Kimi no Na wa.

Jul 3, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

jgaaar (All reviews)

2605 people found this review helpful

Story: 7
Art: 10
Sound: 9
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 9

I watched this film at Anime Expo 2016 Los Angeles. I'll try to keep my review as spoiler-less as possible.

TL;DR:
The film holds true to all the expectations of a Makoto Shinkai production, from heartfelt smiles to crying the 5th time within the last 30 minutes. His signature metaphorical use of trains, the idea of a hopeless and distant love, and beautiful scenery really dive you emotionally into the story, even for how generic and simple it may seem.

Story: 7
The story is fairly simple to understand, and very easy to guess where the story will head while watching the film. It warrants a 7 simply because I felt a lack of surprise going through the film. Be this as it may, I am also a 4 year long film major, and having seen and analyzed film tropes in an educational environment, I am confident to say that I am more proficient at guessing most stories than your typical average Joe. However, this does not take away from my overall score which I shall highlight later.

Art: 10
As expected of a Makoto Shinkai film, the artwork is beautiful. The production quality is off the charts. The art in itself is enough to evoke tears, as it did for me during even the trailer. His choice of colors and use of movement and focus within the frame really help you pay attention to what you need to pay attention to, while also not skimping out and leaving out detail if your eyes do decide to stray, which I recommend you do while watching any Makoto Shinkai film for every blur, light flare, and particle floating along the screen really do add incredible amounts of emotion to the scene/screen. Among my friends we consider most Makoto Shinkai films as "5 Wallpapers per Second" and for good reason.

Sound: 9
Granted I watched this film in an auditorium with hundreds of people, I can't give an accurate score as of writing this review. I don't know who did the music for the film, but during the Q&A Panel held with Shinkai, he mentioned that he messaged one of his favorite bands that he was working on a film, and wanted them to do the music, to which they said yes.

EDIT 7/25/2016:
The music was done by the band RADWIMPS, a Japanese rock/alternative rock band. Some people have come to me asking whether or not this took away from the cinematic or emotional feel of the film, but in my opinion it helped in a way characterize the characters of Mitsuha and Taki. Rock music carries with it a sense of youth. Bringing that youthful feeling to the film's soundtrack helps to establish the sense of naivety to the characters and their interactions. It really helps establish the characters as teenagers who don't know or care about right from wrong, but rather would do what they feel in their heart is the right thing to do, which is exactly what motivates Mitsuha and Taki in their adventure.

Character: 7
I wouldn't say I have much of a complaint about main characters Taki and Mitsuha. We all can relate to the high school phase of our lives, it appeals to us because stories we read or watch in books or films set on characters that are going through this remind us of our own springtime of youth. Shinkai did a good job at portraying them and their relationships. My main gripe is that I feel they weren't explored enough to feel a strong sense of emotional attachment. Their lives, personalities, traits, habits, friends, lifestyles, etc are all explored in the first ~20 minutes, I personally felt that we only skimmed the surface of these characters and are forced to go further into the shallow end of a pool, only hoping that it gets deeper to actually swim around in this world of possibilities. I wanted to laugh, cry, and even relate more with the characters, but I felt that I only read about them in a story, or saw them in a film (which I did).

I wanted to feel they could have actually existed, but the film seems to be a bit too reliant on cliche tropes to incite certain emotions. The feeling I felt is similar to seeing characters smiling and laughing with each other, and having to individually accept that this is enough to establish their inner motivations, time spent together, individual goals, etc. I felt like it wasn't enough, and just had to accept that Taki and Mitsuha were the way they were. It felt sometimes that their actions were baseless and lacking a strong motivation to be deserving of the emotion the characters poured into their actions. As if acting on a limb to do something as insane as climbing a mountain alone. I will admit that this can be disputed, however, as they are still children/teenagers, and we all do weird things for no reason growing up.

Enjoyment/Overall: 10/10
As little as I felt I delved into the personalities of the characters, I did enjoy the film a lot. Shinkai's metaphorical use of trains just continuing to go along their routes that diverge in several ways really applies in this film, as much as it did in 5 Centimeters per Second. Everyone's lives diverge in different ways, things happen in dreams and are forgotten the next day, things happen in reality and are forgotten over a lifetime. I enjoyed Taki's and Mitsuha's struggles throughout the film to help each other, and as much as it made me well up tears in my eyes, I enjoyed his questioning of how much our memories make up who we are.

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Jul 3, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

Builder_K (All reviews)

1267 people found this review helpful

An absolutely stunning masterpiece by Makoto Shinkai.
Story: 10
Art: 10
Sound: 9
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 10

Edit: I watched this at the World Premier in Los Angeles on July 3rd. It was released in Japanese theaters on August 26th. It is set to be streamed online (for north america) via funimation, hopefully within the next month or so.

