To start off, I went into this movie with very high expectations. Perhaps it is because I heard so many great reviews about it. Everyone I knew, even friends who generally don't watch anime, ranted and raved about how this was one of the best films they'd ever seen. This exact same thing happened to me when I listened to everyone's reviews of Frozen-- I finished the movie feeling disappointed. Your Name did not fail to leave a bitter taste in my mouth by the end. I think it has taught me to take opinions with a grain of salt. It's always better to go in with low expectations and leave satisfied than the other way around.
STORY: The story was, to put it frankly, boring. It wasn't anything special, and I honestly expected it to be amazing with the way everyone was going on about it. Substance is one of the most important parts of a story, and Your Name truly lacked in that department. Maybe it's just the cynic in me that is completely tired of all these rehashed love stories, but I cannot be convinced that the plot was anything new or exciting.
ART: I've seen Shinkai's work throughout the years, and the scenery was always the most well done. At least the movie had this much going for it. The animation of the people has improved vastly from some of his earlier works, too. I was pleasantly surprised by this. The art isn't the most impressive I've ever seen, although I do congratulate Shinkai on setting a trend for using a stupid amount of light sources and gradients. You cannot deny that many animations have tried to look like Your Name since its success.
SOUND: The sound was lovely. I can't argue with RADWIMPS being an obviously good choice for any sort of slice of life setting. Their music fit well with the theme of the movie.
CHARACTER: Haha. This got me even more than the story, in the sense that the poor character writing was a major part of why the story was so bad. I don't have much to say about this other than he was a boy, she was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious?
Enjoyment: I had a really hard time enjoying this film because of the lack of good story line and decent character development. I didn't find it fun, or exciting, or even sad (as hard as they tried to force me to be). I only wished for it to be over soon so I could go do something more productive with my time.
In conclusion, I don't know y'all lol. I'm old and tired of seeing the same 5 heterosexual love stories portrayed in the media as "compelling" and "inspiring." They're not. They're boring. No amount of gradient laden art could save me from feeling so disconnected from the characters, and the story in general. I can't say I hated it, because I know there are many people who would fight me on that, but I didn't like it either? I suppose I just don't care. It was overrated, and not my cup of tea. If someone were to ask me if I recommended it, I would answer simply with, "it's worth watching if you go in with no expectations."
