Kimi no Na wa.

The Story

There was a fairly nice idea behind Kimi no Na wa, an idea unfortunately impossible to realize without shamelessly dumbing down the story and its characters, creating enormous plot holes, and inevitably never addressing them — at least impossible within this movie's setting.

It's not like the plot of this movie is flawed, no. It's that the plot of this movie operates within a fundamentally problematic context. Up until half of its duration, it strictly relies on the characters' ignorance and poor decisions to essentially cheat its way into creating plot twists, which in turn enable the plot to progress. After the first half, the ... movie begins cheating in different ways, such as resolving the tension off-screen and literally using the exact same plot device used in the first half over... and over... and over again.

Speaking of repetition and plot twists, did I mention how this movie has (I think) 4 separate climaxes? That's right, Kimi no Na wa wasn't satisfied with a conventional format, probably because its concept alone wasn’t able to provide enough substance. The story reaches a climax, and then immediately starts building up tension for the next one. The result, of course, was that I became exhausted due to the movie feeling like it lasted twice as long. Each time it seemed to be coming to a close and I settled into the appropriate mood, it simply reset itself and kept going.

Shinkai Makoto made some basic attempts at implementing metaphors and symbolism to more clearly define the philosophy behind Kimi no Na wa, but again, instead of being subtly scattered throughout the movie, they were aggressively pointed at the audience in a repetitive manner.

Similarly, the final and real climax of the story is unnecessarily dragged out in an attempt to build up more tension, despite the ending being blatantly obvious since the movie entered its third quarter.

The Characters

It'd been suggested to me that the right way to watch this movie is by trying to shut off your brain and ignore the messy, nonsensical parts of the story along with its various plot holes. However, I found this extremely difficult to do, as the two main characters remained completely unexplored, leaving nothing else to focus on.

We learn nothing of Taki's backstory and almost nothing of Mitsuha's backstory. There's no character development, and there isn't any depth or extra dimension added to them. The only thing that develops is their inevitable romantic relationship. They are completely driven by the supernatural phenomenon surrounding them, which also acts as the central plot device for the story to move forward.

That said, despite lacking any sort of depth or complexity, all of the characters' general behavior was surprisingly natural — that is, when they were not falling victims of plot-induced stupidity or amnesia — which gave off a sense of familiarity that was pretty refreshing. In fact, the brightest part of the writing in Kimi no Na wa lies within its supporting characters. Supporting characters, in addition to being distinct enough, were efficiently involved with the main characters and the plot in a very smooth and natural way.

Art & Sound

Perhaps the best known and most agreed upon aspect of Kimi no Na wa is the quality of the art and animation CoMix Wave Films managed to pull through. Although there are certain scenes wherein the effort they put forth felt lesser compared to the rest of the film, it mostly looks amazingly beautiful, and I doubt anyone can have any major complaints in this regard.

The most remarkable part of the movie's sound section, in my opinion, is the great work the voice actors did to demonstrate how Mitsuha would express herself through Taki's voice and vice versa. The soundtrack wasn't the most memorable I've ever heard but, for the most part, it fulfilled its purpose, even though I personally found the vocal parts to be a bit distracting and not really to my liking.

Conclusion

Overall, I see what Shinkai was trying to do and I like the idea, but it just doesn't work. Kimi no Na wa ends up being a spectacle with little substance, a show that is merely trying to impress (often by tricking its audience in cheap ways). Had Shinkai readjusted the narrative's focus and the story's setting once he faced all these glaring issues, then perhaps he could have turned this concept into something somewhat functional. I feel quite disappointed with the outcome of his film, considering its budget and all the hype it instantly received.


Story: 3/10
Characters: 5/10
Art: 9/10
Sound: 7/10
Enjoyment: 4/10
Overall: 5/10

---Spoiler Free Review---

The director of this movie doesn’t know how to write a decent story, the end! Original Story, Script editing bla bla he should focus his work only on Aesthetics and let someone else write a decent plot for the future. If this guy base future works in previous WELL written books I can tell is gonna be a good movie otherwise I don’t want to see anything from him anymore. I don’t get the hype about this movie, some people compare him even to Hayao Miyazaki, how on earth THEY DARE to do that!!!

Story (2/10): it start somehow very normal, cute and ... entertaining with the amazing visuals however in the moment the story advanced everything went to hell, so many inconsistency in the plot, so many things explain so bad that in order not to make spoiler I can’t write it here, but they were so lame, didn’t make any sense, the drama feel so force, if you think twice the characters didn’t even have reasons to fall in love, in summary BAD.

Characters (4/10): basic, nothing to admire, typical teens.

Art (10/10): beautiful, if the rate was only based on this then the movie is a solid 10, however the definition of a movie is an audiovisual medium to tell a story, is so sad this movie lack of a good one.

Sound 9/10: nothing from other world, not bad neither amazing.

Enjoyment (5/10): like the visuals, cringes every time something about the story is explain. Btw one of the “supposed plot twist” was so predictable that I laugh.

Overall 5/10: if it wasn’t for the visual of this movie then I probably drop it and then scored it even lower like a 2 or 3.