The good:

Spectacular animation. There is one particular scene near the beginning which has a sort of "3D camera rotation" that looks so real that I thought it was rendered; but at the last second, the character turned their head, and I was able to tell that it had been entirely hand-drawn. There are scenes where basic physics are completely altered, yet they managed to make it 100% smooth, dragging me along through the character's experience.

Characters. Due to the movie format, most of the characters had very simple personalities. The depth of the characters was sacrificed for the overarching story, ultimately leading to the main characters having deeper personalities, with the side characters left behind. Don't be confused though. For the format, the character depth that they managed to convey was incredible. Small hints were blended into many scenes, discretely conveying the characters' backgrounds and personalities.

Sound. The depth of the musical score was incredible, though I will need to re-watch it with my usual headphones before committing fully. There was not a single sound that felt out of place. All the characters' voices suited their appearances, leading to a very immersive experience.

Story. The story is conceptually very simple, but a lot of depth is added as the story goes on. The show drives several important points, which can be very philosophical, without being too complicated for the average viewer to understand. Additionally, none of the story is sacrificed in order to drive these ideas, they are inseparably blended together.

Impact. During the show, I laughed, and I cried. Now don't get me wrong, that's a big deal. At the time of writing, only two other anime have made me cry. Also, I was at the premier, and thus out in public; I certainly wasn't the only one. Please don't approach this anime lightly. It's truly an experience that you can never forget.

The bad:

Timing. During the movie, there is a sequence where two characters get to know each other, which felt slightly rushed. It could have been better to have the full experience played out, or at least pieces of it, lengthening the movie as required.

World building. The depth of the story and characters took a toll on the world's completeness, leaving some unanswered questions. Most characters didn't have worldviews or ideas of right vs wrong, there simply wasn't time to develop them. Also, where the world came from, and what the ending implies for the world itself, is left unanswered.

-- I wrote this review immediately after leaving the premier. I will continue and edit it after I have had time to process the movie's depth.

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Jul 3, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

manofmanymanga (All reviews)

776 people found this review helpful

Review of "Your Name."
Directed, Written, and Created by Makoto Shinkai

"Your Name." is, in a word, a journey. A journey into what will surely be the future of cinematography, as well as a journey on a grand emotional roller coaster.

Technically speaking, labeling this film a "masterpiece" is an insult by omission. Given that Shinkai is a master, anything he makes is obviously going to be a "masterpiece," but among silt there is gold, and among gold there may be diamonds. This movie is a diamond, easily the prettiest feature length film I've ever seen; more so than even fetishistic attempts to be just read more

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Jul 5, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

TheKillerAngel (All reviews)

683 people found this review helpful

“Kimi no Na wa.” (Your Name) opens with a radiant comet traversing over the night sky, splitting apart into various meteors that illuminate and streak the heavens. Stars and celestial imagery often feature in Makoto Shinkai’s films, and the brilliance of the opening set piece could be dismissed as eye-candy. However, its significance is not fully understood until much later.

To speak of names, one does not invoke Makoto Shinkai in conjunction with the phrase “happy ending.” To say that he has made his fame off producing romance anime is only half the story, as his work’s exploration of themes such as distance and unrequited love often impart a wistful and bittersweet aftertaste. “Byousoku 5 Centimeter” (5 Centimeters per Second), his most famous title to date, is both loved and reviled for its directorial willingness to defy the sort of resolution that viewers have come to expect out of the romance genre.

While “Kimi no Na wa.” continues to incorporate motifs and concepts familiar to past Shinkai works, it reflects a maturation of his artistic vision to tell a tale of love and determination that transcends time, distance, and even apocalyptic odds.

The film centers on two characters, Mitsuha Miyamizu – a schoolgirl in rural Japan who dreams of going to the city, and Taki Tachibana, an aspiring architectural student in Tokyo. With the passing of a rare comet, the two start imagining out of body experiences in which their consciousness swaps with each other while they sleep and dream. This leads to no shortage of comedic moments, as the two characters take turns exploring and manipulating their alternate lives – and bodies. As the nature of their dreamlike, out of body experiences is revealed, the two resolve to meet each other. But in their attempt to do so, a dark truth of their relationship emerges, accelerating the story and replacing the comedic elements with a suspenseful quest to find each other and ultimately, race against time. “Kimi no Na wa.” weaves a complex, multilayered narrative that explores the struggle of human emotions against fate. You can feel Mitsuha and Taki’s determination, confusion, and desperation as they toil against temporal reality, a journey that leaves viewers equal parts thrilled and emotionally exhausted.

Makoto Shinkai reaffirms his place at the forefront of animation, as the film’s stunning backgrounds and fluid motion easily make this one of the most visually ambitious anime of the past year. Superb art direction and character designs with the assistance of Masayoshi Tanaka (AnoHana, Toradora, KokoSake) give the film a modern, colorful aesthetic.

