Your Name

Released 18th November 2016, Your Name follows two teenagers who are somehow intertwined… and also swapping each other’s bodies. One of the best parts of the film is that the characters are distinctively shown as teenagers through their social interactions, idiolect and certain ‘things’ they explore while in the other’s body. Your Name provides poignant insights into identity, ancestry, relationships and also perseverance. One slight issue I have is that some of the dialogue throughout the film is unnecessary exposition; while exposition does have a place in certain films and scenes, it is used at times where the exposition given is just stating the obvious and subsequently sucks you out of the narrative occasionally.

Ryunosuke Kamiki gives a strong vocal performance to Taki, the teenage boy who is caught in the swapping. He manages to encapsulate a comedic awkwardness in the face of situations Mitsuha (the teenage body-swapper) has left him in as well as sustaining a lower energy that every teenage boy has nowadays. Mitsuha on the other hand is voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi who maintains a higher energy across most of the film with frequent upper inflections in pitch to demonstrate her whiny nature. The differences between these two characters makes their chemistry really strong and helps to form the connection between them. While they do meet later in the narrative, the editing enables the two to appear on a split screen where the overlap of their dialogue enhances their chemistry further. Masami Nagasawa does a good job as Ms. Okudera; as Taki’s crush during the first act of the film, she develops into someone that Taki is able to confide in and Nagasawa is able to come across with a pleasantness across the entirety of the film.

The rest of the voice acting is good too, albeit less integral to the plot than these three. The film is also thoroughly engrossed in the Shinto religious practises in Japan without alienating an unfamiliar audience (like myself before watching the film) as well as loosely integrating it into the narrative beats. As for the animation, the sheer amount of detail and vibrancy of the cinematography is the textbook definition of spectacular. Radwimps also delivered a great soundtrack which, whilst not overtly memorable, serves the underscored scenes brilliantly. Overall, Your Name is a film which harbours astounding visual merit, strong and relatable characters as well as an engaging narrative.