When anime is overtly trying to be realistic and cinematic, the lines between cinema and anime are further blurred. This might be a good thing for the wider reception of anime in cinemas (especially outside Japan) but not necessarily a good thing because 'anime' starts to take the medium itself too seriously.

Each scene is 'crafted' to look great in the isolated frame and it does demonstrate the animation technologies of Makoto Shinkai's anime movies - from Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru to Kotonoha no Niwa. This is not to blame Makoto Shinkai and his amazing achievement as an animator, editor and cinematographer, but not as ... a storyteller. Cliches are not necessarily a problem when you have excellent storytelling skills but your name is definitely not one of them.

Your Name is the most recent film to have been created and released by acclaimed anime director, Makoto Shinkai. Focused on teenagers Mitsuha and Taki, Your Name is a romantic comedy-drama that sets up a Freaky Friday scenario where the two teens unexpectedly find themselves swapping bodies daily with one another.

Your Name's gimmick is focused on for a good part of the film's first half as it explores Mitsuha and Taki's lives and how the body swapping gets in the way of them. The film has enough time to explore the lives of both characters, showing how they live and what affects them daily with ... Mitsuha being a rural teen hating her life in the boonies between serving as her town's priestess and considering her father embarrassing as her town's mayor, and Taki being a Tokyo resident with a part-time waiter job and having a crush on an older woman. The comedy also had its moments of effective humor with its body swapping. Outside of the shock of realizing the biological differences from body swapping, Taki and Mitsuha often find themselves meddling in ways the other would not normally behave and those within their lives take notice of the unusual quirks and actions that one of the leads commit while body swapped, lending to the film's humor.

As Your Name enters its second half though, the film's quality does take a hit for me as it takes on a more dramatic direction with its storytelling. Without spoiling too much, it adds a rather convoluted twist concerning the cause surrounding the body swapping between Mitsuha and Taki that stretches suspension of disbelief quite a bit. The movie's attempts to milk drama off this revelation came off feeling quite overboard and because Mitsuha and Taki never have direct interaction with one another for the majority of the film, this made Your Name's attempts to show off their budding attraction to one another come off as unconvincing for me. This is an issue that I have for a number of Makoto Shinkai's films since his attempt to add in some sort of paranormal gimmick for past works like Place Promised in Our Early Days and Children Who Chase Lost Voices stretches things quite a bit due to all his notable works focusing on a common theme of long-distance relationships, while I'm more a fan of his grounded works like 5 Centimeters per Second and Garden of Words.

Like Shinkai's past works, Your Name is a beautifully animated film to see in action with its gorgeous and highly-detailed scenic shots, effective use of lighting and shadow effects to create a convincingly atmospheric effect, and fluid animation depicting lifelike movements from the characters in both the urban and rural settings that Taki and Mitsuha respectively live in. Character designs are not as impressive to see in comparison, though they have a decent amount of visual details and have a plain look to fit in with the anime's mundane settings.

Ultimately, Your Name is yet another film that highlights the flaws of Makoto Shinkai's storytelling style when he chooses to milk any sort of paranormal gimmick with his usual focus on long-distance relationships. While I did get some laughs out of the awkward actions resulting from Taki and Mitsuha's body swapping in the film's first half, things eventually went downhill for me in its second half when the truth surrounding the body swapping was revealed and the attempt at a dramatic twist for the film came off looking overdone as a result. In spite of its hype, I would say my reception to Your Name is lukewarm at best and that the film might be getting more hype for it than deserved.

*Minor Spoilers*

Makoto Shinkai put a lot of effort into crafting a well written, well drawn movie that was sure to pique a lot of interest. And today even 3 years later Your Name is among one of the most talked about and praised anime movies of the decade. In Shinkai's areas of expertise he really excelled at drawing something both well executed and beautiful. But in other areas, his movie loses a lot of the value and artistry it deserves. Though Your Name had a ton of potential to be a lasting and enduring piece, too much of the movie is sacrificed for the feel-good ... aesthetic the movie attempts to showcase.

Positively, the art and music is Your Name's greatest exhibit. Scenes of the landscapes and in betweens are thoroughly drawn and don't fail to impress. Like Shinkai's previous works, Your Name is gratifyingly well made and nudges the limit to anime as an art medium. The music wasn't too impressive to me I'll admit, but it was enjoyable enough to take note of as well. Some might say his music was more enduring than the movie itself.

Shinkai's center stage is the plot. I'd wager we've all dreamt of a show in our youths as quirky and provoking as what Shinkai had laid out in Your Name. Overall, the premise is interesting enough to learn more about. Despite the NUMEROUS plot holes and questionable moments, it still has some worth. But I'd say by the end I was a little more confused by how strangely the movie took a turn, though it definitely had potential to arrive at something truly satisfying.