Though some might be repelled or jaded by segments that feel like emotional manipulation – especially when considering Shinkai’s past filmography – “Kimi no Na wa.” succeeds in delivering an engrossing experience, complete with magnificent set pieces, laughs, and heart-wrenching, gripping drama. This film — the culmination of Shinkai’s skill in exploring the melancholy aspects of love and distance, is just as much a lesson on the value of finding happiness through unshakeable resolve, initiative, and overcoming doubt and hesitation.

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Sep 9, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 3

Jex (All reviews)

513 people found this review helpful

Makoto Shinkai's latest work goes even further to support the theory that he's fantastic at directing a visually brilliant movie, but lacks the writing ability to tell a good story.

Plot:
An absolute mess. Without spoiling it, this movie fails to get into the main plot until roughly halfway through. Before that point, it views like a teenage slice of life; nothing to be disappointed by. After the halfway mark, the plot becomes incredibly contrived with no logic, reason, or thought put into its creation. There were at least 4 separate climaxes (which is inexcusable for any movie which is not Return of the King) and an overly drawn out epilogue sequence. The main climax happens off screen, which negates the entire build up to it, because Shinkai wanted to have a reveal with little weight. There are an unacceptable amount of plotholes, mostly due to the concept of Musubi. There's little coherence, and amateur directing/writing displayed frequently throughout. To differentiate this from his other movies, Shinkai infused supernatural elements with romance, which fails horribly at enhancing the movie and instead detracts very significantly. Even amongst the people who love this movie, there is a large percentage that find the plot messy.

Art/Animation:
It's Makoto Shinkai. If movies were judged by aesthetics alone, this would be one of the best ones. There are no issues with the art. Scene composition is mostly great, the animation was very high quality, and the art style was beautiful. While there are not as many wallpaper opportunities as in 5cm/s, the quality of them is significantly higher. Watch this in the highest possible quality you can find. Worth watching for the art alone. The animation is what you'd expect from a high budget movie, but it's not anything revolutionary. There are several scenes that move beautifully and feel like magic to look at. The animation quality isn't quite up to Ghibli standards but it is nothing to scoff at.

Sound:
Voice actors were quite good and played different roles effectively. The change in voice aesthetic was notable during the first half. The soundtrack was unmemorable, but set the scene adequately, and it may help to broaden your horizons and expose you to new music. Sound FX and general background noise was well produced and sounded natural. The opening sequence song in particular stood out and is worth a listen, but I can't say that for most of the soundtrack.

Character:
The mains were adolescents, which meant there was a lot of adolescent stuff going on in the first half. The characters were interesting initially, though none stood out as incredibly well written and became less and less captivating as the movie went on. The main positive about the characters was that they mostly felt natural, save for when they were clearly not meant to. Side characters were certainly more natural than the mains, and contributed well to the atmosphere of the movie. They develop plot stupidity and have no depth or drive other than the forced romance, and plot amnesia is introduced for added gratuitous drama. There is no reason for the characters to become stupid, or amnesiacs, and it detracts from the believability of the characters and the plot.

Buy this on bluray because it looks stunning. Don't expect good characters, or a remotely good plot, but do expect to salivate at another of Shinkai's wallpaper opportunity movies. Worth the watch for the visuals. It's an awful movie that looks good.

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Sep 10, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

LIQfilms (All reviews)

405 people found this review helpful

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

As of writing this review, this film is currently the highest rated anime on this site and naturally I was curious to what all the fuss was about. While this movie has absolutely amazing visuals coupled with a fantastic musical score along with great directing by Makoto Shinkai, unfortunately, the script and characters, in my eyes, could have been a lot better.

The narrative of this film centres around our two protagonists; Mitsuha, who lives in a rural part of Japan who is bored of her everyday life and wishes to live in Tokyo and Taki who, well...lives in Tokyo. There is literally nothing else that defines this character at all. One day they begin to switch bodies and live out each other's lives for short periods of time at regular intervals. Why this exactly happens is never explained to us at all and feels more like a plot convenience than any other supernatural or spiritual event of some kind.

The first half of the film plays out like your typical high school comedy and while this concept of a girl and boy switching bodies is not entirely original it still comes across as fun. Easily my favorite part of this film are the scenes in which we see how each of these characters affects each other's life and the consequences that arise as a result of this. The scenes in which they were instructing each other on what not to do when they're in each other's bodies, comes across as smart and funny and I was interested in a concept of how each person could have made one another appreciate their life more, or help to improve their life in some way. But that's all we really get as a whole. The characterisation and characters themselves felt a little weak and dry too but, despite all that, the first half is somewhat enjoyable and fun all the way through.

