Your Name **** [Kimi no na wa] (2016) – Movie Review

Japanese writer-director Makoto Shinkai tells the sci-fi infused love story of a teenage boy and girl from different backgrounds who discover they can swap bodies in this haunting, dream-like gender-bending 2016 anime film. Telling a special, unique story, it is a sweet, lovely and charming experience. It is as highly characterful as it is colourful too.

Mayor’s daughter Mitsuha (voice of Mone Kamishiraishi) dreams of leaving their small mountain town and making it in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Tokyo high school boy Taki (Ryûnosuke Kamiki) works in an Italian restaurant but aspires to be an architect or artist. Strangely, he dreams he is a high school girl in a small mountain town.

Though strangers, Mitsuha and Taki find themselves bizarrely linked and become desperate to cross space and time to find a way to meet up and to stop an impending disaster.

It is produced by Genki Kawamura with Minami Ichikawa, Keiji Ota, and Yoshihiro Furusawa for Toho Co, and Noritaka Kawaguchi for CoMix Wave Films serving as executive producers.

Your Name is the highest grossing anime film at the worldwide box office, earning $355 million. It earned $303 million in Japan and held the top spot at the box office for a record-breaking 12 weeks.

It was announced on 27 September  2017 that J J Abrams and Lindsey Weber will produce a Hollywood live-action remake for Bad Robot, along with original producer Kawamura. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer (Arrival) is writing the screenplay.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Movie Review 

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