What made everything so hard to appreciate, in my opinion, surely has to be the character designs. Taki and Mitsuha are both extremely unoriginal school students. I bet you had forgotten the guy's name before I had mentioned it. The Anime meta has always been to romanticize the life of a typical, normal school teenager because audiences will relate to and sympathize with them more closely. Which is fine, but there is literally no interesting aspect about either main character, so there's nothing to care about in the first place. Shinkai cleverly presents the illusion of some sort of character development by scribbling up some initial love interest and implying that Taki has changed because he's now in love with Mitsuha, but literally nothing has developed within him in the first place. If you were in that bizarre of a situation with someone at least somewhat romantically compatible I'm sure you'd fall in love too, with or without a crush. The glorification of this half baked plot isn't enough to testify why Taki or Mitsuha is any reason to care at all. If this movie featured 2 guys it'd probably lose most of its credence. I'd give Shinkai the benefit of the doubt with how he chose to write the latter half of the movie, but one could argue no matter what path they took, the characters weren't interesting enough anyway to really make a mark. This anime falls short in both plot and characters, and all that's left is really just eye grabbing content.

Overall I'd probably enjoy the movie a lot more had there been less of the plot to really be concerned about and more of the characters to resonate with, but in short Your name has at least done its job of surviving as a mediocre movie with enough points on the checklist to warrant a popular anime.

Literally known as THAT anime movie since recent months, and is still soaring in publicity.
My opinion of it was pretty positive after I first viewed it, and I was pretty happy with everything. But seeing its incredibly positive reception, and thinking more about what actually happened in the movie, my views slightly changed (just a bit).

I really don't want to blame the hype for killing my favorable impressions, but it does make my eye twitch to see so many "IT'S PERFECT ABSOLUTELY THE BEST" comments that seem more like vague fawning, when actually there's a lot of room for critique. And for a movie ... that's reached a level of popularity even Makoto Shinkai is uncomfortable with, I think critique is very much needed.

As a note, I've watched most of Shinkai's other works, including shorts and films. I'm familiar with his narrative and thematic preferences. Most directors have one - for example, Miyazaki includes the magic of nature and simple living in all his works, at times criticizing industrialization and violence as a means to an end. Shinkai makes works that revolve around the themes of distance, connection, and loss as it occurs in the physical, spatial, temporal sense. He has a poetic method to his narratives as well. While it's fine (great, even) to have style, I worry that his works will become increasingly one-note in nature and as a result, not as thrilling as "Your Name" is perceived to be.

Story (5/10):
Many pitfalls can arise when a complex narrative is forced to be squished into roughly 100 minutes of material. I believe Shinkai encounters the same problems.
"Your Name" is a complicated story with complicated concepts. "Time travel" already suggests leaps over logic and takes a while for one to wrap their mind around. The movie presses upon this theme with spiritual and poetic elements (along with a super meteor), upping the chances of confusion. But, yes, perhaps one can push aside all the complications under the all-embracing heading of the "fantasy" genre.
The narrative development just seems rushed and flat at times. There's questions left unanswered as well. Sometimes things seem too convenient or too contrived. Moreover, as I realize now, there was so much opportunity for solutions to arise in the story but they just...weren't, leading to a fine mess that they desperately must struggle to fix.
Yes, there are big plotholes that may have been lost under the guise of beautiful visuals and charming animation. I'm not impressed with the writing as it seems either lacking or too flowery. And just to state a bias, I do think there is a level of "poeticism" that Shinkai puts into all his works that just doesn't appeal to me.
And ah yes, the romance - cute, but questionable, maybe a little random. I've noticed this in his other works as well but the romance is vague and fairly shallow. You can't really guess where all that attraction came from. The development wasn't fleshed out. It's not a huge complaint, but it is something I wondered about.
5/10 for all the strange or contradictory plot devices, and a lacking / questionable narrative.

Art / Sound: 9/10
I didn't watch the movie at its best quality but even I know that the art was amazing. Shinkai does well in crafting environments and directing splendid animation. I do wish the storytelling could match the power of the visuals.
Music was good as well, but is now being overplayed to death.

Character: 5/10
After all these months, I still don't know how I feel about Taki or Mitsuha. Maybe if I rewatched the film, I might build a better connection, but as of now, I feel they are mediocre in terms of character design.
I barely know much about them. I've seen their outward mannerisms but they don't suggest uniqueness. They seem rather trope-y, unremarkable, another set of typical anime high schoolers. Perhaps that was intended. I can take them as the "hero" and "heroine" but there's nothing else special. There wasn't enough development for them that made me want to walk their shoes.

Enjoyment: 7/10
For all its worth, the movie is beautiful. It truly is, and there were some fun moments. Overlooking all the script problems, you'll get a nice (not perfect) movie. I didn't strongly dislike any part, and the resolution was decent. It was a good time.

Last comments:
So, yes, I enjoyed watching "Your Name" but it does have flaws. It was fun to watch but not exactly fun to pick apart. I've picked apart Shinkai's other works, and I can copy and paste what I analyzed from them and apply them to "Your Name" with only some minor adjustments to account for the "flair" added to the story. And I guess that's where some of my disappointment is from. "Your Name" doesn't feel new from past Shinkai works, yet has reached a level of fame because it has flashy, stylized, cliche features abundant in regular, episodic anime.
But, I do think there's merit in watching the movie, and I'm sure viewers will find many good things to say about it. However, I have to seriously disagree with those who talk about how fantastic the movie is without explaining any more than that. A movie that's reached this caliber deserves a much deeper appraisal and evaluation than a simple, unquestionable "It's the best / it's perfect."