However, where I really being to lose interest is during the second half and this is where it becomes more apparent that the film is trying to ride on its own conveniences a little too much. For starters, the love that we're supposed to buy into, for me at least, came across as forced and boring. The two characters begin to muster feelings for each other and it comes across as superficial since they've barely even spoken in real life to each other and every time they do, they forget about each other immediately afterwards. Despite a massive threat of death looming over these characters, I simply didn't care since I was so uninterested in all of them since the film never gave me any reason to care from the start. None of the characters are barely developed and Taki especially has hardly any personality to speak of so it becomes hard to attach yourself onto him or to care for his struggles in the least.

When the film began to introduce time and amnesia into the mix, it felt like a cluster of ideas and themes that never really fit together nor played out in a satisfying way. A lot of the time the story felt way too convenient and some of the plot devices felt kind of lazy. To me, the fact that everyone was evacuated before the comet hit OFF screen felt really lazy and that scene could have been fantastic character development for Mitsuha as she would of had to finally confront her father and we could learn more about their relationship. I can perhaps understand that the writer may have wanted to create some suspense for the audience by leaving it ambiguous as to weather or not they escaped but since we find out only three minutes later it seems kind of pointless in retrospect. Some characters I felt were a waste of time and didn't really add anything to the overall plot. Miki could have been removed from the plot entirely and it wouldn't have made much difference. I feel as if the final shot could have been much more powerful if I had cared about these characters at all during the duration of the film

Now the film does do a good job in the FEEELS not because it was derivative of the characters (which it should be to feel a greater sense of urgency during the climax) but because of the beautiful animation and framing. Every frame looks amazing especially during the more emotionally heavy scenes and, as I said before, the directing for this film is fantastic. The frames are well detailed with high levels of movement and the music does a fantastic job at immersing you in its world. I can appreciate all of the effort that went into the technical side of this anime which is why it pains me to see the plot and characters being presented in such a weak way.

All in all, if you're able to look past the flaws in the script the film is highly enjoyable and it doesn't take too much to feel the emotion they try to convey through the cinematography. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the great visuals and the music.

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Sep 12, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 6

R_TF (All reviews)

259 people found this review helpful

"THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS"

THE AUTHOR-Makoto Shinkai who is regarded as one of the finest director of recent time and with works likes "Hoshi no Koe" "GOW" "5CMPS" under his belt,there is no doubt about the caliber of this man.
His majority of works relies mainly on the visual effect where each frame speak a word for itself,the tension he creates between the characters,the emotion he depicts with that and overall execution which even makes a simplest of the story somewhat extraordinary to watch.
I really find myself fond of those and following Shinkai over the years,I realised that plot-based work is never his strong point read more

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Sep 11, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 2

Caliph (All reviews)

243 people found this review helpful

well, the overall plot is good and unique/something only anime can represent but with little bit more effort and it would've been better than this. The story will leave you confused while provoking around the same point without any tiny explanation trying to represent characters with full of emotions and kind even without introducing them. avoid this Kimi for the bad story processing and plenty plot holes
lot of questions in this movie hasn't answered with tons of mysterious unnecessary events take place in the story which makes Kimi no Na wa not only boring movie but also annoying; for example, after your body has read more

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Sep 13, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

Prince_Altoid (All reviews)

208 people found this review helpful

Fair warning: this review contains MAJOR spoilers of basically the entire movie. First off, it's a movie that has taken people by storm, so I'm sure that if you want to watch it, you already have by now. If that's not the case, I recommend you exit off of this review immediately. You've been warned.

With that out of the way, assuming that since you're still reading, I assume you've already seen the movie or don't mind being spoiled. Either way, I just wanted to let you know the reason why I'm writing a review filled with spoilers. Basically, Kimi no Na wa isn't a movie read more

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Sep 15, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

Zephariel (All reviews)

128 people found this review helpful

Before watching this movie, I must say I was pretty hyped as lots of my friends recommended it and it took the #1 spot on MAL. However, I have to admit I am quite disappointed in the end and here's why:

*Spoilers Alert*

Story: 3/10
The first half of the movie is about typical high school boy living in Tokyo swapping body with a countryside girl with a boring-ass life dreaming to go to Tokyo someday. There's a bit of comedy here and there but nothing impressive so far and quite boring to be honest. But then comes the second half, it turned out the main heroine already read more

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Sep 14, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 6

bmoore07 (All reviews)

123 people found this review helpful

Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be an author. I’d write for days on end, using every ounce of my imagination, and then stored my works away in some secret drawer when I finished. Frightened to death of sneers and condescending laughter, I rarely shared my writings with anyone, only submitting them to a contest or two over the years. A couple of months ago, I heard that there was going to be a prestigious writer’s conference, known as Books Alive, in my town, where literary agents would search high and low for the next great author. Despite having a small amount read more

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Sep 12, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

robiu013 (All reviews)

100 people found this review helpful

With "Your Name" storming up to MAL's top, I had to check it out for myself and experience this phenomenon, that has a score of 9,40 out of 10 at the time of writing.
With so many people agreeing, that it's a masterpiece, it has to be good, right? Well turns out I didn't enjoy it quite as much the majority of MAL users.

