It has been some time since a Japanese anime had got me so emotionally involved into the characters. ‘Your Name’ (君の名は) managed to do that when I was just casually flicking through pages of Netflix recommendations the other day. I was looking for something to accompany me through my cooking, but I ended up sitting down completely engaged in the story.
The premise seemed straightforward – a boy dreamed about a girl and a girl dreamt about a boy. However as with a lot of Japanese anime, they are rarely so. As the story unfolds it gets more and more complicated and by that time you figured out the threads, you have involved so much in that emotional journey that you just couldn’t help but root for the characters.
It is hard to write about it without giving away too much. But the ingenuity of the movie was that it skilfully manipulated our modern-day technologies and lifestyle, and weaved them into a fabric that before you travelled to the end of the roll you will not know what’s going to happen. Also, it smartly left a lot of hints here and there and rewards you with all those enlightened moments that fed you with doses of satisfaction, if you managed to spot them.
Japanese anime might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me in an age of candy soap opera and tacky romantic comedies, ‘Your Name’ is a breath of fresh air, not just for anime but the whole genre. In fact, it feels like it had redefined the genre. I felt like I haven’t seen something like this before and thus became so engaged with the story and the character. All those ‘what ifs’ and ‘buts’ that were scattered around the plot made you really wanted to find out what impact would every decision made have on every character you came to know and care about.
‘Your Name’ is a classic example of a story told right and complimented by some of the most beautifully drawn scenery in animation. This is particularly impressive when you are watching it on a 4K HD big screen. The scenery just jumped to life on your TV in the most impressive manner. In the day and age of computer-generated animation, it is when you saw something like ‘Your Name’ that you remembered how you need to appreciate the master artistry Japanese animators brought to the medium. From the sketches drawn by the main male character Taki, to the actual scenery you saw when you actually saw the ‘real thing’ in the story, you couldn’t help but wonder how did we come to forget the beauty of traditional drawing and painting?
Accompanying with the story was a beautifully composed soundtrack by Radwimps that starts and stops at every single right moment in the story. From the urban hustle bustle of Tokyo to the tranquillity of the countryside, the soundtrack captured the world of ‘Your Name’ perfectly, and without losing a beat.
As with most Japanese anime, the characters were beautifully voice acted and I felt that this is why it became so engaging. Japanese voice actors were highly regarded in Japan and it shows why. They commanded real emotion with their animated counterpart so perfectly that you sometimes forgot they were just hand drawn characters on sheets. That is the magic of superb Japanese voice acting.
As I said, Japanese anime is not for everyone. This is especially the case with ‘Your Name’ as it started off pretty slowly and could be head scratching for some if you are not paying attention to the details. But once you see past the anime fabric of the movie, you will appreciate that it is a great and intriguing story told in the most masterful way that one could imagine. If you have an hour and a half to spare, check it out on Netflix before it disappears.