A nice film that I don’t really love, or feel the burning need to re-watch in the future. Its narrative is bogged down by overly familiar plot devices and predictable trajectory, but it works as a populist love story with very accomplished audiovisual execution.

(mild spoilers ahead)

It’s interesting to see how simultaneously similar and different Your Name is to Makoto Shinkai’s previous works. It used many of the same foundational elements, but it is also antithetical to his “relationship (particularly long-distance one) sucks and often doesn’t work” theme. This one is unapologetically romantic, much sweeter and more appealing to the mass. It also has a ... staggering number of fantastical narrative devices: body switch shenanigan, parallel timeline, natural apocalypse, sci-fi phenomenon, and spiritual journey. In retrospect, it’s a minor miracle how Shinkai can pack all of these in relatively lean running time and prevent the movie from turning into a mess, which is a testament to his remarkable adeptness at visual story-telling (honestly, I'd love to see him branch out into other themes and narratives in the future).

This film is obviously pretty, but there is a lot of craft to appreciate beyond just digitized eye candy. Establishing shots are frequently used to highlight the contrast between the two main characters’ hometown, the science and supernatural, and the physical and ethereal realm. There are remarkable details on the real life landscapes brought to the screen, as well as on the interior shots depicting the characters’ private room. The latter is a particularly nifty way to visualize the characters’ personality and interests, even more so in a feature length movie that lacks the time to flesh out the characters. The movie is expertly storyboarded and edited in general, making it easy for the audience to intuitively figure out the multiple timelines and chronological transition in due time (without having to rely on textual marker such as ‘three years later..’).

Perhaps even more so than the visual, the music really makes the movie. They knocked it out of the park with their choice of band, Radwimps, who contributed an album’s worth of songs for the movie. The vocalist’s silky voice, sweet rock melody, and evocative lyric combine for a handful of perfectly timed songs, and instrumental piano-driven tunes also build the mood of many given scenes. Further, many props to the two lead voice actors, each of them tasked to portray two different characters and carry many of the film’s emotional moments, which they did with aplomb.

Thing is, once you strip away the technical and aesthetic elements, it’s just a generic story with fantastical cliches and underdeveloped characters.

I like the early sequence depicting the life of the main female character, but most other things that happen afterward are less interesting, funny, and authentic. Characters end up not being defined and developed enough that I can say I really know, understand, or empathize with them. There’s a certain point where character development completely gives way to the plot, and again, it’s a plot that you’ve probably seen elsewhere in many forms. The ending alone is basically a textbook Korean Drama Ending, while the conflict that leads up to the climax (boy rewind time to save girl he loves) is a popular narrative trend that can be seen in a bunch of anime shows and other narrative media that came out this recent years.

Then again, a familiar story can still be made compelling through powerful sensory execution, and that’s exactly what happened here. I personally don’t rate this film that highly, or even among the best of anime films that recently came out—Anthem of The Heart is thematically stronger and paints teenage relationship in more nuanced and authentic manner, and as pretty as Your Name is, it still doesn’t come close to the transcendental beauty of Tale of Princess Kaguya. However, I also can’t disagree that it’s such a well-presented product that had moved the heart of countless people worldwide, and there’s genuine value in that.

Music is not a substitute for exposition.

This movie makes the same mistakes 5 Centimeters Per Second did in it's assumption that music can replace or expedite time set apart to develop characters and establish conflict or a climax. By this, I refer to the director's decision to insert loud, obnoxious songs over montages which skim through key, plot progressing events or moments which could provide insight to Taki and Mitsuha's character; scenes which show who they are as people. Not enough time was dedicated to expanding upon their personalities and as a result, I was apathetic towards anything they characters went through. The lack of ... character exposition affected me in that I could not feel a connection to either Taki or Mitsuha. And it's a sad shame because with two protagonists, a viewer should at least be able to identify with one. Thus is the consequence when a director neglects to develop his characters and spends too much time on art and sound; two factors of a film which matter significantly less than characters and story.

There's a film hierarchy, and here's how it goes:

Story - The meat of the film; the reason the film exists in the first place. Filmmakers are nothing more than storytellers. If the story is not captivating or interesting, the audience won't enjoy the movie.

Characters - These are the actors. The characters are what draw you into the film. When you can relate to a character and envision yourself in their shoes, that is when the Suspension of Disbelief occurs; the moment where you forget you're even watching a film. The characters have to be more than interesting. They must be human. They need flaws and they need strengths to balance them. They must have desires and the ambition to pursue them throughout the film. Multi-faceted characters bring the story to life.

Sound - You can't enjoy a film you cannot hear. This makes sound design very important. A soundtrack can make or break a film. The music must accentuate the scene, not overpower it. The volume and quality of sound effects and character voices all ties into this as well.

Art - Finally, the art or cinematography. It should not be an after thought, but it should not be so important that the aforementioned elements suffer. The way a movie looks affects how the scene is perceived; brighter colors in contrast to dark hues determine the mood or tone of the film. Art is another way to draw a person into the world of the movie but it cannot replace a good story, three dimensional characters, or effective dialogue.