Plot:
The story starts fair enough. Our main character suffers from "Disney princess syndrome"; she's not satisfied with the surroundings she was born in and wants to see the world, that is so much bigger than what she knows. Luckily for her, magical realism is a thing in her world as well. Out of nowhere she gets the chance to live out her dreams by switching bodies with a boy from Tokyo every now and then. The boy, turns out to be the other main character. This sounds like the basic story, in which our lead learns, that "every place is beautiful, but home is still best" or that everybody has troubles in their life, no matter where they come from. The set up definetly has some potential, since the main characters parallel each other in an interesting way and they're pretty well characterized.
But that doesn't turn out to be the case with "Your Name". The writer was far more ambitious than to just recycle the classic body switch plot. About halfway the movie switches into a pretty convoluted romance story, that just doesn't work, because the whole second half is built around wanting to give the audience the "feels". Don't get me wrong, I like a good romance or a good tragedy as much as anyone else, but if it all feels as contrived and transparent as in this movie's case, I won't be able to jump on the feel train.
The climax was a pretty interesting idea, but was pretty inconsistently build up, where things worked out way too conveniently to be believable.

Characters:
I've already addressed it in the previous section, that I found the characterization of the characters pretty good. With the exception of the self-absorbed and ambitious father almost all felt pretty lively. Unfortunately characters can at time's be only as good as the plot allows them to be. This shows especially with the side characters, who at times just conveniently join into the plot, even if it doesn't make much sense. Same goes for our leads, they're pretty fun at first, but as soon as the plot starts becoming contrived and convoluted, I no longer found them as likeable.

Art:
The art and animation were pretty good, but it was pretty standard in terms of style.

Sound:
Just like the plot the sound was also heavy into making you feel stuff and to be fair it did resonate with me somewhat. Interestingly there were alot of pop songs instead of the more typical choice of instrumentals.

Plot: 50% (4/10)
Characters: 30% (6/10)
Art: 10% (8/10)
Soundtrack: 10% (8/10)

Score: 5/10

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Sep 2, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

AsukaLangley (All reviews)

99 people found this review helpful

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Imagine the world’s most beautiful person. We take an X-ray of that person. You see his/her spine. And that’s it, no other bones. That is a Makoto Shinkai film.

Every story has a skeletal structure, a beginning, middle, and end. We all know this. Makoto Shinkai films also have a structure to their story. Just that they’re all the same.
Beginning: I love you.
Middle: I can’t stay with you forever.
End: I hope we see each other again.

You may be asking: With such a basic structure, how can any of his films be so successful? It’s all about the flesh. You don’t see someone’s skeleton, but if you actually try and think about the story, you really can see this structure. Criticisms aside, however, there is another thing that always happens in Shinkai films: Frickin’ incredible artwork. This show was no exception when it came to beautifully detailed backgrounds, natural scenes, and characters.

Of course, the soundtrack was also nice, performed by Radwimps. Personally, watching it in the theatre was a bit overwhelming, but the songs were great individually, and I thought that most of them played their role as part of the film.

These two factors (artwork and soundtrack) really cover up the basic story, and make it a beautiful film to sit and watch. But nothing more than that. It’s just eye candy. The rating 10 means masterpiece. A masterpiece has a well thought out story, and highly developed characters to execute it (at the very least, this would be a standard way of forming a masterpiece, there can be exceptions through extraordinary uniqueness, etc…).

—which now takes us to characters.We have the two main characters, Mitsuha and Taki. First spoiler incoming (not too much of a spoiler but…): in the story, Mitsuha and Taki switch bodies while they dream. Second spoiler: They end up falling in love. Okay, so they know each other because the switch bodies, but they never switch characters, they always remain themselves, just with a different body. In other words, they’re falling in love with someone who’s personality they actually know nothing about—I think that tells you enough about the depth of these characters (笑). But jokes aside, if I were to give you a description of these two, I would ask you to imagine incredibly normal high schoolers (the girl being a bit cute, and the guy being a bit handsome), and give them a super effective love potion that makes them want to see each other no matter what. That’s about the level of development we see.

Despite all said, Shinkai films never fail to at least seem heartfelt to me. It may be that since the structure of his stories are so simple, they feel relatable at the same time, and extremely real. I’d be pretty reluctant to give this film a masterpiece rating, but it does what Shinkai does best, which is more than enough for me to have thoroughly enjoyed the film.

