Your Name

The well thought teenage girl Mitsuha lives in rural village with her shinto-priestss grandma and a younger sister, whilst a boy Taki resides with his father in the center of Tokyo. Both are unaware of each other’s existence, yet constantly experience a feeling that there is waiting someone of something equally close yet in unattainable distance, enforced by a strange occurence that the boy and girl change each other’s bodies during sleep.This unexplainable and awkward shift repeats from night to night and overcoming the initial shock, the two embark on a challenge to find out who is the other that so mysteriously takes of the girl’s body and vice versa. But neither Mitsuha nor Taki are aware that their growing bond is shadowed by a dramatic force putting their friendship to an ultimate test.

“Your name.” is undoubtedly one of the key anime films of the year leaving both youngsters and grown-ups impressed and mesmerized. A fact that’s been backed by the tremendous box office success in its native Japan and a critical praise overseas. Taking the anime visual and storytelling canon, but expanding it with his signature application of 3D and multimedia-esque visuals, Shinkai captures the viewer with his detailed portrayal of Tokyo’s urban and Itomori’s rural landscapes and shinto-nature religion tradition whilst telling a timeless story about growing up, falling in love for the first time, and the potential to conquer all odds to achieve your dream. Taking the pun out of puberty’s problems, still painting strong tones with references to Fukushima and the tsunami disaster, and combining a classic love story with a fantasy genre, “your name.” certainly takes the position of one of 2016’s films that touches every viewer.