Unfortunately for Kimi no Na Wa, despite it's brilliant and unique story, vivid scenery and colors, and the orchestral soundtrack, the characters lack enough personality to collapse the whole film upon itself. What's worse; by the end, there's very little development. As a matter of fact, by the end it's almost as if the character's have less personality than what they started with. This is a direct consequence of the director's choice to insert a MUSIC VIDEO (AGAIN) in the last 5 minutes of his film. The same mistake he did in 5 Centimeters Per Second. Every second is precious in a film and in those 5 minutes he could have shown a new side of their personal lives, how they were emotionally affected by the events 5 years ago, and how they'd grown as people from the beginning into the people they were now. Any subtle differences to demonstrate that change. It doesn't always have to be something dramatic. Every little detail in a film is supposed to give insight into the real nature of the characters. Instead, every detail in this film pointed towards the high visual budget he had and provided a visually stimulating experience in opposition to an emotionally stimulating one. Because after all, it's hard to feel moved by characters you know next to nothing about.

Story - 10

Art - 10

Sound - 9

Character - 1

Enjoyment - 1

Overall: 6.2

Kimi no Na wa is an ambitious slice of life anime packed into a marvelous movie-length bite. It is hard to believe how much character development was actually achieved and how impeccably it was done. This development was achieved, as most great character development is done: not through mindless narration but by putting the characters in particular scenarios, watching their interactions with other characters and environments, and with each other; meaning, that you're utterly bombarded with character development through the entire movie, whether you notice it or not. Every little action and reaction, every decision, every scene is specifically tailored to show you as much ... of the characters as possible. This is the more impressive considering how ambitious of a premise the movie has and how much plot there is to tell. And, it somehow does all of it with time to spare. The story told in the anime is full of emotional plot twists that are sure to get your heart racing, just ignore the massive plot holes everywhere. A solid pick for fans of the slice of life genre.

Good timewaster.

now, I will not explain the visual side of this, its simply obvious the director, did a stunning job, yet again I cannot simply like it.

as much as a good visual animation with bright comets and remote craterlikeshaped with trees and lakes in the middle of it with other stuning views you can add, I simply find the story describable with two words: Plot Convinience.
as easy as that, not original, illogical and unexplained, simply "dreadful". its quite bad, yet, the visual part adds some points and I personally enjoy good sound a lot, so as much of a cliché fanserviceable trying to ... get on your feels type of plot this is, the sound really does it, 6 points due to the cool comets and songs but I really hope some other story had such artwork, it would have really been the definite masterpiece

I’m sorry to say it, but this movie is extremely overrated. People gush on and on about it, when it’s honestly not that good, at least in my eyes. I’ll break it down into categories.

1. Story: 3/10. Not only is the story full of plot holes, but it is confusing and the plot twists are very clearly only there for shock factor. The concept is really interesting, so I’m disappointed it wasn’t carried out as well as it could’ve been

2. Art: 10/10. No one can deny that the animation is gorgeous. The scenery is so beautiful, and nearly every frame is screensaver worthy. I have ... no complaints here.

3. Sound:10/10. The songs are memorable and catchy. I like them a lot.

4. Character 6/10. The characters are fine. They’re just people. I don’t have much to say except they could’ve been better, but they also could be worse. The romance was unnecessary to the highest degree.

5. Enjoyment: 4/10. Even though 2 of the categories are 10/10s, I don’t weight them as highly as the others. Your Name is beautiful visually and musically, but the story falls flat. I will still listen to the soundtrack s when I’m studying because it’s just that good, but the overall movie is only okay. I do understand why it’s so popular, it’s honestly just not the type of thing I can enjoy.

{SPOILERS}

Okay, I watched Kimi No Na Wa, and im sorry to say but its lacking character development. It was short which i like because it wasn't the most entertaining story line out there (No offence). I dont' get the hype around and would not recommend it anyone I know.

{Story 6/10}
The story was lacking and somewhat cliche. It started out alright, but quickly turned into something like Erased. One of the protagonists die, and the other protagonist goes back in time to try and avoid this happening.
The only good thing that I wasn't expecting was when I found out that Mitsuha was actually already dead ... and her timeline was 3 years before the present.
But that was quickly washed away with the frustration I felt that they just took so long to figure out who they were and I was seriously hating the ending because of the ignorance.

{Art 9/10}
Beautiful art! Its colour scheme is so asthetic and Its really nice. I have nothing against it and its one of the only good things this anime has to offer.

{Sound 10/10}
Sound was really good too. They had music playing at just the right moments and even though I didn't really enjoy the movie, It made me feel a little sad. If there were no music i would have felt no pity for any of the characters.

{Character 5/10}
Bad Characters! It was such a short movie you couldn't get attached to the characters at all. They rushed character development and you can't just force someone to feel pity if 20 minutes ago you just met them. Like, they are realizing they are switching bodies then 4 minutes later out of no where the protagonists love each other like what??

{Enjoyment 5/10}
I got bored around the middle of the movie, which really shouldn't happen because of how short it is. The stories end didn't make me feel bad or happy it made me feel frustrated. It was showing Takis struggle but why? As far as im considered he had a good life. Friends, Entertainment, Cafes, A date. He didn't really need to switch and thats what made it lacking.

{Overall 6/10}
I would not recommend this anime to anyone. It was okay but nothing that made me sob or contemplate after i had finished it. It left no lingering emotions and thats a sign to me that I didn't enjoy it.