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Oct 2, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 5

Phoenix2510 (All reviews)

86 people found this review helpful

At the time of watching this movie, Kimi no na wa or Your Name in English is number 1 on MAL with an average score of 9.40 (the highest any anime has ever gotten in my memory). Naturally, as so many people, I was curious to see what this film had that earned it a top spot on a database filled with thousands of anime, only to finish the movie wondering if I had seen the same movie as others. It was beyond my understanding what this movie had (aside from good technical aspects) that gave it this masterpiece status since all I got was read more

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Sep 28, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 4

Shrabster (All reviews)

85 people found this review helpful

Makoto Shinkai never fails to frustrate me. His works have tremendous potential, yet they all inevitably end up as shallow exercises in romantic drama that are pretty to look at and not much else. With the release of Kimi no Na wa. I was very skeptical if any of that had changed. It released to the top of multiple anime lists seemingly over night and I figured it would be 5 Centimeters Per Second 2.0, but maybe, just maybe, Shinkai would break away from his old patterns and surprise me.

Spoilers, he didn't.

Kimi no Na Wa. tells the story of a girl and boy who mysteriously switch bodies and have to learn how to deal with being each other… or not.

If anyone is expecting Kimi no Na wa. to stray away from Shinkai’s typical formula they will be sorely disappointed. All of his usual angst ridden longing relationship drama is on display here, including copious amounts of scenery porn, sad piano music, dramatic running scenes, and even love murdering trains. I suppose this also means that anyone who likes his other works will probably enjoy this one as well for the exact reason that it isn't very different. For everyone else however, Kimi no Na Wa. is painfully predictable and lacking.

My favorite part about Kimi no Na wa. is the body swapping concept which creates some fun and humorous situations. The story is at its best during the scenes that show how the main characters handle situations while having their bodies swapped which leads to some awkward, funny, and genuinely charming moments. Unfortunately we don't get much of this after the beginning of the movie and what is the best part of the story goes underutilized in favor of Shinkai’s typical routine.

As much as l like the whole body swapping concept I feel it is poorly explained as are the mystical elements of the story. It literally comes down to some kind of magical spit wine, shooting stars, time traveling yarn, and/or some family bloodline thing, all of which are equally obtuse. Generally I hate time travel in any story, it just makes things needlessly convoluted and silly. Kimi no Na wa. is no different but I guess it’s not as ridiculous as the Terminator series. Overall I find that simpler explanations (or any at all) for the mystical elements would have benefited the story.

Pacing is also an issue in Kimi no Na wa.. Though it is less noticeable here than it is in other Shinkai works it is still apparent especially towards the end of the movie. There is a dramatic running sequence which feels like an eternity followed by an awkward time skip and more running before finally reaching the credits. A bit of streamlining and polish could have greatly improved the entire ending.

One positive difference in Kimi no Na wa. is that the main characters are a lot more interesting compared to Shinkai’s other works with the small but meaningful glimpses we are given into their lives. That said there are some weird decisions that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. The female protagonist, Mitsuha, has an issue with her father and being bullied and both are resolved in an unsatisfying manner. The bullying seems to be taken care of by the male protagonist, Taki, kicking over a desk while in her body thus scaring the bullies off? I suppose this isn't too big of a deal since the bullying was not a huge part of her story but that just makes the decision to even introduce it to begin with an odd one. The issue with the dad is another thing entirely though, as this is built up throughout the story only to be solved by Mitsuha being more affirmative in a confrontation towards the end of the movie that takes place almost entirely off screen which is as disappointing as it sounds.

The side characters seemed like they could be interesting but we don’t get much of them. Taki’s boss Miki gets some screen time but this is mostly just to build the romance with him and Mitsuha more than anything. Even the date scene ends kind of abruptly with Miki saying that he seems more interested in somebody else and just leaving. This however is enough for her to accompany him and his other friend on some journey to find a dead girl.

It goes without saying that every Shinkai work is visually spectacular and Kimi no Na wa. is no different. Though I can't say I find the scenery porn as appealing as his other works it's just as impressive as the rest. Music is mostly soft atmospheric pieces and though nothing really stands out it works fine. All in all everything is very pretty and I can't complain.

Unfortunately Kimi no Na wa. is just an average film in a long line of average films with Shinkai’s name attached. There’s nothing new or special, other than Shinkai's foot fetish being traded in for a spit drinking fetish. He still is a one trick pony when it comes to storytelling which is a shame because Children Who Chase Lost Voices shows that he is capable of something that is at least a little bit different. Maybe one day Shinkai will surprise and impress me (probably not) but as of now he just lacks the tact and subtly of better directors. I guess he can always do commission work drawing feet if times get rough though.

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Sep 13, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 4

Chanclasman (All reviews)

82 people found this review helpful

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I had the necessity to write this after thinking about the movie for a while.
Opinions are subjetive and if so many people like this so much and call it a masterpiece, good for them, but I just don't undestand why, or more like I don't want to, because I kinda have an idea and I would prefer if it wasn't true.

