A big success in terms of visuals, audio and story

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2018)

"Kimi no na wa." or "Your Name" is a Japanese anime movie that premiered in 2016 already and it took until now, early 2018, to make it to Germany, but the waiting was worth it. Writer and director here is Makoto Shinkai and this was his 5th full feature movie I believe and judging from the quality, I am not surprised that he is considered the next Miyazaki by many, even without the contribution of Studio Ghibli here. This was really a beautiful watch. It runs for 105 minutes approximately and takes us into the lives of a Japanese male teenager living in Tokyo and a female teenager living in the countryside. With a comet approaching Planet Earth, these two seem to be switching mind and bodies as a consequence of their dreams. This results in some pretty funny moments early on, but adds considerable gravity to the whole story the longer the film goes on, at least starting that very moment when we find out how they are not living during the exact same time. So it is a definitely a drama movie, even if Shinkai did really fine in using several established approaches to get in comedy too like the recurring boob humor that is executed so thoughtfully that it works very well and never feels cheesy or even offensive, then the scenes in which we see how female characters can get interested in something so enthusiastically or also thought process of recent mentions in a way you see on Family Guy, but in anime style of course.
But now about the more crucial factors here. I watched the German dub and I thought the voice actors did a really good job. The music was really beautiful to listen to most of the time and the soundtrack added a great deal of class to the film and many individual scenes. And in terms of the plot, the twist towards the darker, more dramatic side the film takes around the one-hour mark is one that worked incredibly well too while before that it was more entertaining for the sweetness, funny mannerisms of the characters and just the exploration of the whole situation. The element of death that is included afterward is one that will have you glued to the screen as it also adds a great deal in terms of character development. The eternal parallel between beauty and destruction was one that was mesmerizing. The moment the comet eventually hit the place and we were nearby to see it not knowing how many died and how many survived was one of the best of the entire film year to me. But this parallel I just mentioned also applies in terms of the subject of dreams, a very crucial one in here. As quickly as your memories are irrevocably destroyed, as sweet and breathtaking and special may your dreams be. There is no way to keep them though as the memory fades quickly and this is something I experienced so many times in real life too, which is why the film made an even bigger impact on me from that perspective. It was not a perfect film, but all criticisms I have with it are just minor really and probably entirely subjective, so I won't mention them in detail, so that you won't recognize them even perhaps from your standpoint. What else? Oh yes, all the characters are really likable and fun to watch and there is great charm to this movie in my opinion, lots of magic. It is also a film I am sure where you will see something new every time regardless of it being the second time you see it or the 20th time. I don't think that how much I liked it has to do here with my preference for anime or Japanese films and Japan in general, so you can also enjoy it without these preferences, but it obviously helps. The ending was slightly predictable that the film stops the moment they meet in real life for the very first time, but that does not make it bad. There were 2 or 3 moments before that too when the film could have ended and it would have been as good, maybe even better, but the actual ending is very good nonetheless. Overall, this was a touching, sweet, shocking, funny movie and it was really all I could hope for. I am really glad I got the chance to see it on the big screen as this is where it is far more effective than on a small laptop or television screen I'm sure. Still it is better seeing it there too than not seeing it at all. A definite contender for best animated feature from 2016 and boo to the Oscars and all the other awards bodies not showing it any love. This movie is a true thing of beauty and I highly highly recommend seeing it. And yes, it is an animated movie that is more for grown-ups than for kids for sure. Don't miss out here.