It is an long overdue post but I have to talk about this animated film no matter what. There is a reason why Kimi no na wa (Your Name) was a hit movie of 2017 and to date, this Makoto Shinkai’s work was the highest grossing animated film from Japan.
The same reasons like other successful films.
1. Story plot
2. Music
3. Cinematography
This film nailed the 3 main reasons, that’s why Kimi no na wa was such a huge hit.
The concept of time has been portrayed differently by various media from international movies, dramas to books, anime or manga. However, each has its own uniqueness that draws you to its plot. Kimi no na wa’s unique selling point would be the combination of the concept of time and the trending body switching element with Japanese folklore in a fantasy romance setting.
Mitsuha is a high school student that lives in a rural town. She is also a shrine maiden who can’t wait to get out of this backward town and wished to be reborned as a boy living in the city. Taki on the other hand is a high school student who has great interests in architecture who living in Tokyo and works part time at a restaurant. One morning, they woke up to find their bodies switched.
They do not know why their bodies switched nor the reason they couldn’t contact each other. One thing they know is that the switch can happen anytime. Through these random swaps, they experienced each other’s lives and learnt various things from different perspectives.
Both of them learned about the term “Musubi” and this term forms the basis of the film’s concept. “Musubi is the old way of calling the local guardian god. This word has profound meaning. Typing thread is Musubi. Connecting people is Musubi. The flow of time is Musubi. These are all the god’s power. So the braided cords that we make are the god’s art and represent the flow of time itself. They converge and take shape. They twist, tangle, sometimes unravel, break, and then connect again. Musubi – knotting. That’s time.”
As the story progresses, the characters unknowingly fell for each other. The turning point for them to realize the reason for this switch was the news of the comet expecting to pass the Earth. It turns out this comet has hidden elements that ended up annihilating the town that Mitsuha lives, killing many including Mitsuha and her friends and families who happened to be at the annual town festival.
Taki woke up in tears, feeling unsettled and empty. He decided to go on a trip to find Mitsuha. It was until he arrived at a neighboring town where the ramen shop owner recognized his drawing of Itomori lake, the town that was destroyed by the comet 3 years ago that Taki realizes that his and Mitsuha’s time were not synchronized. He went to the cave to find the wine where he made the offering while in Mitsuha’s body which enabled him to go back in time to save Mitsuha. He also found out that 1200 years ago, a similar comet fell and destroyed the same town. This was the reason why their bodies switched, where generations of the Miyamizu (Mitsuha’s ancestors) experienced similar ‘dream’ as a warning of the future.
“Twilight, when it’s neither day or night. When the world blurs where one might encounter something not human.” Taki and Mitsuha searched for each other and finally met at twilight for the first time where Taki told Mitsuha about the incident that she has to save the town and as the light darkens to the night, they missed each other and starts to forget each other’s name.
After years passed, both felt as if they were missing something and is constantly searching for somebody. They chanced upon each ohter through passing trains and instantly knew they were looking for each other. They got off the train and finally saw each other at the steps, asking at the same time “Your Name? (kimi no na wa?).
Other characters like Mitsuha and Taki’s friends and families created a cute, fun and supportive dynamics in the movie.
Music is probably be one of the main reason why this movie was so popular. All the music were performed by Radwimps and composed by their frontman, Noda Yojiro. The film/story plot was also influenced by the music. Makoto Shinkai mentioned because of the ending song “Nandemonaiya” where Noda’s lyrics goes “just a little more, just a little more” that he decided to give Kimi no na wa a happy ending.
All the songs matches closely to the story plot, feelings of the characters at different scenes and you can see/hear the strong collaboration between Makoto Shinkai and Noda Yojiro. The theme song, zenzenzense (past past past life) also became a hit song that was played everywhere and other songs from the movie were also used as BGMs in various variety shows across the world.
Makoto Shinkai also wrote this novel that was published before the film was out. But note that the film and music was created first and Shinkai wrote the novel based on it while the film was in production. The novel gives you a little more perspective of what the characters were feeling and thinking that a film will not be able to portray.
Lastly, the cinematography was strong and draws attention to the details of each scenes. Many of the buildings, infrastructures, sceneries and settings were inspired by various cities and towns in Japan. Many of these places became popular tourists attractions and even helped boost smaller town’s tourism and business. I visited some of them too, example, braving through the cold and frostbites to capture this shot of Hie Shrine in Takayama where this was the inspiration for the Miyamizu Shrine.
Initially some might have a hard time understanding the film but Kimi no na wa is worth watching a few times as each time you get more absorbed and understands the story and feelings of the characters especially when you listen to the music attentively.
This film also made Radwimps even more popular and recognized around the world. At that time, I hear their songs everywhere along the streets, in cafes or restaurants in Japan and Korea. Because of this film, I became a Radwimps’ fan, listened to all their other songs and even attended their concert! Going to attend another one this year too! Well, more on their music in another post soon.
I strongly recommend this film. Give it a try and if you have already watched it, I guess it’s about time you rewatch it.
Monochronos 