In any case, I'm not gonna make this too long (I hope). I'll just go to the point.
I enjoyed the first part. Not great, but alright. A typical body switch story that's been done many times before and pretty much the exact same way, but the comedy made it good enough.
And then the second half arrived. To be fair, the twist caught me off guard, for some reason, but...well...
I'm just going to say it. I don't know if this is intencional or just a coincidence, but this just seems like a bad try at ripping off a certain visual novel which I'm sure nobody here knows, but probably knows about Punchline or the Zero Escape series. The creator of those made before them a certain series called Infinity, and the third game of the series is Remember11, a story about a man and a woman in different places (and time) that change bodys randomly for some reason, with the woman dying in the past and the man deciding to save her. Sounds familiar?

Again, maybe it's just a coincidence, but there are quite a bit of them between R11 and this movie. And that wouldn't be a problem (well, it kind of is, because it makes it not unique or original at all, as most people seem to think, ironically like ZE and Punchline fans) if this movie actually had good story and characters, but sadly the story becomes a absolute mess that makes no sense and it doesn't even try to explain itselfs or give any help or hints of how anything is happening or why, and the characters are generic and 1D and fall in love because why not. They barely talked outside of phone notes that were just them saying "do/don't do x".
I even found the love between the MC and his senpai more belivable. I don't even know why it uses so much more time building that possible ship between them if it's just forgotten and replaced with an obligatory ship between MCs because reasons.
Going back to the story. I'm not saying they should have tried to explain everything with science, but if they were just gonna do supernatural/fantasy then why build up the mistery of the body switch in the first part? And even if it's just supernatural, it still should have some basic rules of how it works, otherwise everything is just deus ex machina and magic that just happens and works because magic.
And again, even if you just forget about all of the time travel/body switching stuff and just focus on the romance part...well, I've already explained what I think on that.
I only managed to "survive" the last part by making fun of it while watching, because I just couldn't take it seriously.

In conclusion, the only reason I give it a 4 and not lower is because of the first part and the animation which is great, and I feel like I'm being generous. In the end it's just a mess that tries to be a romance with a ZE-like plot but is bad on both. Wait no, it does have a well done ZE-like plot, cause it's just as much of a mess. Sorry, couldn't help it.
Just go read the Infinity series. R11 doesn't even try to be a romance and it still infinitely better at it. Sorry again, for the pun I mean.
Yes, I just wanted to rant a lot because I don't understand why some things like this are considered masterpieces. Burn me at the stake, I don't get Spirited Away either.

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Jul 22, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

xthorgoldx (All reviews)

55 people found this review helpful

Makoto Shinkai is a name that, to many, equates with “feels.” Whether it’s Voices from a Distant Star, the Children Who Chase Lost Voices, or the classic 5 Centimeters per Second, Shinkai’s films carry the guarantee of beautiful animation and emotional depth rarely seen in anime. Kimi no Na Wa, “Your Name,” is no exception to the trend. If anything, Your Name is the end product of years of experimentation with storytelling and filmmaking – the story that Shinkai has always wanted, and tried, to tell, finally made real, and done so in a satisfying, entertaining, and heart-wrenching way.

Your Name is the story of two people: Mitsuha Miyamizu, a shrine maiden in the rural Japanese countryside, and Taki Tachibana, a stock standard highschool student in Tokyo. Their irregular body-swapping isn’t the sort that leaves much of a solid mark – their memories of swaps are hazy, and they can’t exactly take notes with them, and more importantly they’ve never even met. Yet here, one of the first themes Shinkai communicates comes forward – the echoes left by a person’s life, by their actions and in the people around them, is just as good as meeting the person themselves. Mitsuha and Taki both get to learn about each other not only during their body swaps, but in seeing the aftereffects of each others’ antics while swapped, be it Taki’s boldness in her body or Mitsuha’s setting up Taki’s love life in his. Love, as told by Shinkai, is more than just affection for a person – it’s in the things we do for others and what they do for us.

The core theme of Your Name is “musubi” – a word that describes coming together and growing apart, starting a journey and reaching its conclusion, and the ebb and flow of time and fate. It is a word that, perhaps, summarizes the whole of Makoto Shinkai’s stories on the topic of love and fate – it describes the insatiable urge to find the one you’re destined to be with, as explored in Voices from a Distant Star, and likewise the unavoidable flow of time that pulls people apart and leads to new beginnings, as in 5 Centimeters per Second. The topic of musubi dominates the story of Your Name, in a manner that makes the movie both coherent in its own plot and insightful in its approach to the standard “red string of fate” story.

It is difficult to put into words exactly why Your Name resonates on the threads it does (pun intended), but it has to do with the raw elegance with which the theme of musubi is presented. It encompasses both the sappy and giddy optimism of true love winning out, and the melancholy acceptance of time moving on. It perfectly describes the “why” to the red string of fate, and why that symbol holds so much power in the mind.

