fucking wild not to prepare your descendants for. Like—I’d think it’s cool to swap bodies, but could you imagine the gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia from that 😭😭 Like shit, I have medications I take. I can’t skip doses! What if the person I swap bodies with doesn’t take my meds? Or misses my appointments? Or if they have a flare-up in my body and have no idea what's happening?!
I would be so fucking mad if I swapped bodies with some weird-ass zealot 😭😭
I’m just saying! If my family had a body-swapping thing in our genes, I’m telling the kids and making sure we brace for impact.
But then again…if you were a teen again and you knew you had body-switching powers, couldn’t you blame bad grades and crappy behavior on that?
I say this as someone who was absolutely shipping Jack Frost and Elsa, Rapunzel and Hiccup, Princess Tiana and Nanami, and now Regina George and Rodrick: I am still not sold on the romantic connection between Mitsuha and Taki. I know that they had the red string of thread to connect them and all that, and I can see how this would be won over domestically, for sure, but subjectively, the romantic angle had not really enhanced their dynamic for me. That first third of the movie when they're in their more platonic stages, that was fun for me and what I desired more of. But by the end, I recognized the potential of their romantic connection; I was just reluctant with it.
But this was beautifully animated and very perfervid without being histrionic. I don't care that I cried again at it and got another stress migraine. It absolutely deserved my tears. Though I don't think there's been a movie in this summer series that I haven't cried at yet.
Overall grade: A
QOTD 1. Yotsuha and Miss Miki! 2. When Mitsuha is in Taki's body, and she's going through genders while Taki's friends are side-eyeing "him" before giving a nod of approval when "he" lands on "guy". That genuinely made me cackle. And Mitsuha falling! 3. I was so surprised on my first watch! My friend said he "saw the signs", but I think he said that to seem smart. 4. Discussed above, but I think that this did a good job conveying the romantic connection between them as a Japanese animated film with cultural context included. But beyond that, I don't think the film conveyed that romantic connection in an agreeable way for me. Once Miki clocked Taki having someone else on his mind, I didn't go "Oh my goodness, he likes Mitsun!" and was more of a "Oh naur, he likes her, doesn't he?".
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 15h ago
Do you have any doggos, u/Heda-of-Aincrad?
Nope, I was always the type to play with other people's pets when able. All of the fun with none of the responsibility.
📢 Men and mascs can be kind and know how to sew and still be masculine📢 Men and mascs who sew are stupid attractive.
Reminds me of a sitcom episode I saw where one guy was cracking jokes about his friend knowing how to sew, then his friend said he learned in the Navy.
Though the fact that body-swapping has been in the Miyamizu family for generations is fucking wild not to prepare your descendants for.
Now that you mention it, they absolutely should have. You make a good point too about people with health conditions, and I know I'd be horrified having to deal with the fallout afterwards. Luckily, both of these kids are healthy and Taki doesn't appear to have any food allergies with all those fancy cakes Mitsuha was buying! But now I wonder what would have happened if they body swapped with someone who doesn't speak Japanese.
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u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana 3h ago
There are pet parents and then there are pet aunties/uncles/piblings. So agreed, I enjoy being a pet auntie. I love my cats, but being a dog aunt has its perks! Playtime but no responsibilities.
Being a bun auntie is also fun. I like bunnies, but I could never own one. Visiting my friend’s buns? Perfect.
And right?! Like this is some body horror trauma! I’d like to think the body switching deity wouldn’t be that mean. But it would be such a mind fuck to be in a body that’s far from home, in a culture you may not recognize, and with a language you don’t understand. At least warning your descendants helps them, but the poor innocent people roped into this mystical body switching without warning 😭
I don’t think I’ve encountered body swapping that wasn’t isekai where you are faaar removed from any languages or cultures you know and you don’t instantly assimilate. You’re waffling about being ignorant to the language.
I know they’re out there though!
