your name.(kimi no na wa) anime movie review by a Japanese
“君の名は。(your name. kimi-no-na-wa)”(The famous anime movie) was on TV last night. This movie is the highest-grossing movie in 2016 in Japan. It caused a major sensation in Japan. The director is Makoto Shinkai(新海 誠). It was released in the world.
Source: ©2016 your name. Production Committee.
What is ”your name.” about?
The story is below.
The Hero is “瀧 Taki”, who is a high school boy that lives in Tokyo. The Heroin is “三葉(Mitsuha)”, who is a high school girl that lives in the countryside. They’ve switched bodies with each other! They have deepened the bonds by continuing to switch. Why do they replace each other? This is not only teen movie but also a fantasy movie. It’s a good movie, but I feel a few tricks are a little inconsistent. (^^;)
Taki and Mitsuha Source: ©2016 your name. Production Committee.
Why is “your name.” a big hit in Japan?
One of the features of this movie is beautiful scenery. Descriptions of the landscapes ー buildings and trains in Tokyo or the small rural town where Mitsuha livesー are very delicate.
Those seem to be real! It expresses very well the contrast between the city and the countryside. I think this is one of the reasons why the movie was a hit.
The scenery in the city of Shinjuku Source: ©2016 your name. Production Committee.
The scenery of the station of Hida Source: ©2016 your name. Production Committee.
Another reason I think is that Japanese people felt the importance of bonds from this anime movie. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Japanese have become more conscious of “connection with people” and “bonds”. People impressed by the movie wrote their review in SNS and the reputation had spread with SNS. Then both old and young people who heard the reputation of the movie also went to watch that movie.
My “your name. ” review
As my impression,
・The scenery is beautiful!
・Although I have seen a few previous works of the director of “your name.”‘, I did not like so much the delicate description between men and women in the works. But this time the story includes comical and fantasy elements and I could watch it happily.
・In addition, it was good for me that my favorite Japanese band “RADWIMPS”, which is popular among young, was responsible for the music of the movie!
I heard that the live-action version is going to be made in Hollywood by J.J.Abrams, but how is he going to portray Japanese traditional culture such as Shinto shrine which is very important for the story? That’s a bit anxious!
The comet that is key to the story Source: ©2016 your name. Production Committee.
your name. (English subtitles)
If you click this picture, you will jump to Amazon.co.jp(a Japanese site).
(1/21 Postscript)
The post about “The exhibition of Makoto Shinkai”(this movie’s director) is this. You can check his other works.
(10/5 Postscript)
I visited Hida where this anime is set in.
His descriptions of the landscapes are great!
The post about my visiting location spots of “your name.” ↓
Recommend post about the new popular manga in Japan↓
Japanese OL. (OL means “office lady”. Women who work in offices.)
I was born in a rural part of the Kanto area in the latter half of the 1980s. I live and work in Tokyo now. I live with my husband. I study English by writing this blog!