Of course, it goes without saying that the fundamentals of Your Name – the animation, the voice acting, and the like – are of the top quality. The name that Shinkai has made for himself and his works in regards to raw quality is strong for a reason – Your Name does not disappoint visually, or audibly. Of particular note is the ear-orgasming soundtrack, provided by RADWIMPS, who provided both the trailer music as well as several in-film songs. Rather than simply searching for music that matched his artistic vision retroactively, Makoto Shinkai sought out RADWIMPS’ inclusion in the film from the get-go, and the result of integrating them so early into the creative process is evident every time the film’s soundtrack gets going. If nothing else, Your Name is a movie that can be watched for the music.

Your Name is, if anything, a classic Makoto Shinkai work. It is beautiful, both in visuals and in story. It tugs at the heartstrings, appealing to things that every viewer can identify with, either out of personal experience or out of desire to experience. But more than anything else, it leaves the audience satisfied, throughout its runtime and in its conclusion, with a story well told. Your Name handily takes its place as not just my favorite Shinkai film, but my favorite film entirely.

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Nov 10, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 4

yukise (All reviews)

42 people found this review helpful

The low-rating reviewers need to round this up for you guys. Kimi no Na wa is a poorly written piece of work that struggle to understand its own themes.

STORY
3 main flaws to be pointed out. 1) lack of direction. It's an issue before knowing what it wants to be, because it doesn't know it's supposed to be anything. Sit me down and make me take notes through a rewatch and I'd still have no idea what this film is about. Probably the intent is some contrived story about star-crossed lovers, an elaborate or posh love boundary, but you can apply "a love story, a mythological read more

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Sep 9, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 7

Zerathus (All reviews)

45 people found this review helpful

*Review contains spoilers*

Kimi no Na wa is the new movie from acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai who’s behind 5 Centimeters per second, Hoshi no Koe and The Place Promised in Our Early Days.

His new movie tells a story about a high school student Taki and a high school student Mitsuha suddenly swapping bodies but forgetting what they did during their swap after it ends, so they begin to communicate via diaries and messages left behind by the other person.

The story of Kimi no Na Wa is simple. There are some themes but they are light. The movie however suffers from several plot holes and read more

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Sep 9, 2016

1 of 1 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

ThisIsCaptain (All reviews)

44 people found this review helpful

Kimi no Na wa

Story: 9
Art: 10
Sound: 9
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 9-9.5

Story: Going into this without knowing anything about the movie; not even the trailer, I was kind of confused from the first 10-20 minutes until it became clear what was going on with their bodies. Both the MC’s come from different backgrounds, girl from a village/ small town and boy from the big city of Tokyo. Without spoiling the movie entirely, the film takes a huge turn somewhere around the middle where it becomes more than just an animated Freaky Friday.
Art: Even while watching this on medium-low quality I was amazed by how immersive the art-style is. The amount of great overhead shots of the busy city of Tokyo to the large crater-esque shrine was gorgeous sight to behold. There is one scene in particular, with the comet, that completely made me forget that I was watching something animated and not a laser light show in a planetarium.

Sound: There are several songs from this movie that are a must-have for me. Normally I don’t compliment an animated movie for its music but Kimi no Na wa did a smashing job. I found the montage/ recap style music to be great and helped summarize what was going on and in addition to that the editing to the music was phenomenal to go along with what was going on in the screen.

Character: I won’t include character design in art because the atmosphere and world-building in its own deserved a 10/10. Now for character design I will say that some of the characters look a bit generic and halfway through I thought to myself Taki kind of looks like the MC from Konosubarashi. Out of everything in this film I will say that the characters are the weakest point but their traits, friends and personalities make them relatable and appeal to viewers. For the better half of the movie, the MC’s are mostly doing regular student or after-school part time worker activates that most anime watchers have seen in other shows.

Enjoyment: As someone who is not big on the school/ drama genres, I was a bit hesitant to give this movie a shot. However, the school tag is not so relevant and aside from the main characters being in school/ around it; it has no huge implications to the story. As for drama, the family ties each character had, to their respective families, played a huge part in getting the viewer invested. I found myself feeling both happy and sad whenever a character was being pelted with bad news/ going through tough times. I also enjoyed all the small chit-chat and conversations Mitsuha had with her sister or grandmother.

Overall I found the film to blow-away any expectations I had from the first few minutes of viewing. It will make you laugh/ giggle, cry, feel happy, cry, then sad, cry some more.

Should you watch it?
Do you enjoy sad romance movies?
Do you enjoy movies about time/ space?
Look for relatable characters in movies?
Is art style and sound something you look for in a move?
Looking for a movie you can’t explain to friends without having them see it with you?
Enjoy crying?
If any of these were yes/ maybe, then please take a seat, get some popcorn, tissues and maybe some friends to enjoy it with. This is certainly a film you don’t just watch once.
Despite coming out recently, as I write this review, I’d consider it my favorite if not top contender for favorite anime movie.

Remembering names can be difficult.

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