Sound 10/10: The music pairs wonderfully with the imagery.

Art 10/10: Absolutely amazing animation, natural and charming movements. An utter delight and feast for the eyes.

Story: 3/10

Extremely nonsensical. [potential spoilers] Even if I were to suspend my disbelief and say that they knew that it was a dream, how did they not notice when they wrote down in their respective diary the respective time gaps? It is literally three years apart.[potential spoilers] Also, it is literally impossible for their friends to not notice how they radically different they are from who they were. It really pulls me out of the film when the body ... swapping happens and no one thinks "Wow, this guy/girl literally forgot EVERYTHING about where he/she is, who I am, and who he/she is. Huh, maybe's something's wrong here. Methinks we should bring him/her to a psychologist for his/her severe amnesia." Because that was literally what happened yet this reaction never happened.

Characters 5/10: It wasn't about the depth or chemistry of the romance. I didn't find the two characters particularly interesting. Their interactions are conveyed mostly through texts messages for half of the film, so I didn't find it endearing when they finally met up and somehow fell in love. The length they will go to meet each other again over being body-swapped was extremely off-putting; reason being they never had a proper conversation, just romantically gaze off vague concepts of each other based off superficial fragments of what others know of them and little of what they were willing to reveal. But nevertheless, it was so well-animated and put together I was actually willing to forgive the underdevelopment of what should have been a couple of huge plot points. The way they convey the emotions they were experiencing over their desperation, the love that they had (not sure why) actually filled those holes because it felt so believable. Unfortunately, it was still terrible every time I remember they are doing this because they body-swapped.

Enjoyment/Final Score 6/10:

I can see what all the hype is about, it was a meticulously put-together film, the imagery exceeds expectations although I didn't quite like the montage bits. It is beyond amazing to see how a poor and confusing concept can be so well-executed. I might have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so universally acclaimed but I am not sure, the story is really beyond awful. The characters mediocre. I guess it's really what you are looking for in a film because the animations, the atmosphere, really makes you forget all of its flaws almost instantly.

Kimi no Na wa is beautifully animated coupled great original soundtrack to deliver a mediocre teens romance with generic unmemorable characters, story that is full of plot holes, poor re-hatched of unoriginal settings from other franchise, that overall tried so very very hard to pull the heart string of the viewers.

In short, the BIGGEST ANIME HYPE TRAIN of 2016.

This story might had worked if there were no Internet and smartphones in Japan at the time of the story's setting. With characters having access to Internet and smartphones; the story development of Kimi no Na wa became unconvincing and down right doesn't make ... sense. I won't go into much about it to avoid spoilers for people who have not watched it, but just keep Internet access in mind.

The story of Kimi no Na wa is basically a re-hatched of a (I hate to say it) a 2000 South Korean film "Il Mare". Yet, Il Mare was successful at interesting/logical story development (huge part due to shitty internet access during the year the story was set in), convincing romance, great soundtrack, great cinematography and shorter run time.

Overall, the reason that I somewhat enjoyed from Kimi no Na wa was because of its stunning animation and good soundtrack. If you take away those 2 things. It's just a poorly conceived teens romance story.

If you want a real tear-jerker of a love story anime teens romance, try Your Lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) and forget about Kimi no Na wa.

Animation and music will continued to improve with technological advancements, but great stories are timeless. Mark my word, Kimi no Na Wa will not age well and will never become an all time masterpiece with half-baked try-hard teen love story.

Buy hey, if you just wanna see if what I said holds any truth just get on the HYPE TRAIN. I know I have LOL!!!!

I find this movie to be extremely overhyped, the story is pretty dumb itself, with nothing exceptional happening, the characters are really really bad, nothing particularly good about them, as I find both the main characters to be quite bland. You can't say anything much about the animation, it's really good (it's to be expected in anime movies though). Same thing with the sound, it's good. I didn't enjoy the show, I spent a good part of the movie on my phone, and couldn't wait for it to be over, it's really not emotional, I don't get the people saying otherwise. Overall it's a 6, ... it gets saved by the good job done by the animators.

On a technical level, "Kimi no Na Wa" is breathtaking; every single frame catches the viewer's attention because of its intricately deep and complex art style. It features backgrounds that any conventional artist would spend hours drawing and painting: In a sense, "Kimi no Na Wa" is a moving painting with each frame and each movement beautifully woven into the movie. The movie's orchestrated soundtrack emphasizes its artistic beauty with music nearly as intricate and detailed as the animation itself.

So then, why does "Kimi no Na Wa" seem so shallow to me in comparison to its art?

Under the catching appeal of its art ... style is its unfortunately mangled and somewhat tedious story. The characters are ultimately forgettable: some could argue that this is the point, as the protagonists are supposed to be ordinary school children struggling against an unknown and mysterious force of 'nature'. However, I would attribute their lack of memorability to both the plot and the protagonists' characters.

