Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. But things become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.
As a child, I had very little exposure to anime. Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, and Avatar: The Last Airbender were the extent of my anime knowledge (I had heard of Naruto and One Piece but had never actually watched them). It was only after watching One Punch Man (Season 1) and I won a copy of Season 1 of Mob Psycho 100 that I started to understand the appeal of anime, with much greater depth and variety in storytelling compared to western media (in general, not just in animation).
Coming off the back of binge-watching the Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia series, I figured what better time to start looking into anime movies. With Weathering With You just being released in New Zealand cinemas, it seemed a good time to check out Makoto Shinkai's previous film your name.. Your Name is the fifth feature-length anime that Shinkai has written, produced, and directed.
The story itself revolves around a teenage girl and boy from Japan. It comes with the twist that they don't actually know each other but on several occasions find themselves switching bodies for the day, gradually learning about (and affecting) the life of the person they are inhabiting. It's a unique premise for a romance, where one actually grows an attachment through experiencing the life of this opposite person without that person ever being present.
The whole body-swap (and subsequent swap-back) process provides a wealth of humour while allowing the development of side characters, along with an organic source of exposition. The first act is fun and light-hearted in an inexorably charming manner. While Your Name provides a new perspective, it still feels familiar; that is to say, it still has a lot of the trappings of a Hollywood romantic comedy (for the first act at least).
Without going into spoiler territory, there is a shift in tone towards something more serious as the film progresses, and the transition is done quite well. It is inevitably jarring, but still feels earned and justified in its choice in direction. Narratively, it is quite cohesive. There is the odd moment that does seem to foreshadow a moment far too early, but in general, the pacing and energy of the story are perfect.
From a visual perspective, the animation is absolutely spectacular. This is hand-drawn cell animation, and the colours, rendering, and cinematography are spell-binding. The level of detail is impressive, and the choices of framing in the scenes keep things engaging.
Thematically, Your Name is all about the concept of dualism (yin and yang, if you must), and nearly every facet of our two protagonists are opposing, but also interconnected and complementary; boy vs girl, urban city vs rural country, traditional culture vs. progressive modernism.
Your Name brings an interesting perspective, but at its heart, still feels like the familiar formulaic love story. There is however something much deeper embedded in this story, and it's all to do with that comet that connects them. Shinkai answers many of the questions that the premise generates, but only if they drive the narrative.
The journey of these characters becomes so engaging that you will completely forget about any unanswered questions as you are drawn deeper and deeper into the story. Your Name does well to balance the tone of the film between its various sections, and I am really looking forward to the follow-up, Weathering With You.