Mitsuha lives in Itomori, a lake town in the mountains, with a grandmother who makes braided cords and a shrine she is embarrassed to serve. Taki lives in Tokyo, works at an Italian restaurant and draws buildings. One morning each wakes up as the other. It happens two or three times a week. They leave notes on each other’s phones and faces. Your Name. was the biggest anime film ever made outside Studio Ghibli, and it is the film that made Makoto Shinkai a name.
What Happens When The Swapping Stops
Taki goes looking for Itomori. He finds out what happened there three years ago when the comet Tiamat split, and that the swaps were not happening at the same time. The second half is a race to a version of the past that can be changed, through the shrine, the kuchikamizake, and the ridge at twilight, the moment the film’s title comes from. The last scene is on a Tokyo staircase, years later.
Why It Became A Phenomenon
It made 380 million dollars worldwide and sat at number one in Japan for twelve weeks. Shinkai’s backgrounds, the Tokyo streets and the lake at dusk, are drawn from real places that became pilgrimage sites. The Radwimps songs are part of the structure, not a soundtrack. The twilight scene, where they finally meet, is one of the best scenes in animation.
Watch Your Name On GoMovies
106 minutes in HD, Japanese with subtitles. Press play above. Free, no sign-up.
