Disclaimer: It would be very difficult to write a full review on this without letting go some spoilers. So if I have revealed anything after this point, you have been warned. In order to avoid major spoilers, I've clipped them from this review, and thus generalized the review considerably.
Your Name is an anime movie that swims in very familiar waters. The main themes are all fairly common and the major plot points and twists have all been done before. In every instance of this film, the plot points and themes have been done better elsewhere. One of the main points of the movie is the theme of body swapping between a male and female. Although there are enjoyable moments, this movie adds nothing to its respective genres and leaves no memorable contribution to the primary body swap theme. I liken this to a generic drama movie that's made and quickly forgotten in a market already saturated with better movies.
Like the body swap theme, there are numerous other devices employed in this movie that just do not live up to other examples nor does the movie excel in any category it attempts.
*Slice of life? subtle way of saying the plot is disjointedly jumping between two people's lives.
*Comedy? funny moments exist here and there, but nothing to take home.
*School? guy looking out of window/10.
*Supernatural? one aspect with no explanation, one of the weaker points of the movie.
*Romance? One interchange that abruptly ends, main romance never gets off the ground.
*Drama? There are a handful of "emotional" moments that are hardly impacting, akin to being punched by a 4 year old. Mostly due to disjointed storytelling.
There are more themes, though I will stop here as I want to try and avoid spoilers. Every category falls short of the spark that prompts a "this is great" feeling. I found the movie to be rather average on its own, lesser so when compared to similar (read: better) movies. And at the end, the sum is no greater than its mediocre parts.
For the time length and medium in which this anime is presented (a 1 hour 46 minute long movie), it doesn't do a whole lot to impress. One of my major complaints prompted me to pause the movie when I wondered how long I had been watching without the movie reaching any plot point. The time was just shy of the 35 minute mark. And I don't mean that the main plot point doesn't show up until 40 minutes in, I mean that for 40 straight minutes there is no semblance of a plot. I'm ok with letting a story run on it's own, but the one little note that is dangled in front of you (that she was acting weird yesterday) was not enticing enough to fan interest.
Often the movie skips around or back and forth between the two body swappers. Sometimes the movie does this successfully, other times it simply does not. The direction frequently brings the viewer back to one scene then carries on with the plot, but then loops back to the one scene. It feels disjointed at times, and for me anyways, takes the viewer out of the role of observer and into the thought of "how much longer are we going to stretch this scene.." I won't say that the movie drags, because it keeps going forward, but it feels like the plot is just going through the motions. And when the end finally comes, the movie just ends, instead of showing what it is supposed to show.
Or to put it another way, it's like you are being driven to the store to get some milk, only the driver decides to take the long way around, stopping frequently at other locations, eventually having to get gas because you've traveled so far, then finally getting to the store only to find that the store is now closed and you have to go home, empty handed.
Frankly, this movie is far too long and makes an inappropriate use of time.
The art is good and the cinematography is one of the finer points of the movie. Sound quality is good and the voice acting is believable and professionally done. No complaints there. In fact I'd have to praise the two main characters for a job well done on the body swap scenes. The dialog isn't forced and there are many examples of good conversational exchanges among the various characters. Worth noting that the character designs are good, only they lack any real development or change within the movie (we are only shown the result of change that takes place off camera). There is ample room to focus on a few supporting characters, and the film attempts to do that, but doesn't succeed.
When it comes down to it, the improper use of time and poorly conveyed plot drag considerably on what can be considered an intriguing but unmemorable use of what we Americans would call a "freaky friday" trope (the body swap). Weighing the base parts against my overall enjoyment, I would rate this a pretty shaky 5.5 out of 10 and seeing as how we cannot select half scores I have to split hairs. I don't think this movie deserves a 6, but I cannot justify giving it as low of a rating as a 5 for the animation and production (minus story/directing). Admittedly, I might be rating this too high, but I give it a 6/10.
Final thoughts: Had I found this prior to having watched so many titles and examples of the themes employed within this movie, I might feel more passionate as to rate this a solid 6 or even a 7 out of 10. But I cannot rate this that high against other examples. When I rustle up the strongest impression I have from this movie, I remember frequently wondering how much longer the movie had to go before the end. So much so that near a certain point, I found myself rooting for the meteor.
Post review thoughts:
I would recommend instead to watch Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo (Yamada and the 7 witches) If you are looking for a body swap trope with a school life and romance theme, I honestly think they do a better job. And to give context to my recommendation, I rated that show an 8. You might say comparing a movie to a series is apples and oranges; I'd counter that I'm comparing an ok apple to a good orange, respectively.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/28677/Yamada-kun_to_7-nin_no_Majo_TV?q=seven%20witc