The plot sets up a great sense of mystery and discovery, but fails to address overarching questions that are integral to the story's development. In addition, the story is all over the place: it is not evident what the driving force of the two protagonist's dilemma is, but concludes without addressing major plot points that leaves a bitter and confusing taste in the viewer's mouth. As such, a plot can carry a character and is the driving force of their development; a protagonist cannot carry the plot. Therefore, it would seem impossible for the protagonist to be better than their plot. That's not to say that the plot of "Kimi no Na wa" is bad by any standards; it's a heartwarming and wholesome story that concludes with a good theme that would become applicable to any viewer's life (a very important thing to do). However, and perhaps most importantly, the story has no impact and is ultimately forgettable.

"Kimi no Na wa" deserves its hype and rating on a technical scale, raising the standard of anime to a level it hasn't achieved before. It has the beautiful movement of a Studio Ghibli movie while containing art that would take conventional artists endless hours to create. However, its plot is lackluster, with unanswered crucial and pressing questions that are utilized as a driving force to the plot, but is ultimately still enjoyable.

A 6 on my scale is what some would conventionally consider a 7 or 8 (refer to profile). Therefore, I would recommend this movie.

I am not one to take MAL ratings seriously most of the time, so I do not bother with ratings here usually. However, with Kimi no Na wa taking the number 1 spot in MAL, anime that has an immediate high rating often attracts professional or highly analytical critics from around the world. I felt disturbed that it's called a "masterpiece" and so, with checking reviews and ratings ahead of time, I decided to rate this film based on a realistic train of thought, and taking this movie to the real world setting to really see how effective and consistent it is. So if you ... believe this movie is rated more than it should be, then this review might be just for you.

Immediately, when the movie takes off, it starts off for some time with the usual charade of daily antics and life problems. A bit too cliche but not bad. It does however blend foreshadowing without disturbing the flow of the movie, but it also costs some intricate story elements along the way, which is why the movie is not notably unique.

The issue within the first 30 minutes becomes apparent. Character depth is not very big, and with the MCs' being your average children, the story needs to rely on other ulterior plot devices in order to deploy a strong message. Another case is that if a body switching like that occurs ever, a lot of problems can easily be resolved on a realistic train of thought, especially when the affected persons do not live that far away. Simply go big on the internet, state your location and then wait. And then, when they meet, all they need to do is identify their history and unique hobbies/belongings, and that's it.

This movie is confirmed to be primarily entertainment when the origins of the magical comet relies on grey areas AND it along with its meaning is vaguely tied in with traditional Japanese concepts hinting a rigged plot element. The flow of the movie is well done, and the comedy/social aspect is great. I'm sure these pointers are what attracts millennials.

The time line of the movie is a great concept, very great concept actually. However, it needs more crafting time because a notable amount of things do not make sense, which is why it is logically loose. The intricacies surrounding the plot is also great and does not have any significant loose ends.

The main problem with the movie is that its main messages are not very applicable in the real world. So what if you know a person's name. Love is not analyzed deep here. There are many kinds of love, and there are a lot of disagreeing opinions of love. But what is love on a consistent basis? Consistency always matters. This movie fails to deliver even its strongest message when examined under full extent. What is the point of a magical adventure if you end up in the same starting point.

I mean, is it really hard to remember some things when you can easily note all of them on paper or the internet?

I just finished watching Kimi no Na Wa and it seriously is a stupid film; a shitty film. Even without the hype, I'm pretty sure I would've still judged it as stupid.


I'm pretty sure that I've read a premise that's like the premise of the movie - two people exchanging their bodies to live as the other. Like the movie, it was also a romance type of story but it wasn't idiotic like that of Kimi no Na Wa.


Kimi no Na Wa's premise is definitely interesting. What would actually happen if two strangers, from two far away places, exchange their bodies? What would develop ... between the two? How would it affect their lives in the present and in the future? How would it affect the lives of other people around them? There are so many interesting things that you could do with the premise and in the beginning, the movie did have some of the things I've thought of. The problem is, that wasn't the point of the movie. And because it wasn't the point of the movie, it was done in a very lazy manner. As such, it just killed my mood for the show instantly.


The two protagonists acting weirdly every now and then? Present. How were they received by other people? Positively. How much time were they presented to the audience? Oh, just a minute or two. But it was still believable, right? Definitely not!


The two protagonists having no memories of the body they possesed? Present. Where they still able to cope up with their every day lives? Yes. How much time were they shown to the audience? Just some scenes here and there. But it was still satisfying, right? Absolutely not!


And this last one is the one that I definitely was disappointed the most. Basically, how they fell in love with each other. It was not shown. At least for the other two problems I had with the show, there were some scenes that showed them, this love development, on the other hand, doesn't have one. It was just told to the audience! This is like the foundation of the show! They should've shown things properly, right? So why did they not show it!


Then things happen. They suddenly stopped exchanging their bodies, date & time is different between the two, magically exchanged their bodies again because the show said so, without real explanation, just some superficial ones that wasn't even hinted at all, and more sh*t, and blah blah blah.


Basically, characters, 4/10, and story, 2/10.


Now, for the good parts.


Like any other Makoto Shinkai anime, the visuals are spectacular. Animation is fluid, character designs are good, and backgrounds, alright. Directing is great. I didn't look too much on it. 9/10

The sound section is definitely a good one. Even before watching the movie, I was already listening to its soundtrack due to a roommate of mine listening to one of its songs back then. And so I just also listened to it since the song was catchy. Perhaps, because I can’t use my headphones (jack something of laptop is destroyed), I was not really able to listen to weaker background music, but from those I’ve heard, they are great! There might be scenes that I think needed some background music for better feeling but meh. It was already great so 9/10.