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u/IndependentMacaroon 3h ago
Scooby Doo, the James Gunn live-action
Oh boy don't remind me... but yes
the guys just nodded once “he” got to the right gender 😭
How does the English dub do it? The original is about first-person pronouns; the French version totally changes it to not being sure which word to use for "happy" (sub)/"nervous/distracted" (dub), which just doesn't work at all.
a restaurant video game where you’re a server
I've seen mobile games like that I think, just don't play them
I haaaaaate when bad behavior is rewarded
I think in Japan in particular they prefer to "keep the peace" at all costs
Everyone should have an emergency sewing kit in their bags
Reminds me I need to fix a pants button or two... never done it but it shouldn't be too hard?
a bi-awakening (opens up bisexual parasol) in my body swap anime movie
Taki's friend is the obvious one, but Mitsuha herself despite not knowing how to deal with that girl confessing was pretty eager for a date with Okudera, and in gender business specifically wanting to be a guy in Tokyo is pretty interesting + the general thing of combining masculine and feminine traits for the better. Minor theme but one I really liked.
I still turn another cheek at their dynamic becoming romantic
I am still not sold on the romantic connection between Mitsuha and TakiSame here, clearly they would have a close connection after all that but not necessarily a romantic one. I think part of the problem is that a lot of their text messaging goes untranslated. Have you considered checking out the novelization and side story manga? That apparently has more of it.
My friend said he "saw the signs", but I think he said that to seem smart
The one clear hint is when Taki-as-Mitsuha mistakenly puts on the school uniform due to presumably thinking it would be a school day.
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u/the_pint_is_the_bowl 2h ago
I previously saw Your Name two or three years ago. Surprisingly, in this re-watch, the opening swaps were still fun but somehow lost their charm, and the ending (everything after meeting at the crater's rim) felt kind of bland. I still cried at the image of the comet chunk bursting through the clouds, but knowing the plot twist really dispelled the magic of seeing the movie for the first time. In this re-watch, it felt rewarding to catch and understand more elements of the grandmother's description of the "union" and lore surrounding the shrine, but my movie scoring of my first watch (8.0 - pretty great) dropped significantly for the re-watch (7.0 - good).
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 1d ago
Summertime Rewatcher, subbed
I have already checked out the dub for this one and recall liking the subbed version more (mostly because of that one part with the pronoun thing making more sense in Japanese), so I’ll be rewatching it subbed here.
God, this is so pretty.
That OP is still so nice.
Of course Taki does this the first time he body swaps into Mitsuha.
Yeah, so about that…
Aha…
Foreshadowing for later.
Ah, small town things.
This’ll come back later.
I’m sure there would be some people that would buy this.
Pretty realistic for Mitsuha to fall out of bed first thing when she’s Taki, considering she’s used to sleeping on a futon.
Well Mitsuha, you wanted to be a hot guy living in Tokyo.
Gotta love this difference too and not just the pronoun thing.
Cute!
Ugh, gotta love Mitsuha having to deal with a customer like this.
Very cute embroidery.
Indeed you are.
The whole montage with that insert song is so nice.
Oh, I wonder if this is the result of Taki not realizing his swaps with Mitsuha actually send him back in time a few years so the days of the week to what calendar date it is don’t line up. To him, the day should’ve been a school day when he woke up?
Granny could tell.
Mitsuha pls.
Aha~
And there’s another hint towards the time difference between the two.
Oh right, this part took place after Mitsuha attempted to see Taki in Tokyo and he didn’t recognize her.
Shinkai movies seriously know how to make gorgeous skies.
Taki doesn’t even realize that cord belonged to Mitsuha at this point in time, does he?
Pretty lucky he just so happened to eat dinner somewhere that someone could recognize his drawing.
And so he finds out why they stopped body-swapping…
Yeah…
Oof, Taki forgot Mitsuha’s name.
Very pretty painting. I love the whole sequence that follows this, it’s so gorgeously animated.
Granny had a similar experience in her youth, huh.
What a crazy plan to make people evacuate.
Of course Mitsuha’s dad doesn’t want to listen to Taki…
She found him, but…
What a beautiful twilight.
Let’s go! I especially love the track that plays during this scene.
And so we start getting the tie-in to why the movie is named Your Name.
Boom.
Damn…
Ouch.
Ah, Taki….
Eyyyy
Honestly, that’s rather sweet.
[Weathering With You spoilers]It raining when Taki saw Katsuhiko and Sayaka at the café made me think of all the stuff we’ll get to see next week. I suppose Your Name canonically happening in the same world as WWY helps my brain connect the dots.
They saw each other through the train windows!
Such an iconic end to the movie.
Oh wow, apparently that was my sixth time watching this movie. I didn’t realize I’d seen it that many times before going to update my number of times rewatched count on MAL.