Your Name.

Your Name.

Starring Ryunosuke Kamiki/Michael Sinterniklaas, Mone Kamishiraishi/Stephanie Sheh, Masami Nagasawa/Laura Post, Etsuko Ichihara/Glynis Ellis

Directed by Makato Shinkai

The Story:
In a small mountain town in Japan, Mitsuha Miyamizu (Mone Kamishiraishi/Stephanie Sheh) longs to live in the big city of Tokyo, getting away from her normal mundane life.  Meanwhile in Tokyo, Taki Tachibana (Ryunosuke Kamiki/Michael Sinterniklaas) is living a hectic life, juggling school and work.  One day, Mitsuha wakes up in Taki's body, and he does the same in hers, and after a few times of this happening, they learn they've been switching bodies while they sleep.

Although having never met, they set out to help the others' lives, as Mitsuha helps get Taki a date with a girl he likes, while Taki makes Mitsuha more popular in school.  Things are going well for the two, and Taki decides that he wants to meet her, but suddenly the body switching stops, leading to an adventure that surpasses time and space.

The Synopsis:
When it comes to Japanese anime movies, two names immediately come to mind: Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.  Through these two mediums, we've been gifted with such magical adventures such as "Spirited Away," "Howl's Moving Castle," and "Princess Mononoke," to name a few.  There's been other outstanding Japanese anime films (such as "Summer Wars" and "The Boy and the Bear"), but "Your Name." was something that totally came out of left field and shattered all records.  It became the highest grossing anime movie in history (surpassing "Spirited Away"), and it earned more than double that of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and other major blockbusters in Japan.  It left such an indelible print that J.J. Abrams is planning on making a live-action version of the film.  Needless to say, there was much hype and excitement about the film, and I only got to watch it recently - and I must say that the hype is real.

The film sounded reminiscent of other movies like "Freaky Friday" and "The Lake House," but manages to surpass both by offering a whole new spin on the genre, and supplying a truly moving tale told through some of the most brilliant animations you could see on screen.  The story centers around high school students Mitshua and Taki, who've never met each other and who live totally different lives, and how they suddenly come into contact by living in each others' bodies randomly.  While it could've turned into a generic carbon copy of other films, it truly sets itself apart not just with their story, but the trajectory the movie takes that's totally revolutionary and spellbinding.  You might think this is just another romantic comedy/drama, but it's so, so much more.

The animations are as beautiful as anything set to screen, and I fail to see how a live-action adaptation can do even a little bit of justice to it.  Each scene is beautifully rendered, each movement captured exquisitely, each expression sublimely.  The story - without giving it away - is captivating and awe-inspiring, and the voice acting (we watched it with dubs, instead of subtitles) was top notch.  There's not one negative thing I can say about the film, as it kept me enthralled from start to finish, in ways most live action films even fail to do.  This is a film that really needs to be seen and appreciated for the true work of art it is.

The Summary:
Reaching new heights of storytelling and visuals, it's no wonder "Your Name." became such a huge success - it's truly in a class of its own, providing a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The Score: A+