Your Name is one of the most fan-favourite anime films directed & written by Makoto Shinkai. This anime wiki has all the necessary details about the anime. Enjoy!
Brief Introduction
- ‣ Name – Your Name/君の名は。/Kimi no Na wa
- ‣ Release Date – August 26, 2016 (Japan)
- ‣ Director & Writer – Makoto Shinkai
- ‣ Genre – Romance, Drama, Fantasy
- ‣ Studio – CoMix Wave Films
- ‣ Runtime – 107 minutes
Overview
Your Name (Japanese: 君の名は。, Kimi no Na wa, meaning “Your Name is?”) is a 2016 Japanese animated movie written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. It’s a romantic fantasy story about two teenagers, Taki and Mitsuha, who mysteriously start switching bodies even though they’ve never met in real life.
The film mixes romance, mystery, excellent cinematography, storytelling, and a touch of disaster, inspired by Japan’s real-life natural events. It was made by CoMix Wave Films and released by Toho.
The movie first showed at Anime Expo in Los Angeles on July 3, 2016, and was released in Japanese theaters on August 26, 2016. After its release, it became a huge hit, loved for its beautiful animation, emotional story, and music, making it one of the top-earning anime films ever. It also led to a novel, a manga, and an upcoming live-action remake.
Detailed Plot Explained
Talking about the plot, it shows Mitsuha Miyamizu is a high school girl living in the small, quiet town of Itomori in Japan’s countryside. She’s tired of her boring life and wishes to be a boy in Tokyo in her next life. On the other side, Taki Tachibana is a high school boy in busy Tokyo, working part-time at a restaurant and dreaming of becoming an architect.
One day, Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and Taki wakes up in hers. At first, they think it’s just a weird dream, but soon they realize they’re actually swapping bodies now and then. To keep things under control, they leave notes for each other on their phones or in diaries. Mitsuha, in Taki’s body, helps him get closer to his coworker Miki, while Taki, in Mitsuha’s body, makes her more popular at school.
Mitsuha mentions a comet called Tiamat that will pass by Earth. After the comet, the body-swapping stops. Taki tries to find Mitsuha but can’t remember her town’s name. He uses his drawings of Itomori to track it down, only to learn from a restaurant owner that the town was destroyed three years ago by a comet fragment, killing many people, including Mitsuha.
Desperate, Taki finds a special sake Mitsuha left at a shrine and drinks it, hoping to reconnect with her. He sees her past and learns she once came to Tokyo to meet him before the disaster, but he didn’t recognize her. She gave him a braided cord, which he now wears as a bracelet. Taki wakes up in Mitsuha’s body on the day of the comet disaster. He teams up with Mitsuha’s friends, Tessie and Sayaka, to evacuate the town by cutting power and sending a fake emergency alert.
Meanwhile, Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body in Tokyo. At sunset, their timelines align, and they meet at the shrine. They try to write their names on each other’s palms to remember, but the connection fades. Mitsuha, back in her body, convinces her dad to evacuate Itomori, saving the town.
Eight years later, in 2021, Taki is job-hunting in Tokyo, feeling like he’s missing something. He and Mitsuha spot each other when their trains pass by. They get off and search, finally meeting on a staircase (that iconic scene). Sensing they know each other, they ask, “What’s your name?”
Characters
- ‣ Taki Tachibana – Voiced by Ryunosuke Kamiki (Japanese), Michael Sinterniklaas (English). A 17-year-old Tokyo boy who loves sketching and wants to be an architect. He’s kind but can be impulsive. He works at a restaurant and later appears in Weathering with You.
- ‣ Mitsuha Miyamizu – Voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English). A 17-year-old girl from Itomori who dreams of city life. She’s a shrine maiden and wears a red braided cord, symbolizing fate. She also appears in Weathering with You.
- ‣ Katsuhiko “Tessie” Teshigawara – Voiced by Ryo Narita (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English). Mitsuha’s friend, who likes mechanics and helps save the town. He has a crush on Mitsuha.
- ‣ Sayaka Natori – Voiced by Aoi Yūki (Japanese), Cassandra Lee Morris (English). Sayaka is Mitsuha’s best friend, who helps with the evacuation and has a crush on Tessie.
- ‣ Tsukasa Fujii – Voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki (Japanese), Ben Pronsky (English). Tsukasa appears as Taki’s loyal friend, who works with him and later marries Miki.
- ‣ Shinta Takagi – Voiced by Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Ray Chase (English). Taki’s cheerful friend who wants to be an architect.
- ‣ Miki Okudera – Voiced by Masami Nagasawa (Japanese), Laura Post (English). Taki’s pretty coworker, who starts to like him during the swaps.
- ‣ Hitoha Miyamizu – Voiced by Etsuko Ichihara (Japanese), Glynis Ellis (English). Mitsuha’s wise grandmother, who runs the family shrine and explains the body-swapping.
Other characters include Mitsuha’s little sister Yotsuha, her dad Toshiki, and their teacher Yukari Yukino.
Production/Story Behind the Anime
Makoto Shinkai got the idea for Your Name from Japan’s natural disasters, like earthquakes, and wanted to tell a story about connection and fate. He started working on it around 2014, writing and directing it himself. CoMix Wave Films, which made his earlier movies like 5 Centimeters per Second, handled the animation. The film’s settings, like Tokyo and the made-up Itomori (based on Hida, Gifu), were drawn with stunning detail, especially the skies and light.
Newcomer Mone Kamishiraishi was picked for Mitsuha because her voice felt natural, while Ryunosuke Kamiki, a known actor, voiced Taki. Shinkai also wrote a novel version before the movie came out, which sold over a million copies. The team focused on making the visuals and emotions stand out, with Shinkai’s love for colorful, glowing scenes.
Music
The music was created by RADWIMPS, a Japanese rock band. Songs like “Zenzenzense,” “Sparkle,” and “Nandemonaiya” match the movie’s emotional moments perfectly. The soundtrack mixes rock and soft music, making scenes like the comet’s fall or Taki and Mitsuha’s meeting even more powerful. Fans loved the music, and “Zenzenzense” was almost voted Best Theme Song at the 2016 Newtype Anime Awards.
Awards
Your Name won 17 awards and was nominated for 27. It took home Best Animated Film from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (2016), the Japan Media Arts Festival Award (2017), and the Daruma d’Or at Japan Expo (2017). It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Annie, Satellite, and Saturn Awards in 2018. The music also got praise, with “Zenzenzense” coming close to winning at the Newtype Anime Awards.
Fun Facts
- The movie has Japanese jokes, like how Taki and Mitsuha talk differently, that are hard to translate.
- The novel dives deeper into what Taki and Mitsuha are thinking.
- Fans flock to Tokyo’s Suga Shrine staircase, where the final scene happens.