Enjoyment: I was enjoying it until the third problem I mentioned. I just somewhat just lost a part of my interest with the show but there was still a little bit of enjoyment, even until the end. 6/10

Conclusion: A movie that surely should have been better if it was a serialized one since the characters and the story are horseshit in the movie. If it was a tv series instead, characters would have improved quite a lot (a 2 or 3) but for the story section, an addition “one” would already be generous. It’s just another easily digestible movie with bad writing but entertaining nonetheless. 5/10
I just finished watching Kimi no Na Wa and it seriously is a stupid film; a shitty film. Even without the hype, I'm pretty sure I would've still judged it as stupid.


I'm pretty sure that I've read a premise that's like the premise of the movie - two people exchanging their bodies to live as the other. Like the movie, it was also a romance type of story but it wasn't idiotic like that of Kimi no Na Wa.


Kimi no Na Wa's premise is definitely interesting. What would actually happen if two strangers, from two far away places, exchange their bodies? What would develop between the two? How would it affect their lives in the present and in the future? How would it affect the lives of other people around them? There are so many interesting things that you could do with the premise and in the beginning, the movie did have some of the things I've thought of. The problem is, that wasn't the point of the movie. And because it wasn't the point of the movie, it was done in a very lazy manner. As such, it just killed my mood for the show instantly.


The two protagonists acting weirdly every now and then? Present. How were they received by other people? Positively. How much time were they presented to the audience? Oh, just a minute or two. But it was still believable, right? Definitely not!


The two protagonists having no memories of the body they possesed? Present. Where they still able to cope up with their every day lives? Yes. How much time were they shown to the audience? Just some scenes here and there. But it was still satisfying, right? Absolutely not!


And this last one is the one that I definitely was disappointed the most. Basically, how they fell in love with each other. It was not shown. At least for the other two problems I had with the show, there were some scenes that showed them, this love development, on the other hand, doesn't have one. It was just told to the audience! This is like the foundation of the show! They should've shown things properly, right? So why did they not show it!


Then things happen. They suddenly stopped exchanging their bodies, date & time is different between the two, magically exchanged their bodies again because the show said so, without real explanation, just some superficial ones that wasn't even hinted at all, and more sh*t, and blah blah blah.


Basically, characters, 4/10, and story, 2/10.


Now, for the good parts.


Like any other Makoto Shinkai anime, the visuals are spectacular. Animation is fluid, character designs are good, and backgrounds, alright. Directing is great. I didn't look too much on it. 9/10

The sound section is definitely a good one. Even before watching the movie, I was already listening to its soundtrack due to a roommate of mine listening to one of its songs back then. And so I just also listened to it since the song was catchy. Perhaps, because I can’t use my headphones (jack something of laptop is destroyed), I was not really able to listen to weaker background music, but from those I’ve heard, they are great! There might be scenes that I think needed some background music for better feeling but meh. It was already great so 9/10.

Enjoyment: I was enjoying it until the third problem I mentioned. I just somewhat just lost a part of my interest with the show but there was still a little bit of enjoyment, even until the end. 6/10

Conclusion: A movie that surely should have been better if it was a serialized one since the characters and the story are horseshit in the movie. If it was a tv series instead, characters would have improved quite a lot (a 2 or 3) but for the story section, an addition “one” would already be generous. It’s just another easily digestible movie with bad writing but entertaining nonetheless. 5/10

The first time I ever watched this anime was on an airplane ride. The anime overall has is good part like the romance. However, the bad parts over weigh the good parts including like the story line. The whole anime was just plain and doesn't have any real motives. For example, One piece is to find the One Piece and Naruto is to become the Hokage. [Spoiler] The ending was also very cringe-worthy since the two people passed each other 3 to 4 times and didn't realize it was the same person they wanted to meet. I really wanted to punch the screen in front ... of me and yell out loud in the airplane.

Kimi no Nawa will probably remind you of several movies you've seen before. Mysterious romance? Time hijinks? ring any bells?
Well,first the story. The flow of the story itself remains active throughout the movie. It doesn't overdo its side stories and focuses on our two main characters. It's probably something you'd enjoy reading instead of watching. It gives an atmosphere of comedy and mystery at the same time. During the climax, it gives you a sorrowful feeling of longing. However, there are several unanswered questions/plotholes. These head scratching plotholes will leave you blank in the end,but no worries,it's still as decent as it is despite ... its resemblance to other movies/books/shows.
- The art and animation is just beautiful. The use of vibrant colors to attract the viewer’s attention, the detailed designs,the accurate portrayal of nature..just beautiful.The character designs are simple but good. The animation runs smoothly and everything about it is just aesthetically pleasing.
- The background music is so moving and fits perfectly into each scene. The style,the timing,it’s perfect.
- Overall, it’s an okay movie. There are missing parts and there are instances when the romance itself feels forced. It’s like a cup of pure green tea, it’s okay but I wish they added more sugar.