On June 1, Netflix added: à its catalog the Japanese animated filmYour Name, by Makoto Shinkai. The film was such a phenomenon, After its release in Japan in 2016, it rose to popularity. à second place in the ranking of the biggest hits at the Japanese box office, for an animated film, leaving first place toSpirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. In this article, we explain to you why you absolutely must see this masterpiece of Japanese animation.
What is this talking about?
Your Name is a Japanese animated film released in 2016 and directed by by Makoto Shinkai. It tells the story of two teenagers, Mitsuha and Taki, who have diametrically opposed lives, but their destinies are linked in a very mysterious way. Mitsuha is a high school student living in the small rural town of Itomori. Taki, he studies high school in Paris. Tokyo. One day, they both wake up, but they have exchanged each other. their body. Therefore Mitsuhafinds himself in the body of Taki who lives in Tokyo, and Taki finds himself in Mitsuha and lives in Itomori. This is the beginning of the adventure. They begin to live each other's lives while getting to know each other. They share their dreams, but also their families, their friends and both realize that their lives are really different. They will then have to adapt and live complex situations. Shortly after, they will begin to attack. communicate with each other through notes and messages.
Où is the staircase from Your Name?
The emblematic staircase from the film Your Nameis located at Tokyo not far from the Suga shrine, more precisely in the quiet district of Yotsuya. It is not far from another place which is more active, it is Shinjuku. We find ourselves in a typical place of Japanese residential neighborhoods.
Regarding these stairs, they have become very famous, even becoming a place of pilgrimage, because they appear in an important scene in the film. It shows the two main characters, Mitsuha and Taki, who come to cross paths after having each lived in the body of the other. This scene marked the minds of the spectators, because it marks a new story between the two protagonists.
What are the places that inspired the story? the film?
Several places inspired the film? the animated film Your Name apart from the famous stairs of Shinjuku. And here are the emblematic places:
- Hida Sannô-gû Shrine which is located in Gifu prefecture. He appears when Mitsuha performs a traditional dance.
- Hida Furukawa Stationin Gifu Prefecture. It is seen in the film when Taki and his friends travel to the village of Mitsuha.
- Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture. It is the birthplace of Makoto Shinkai, the director, and he was inspired by it. to create the village of Itomori in the film.
A poetic and tender film
With Your Name., director Makoto Shinkai signs his greatest success. It's a poetic film, with a tenderness that delights as much as it stabs the heart. We find in Your Name. what makes the essence of Makoto Shinkai's cinema: from The Tower beyond; clouds à Your Name., via Journey to Agartha, the filmmaker has always directed “fake SF films”. A few words of explanation are in order: with Makoto Shinkai, SF is always a pretext. A starting point at a sentimental drama. The Japanese director never seeks to to amaze your spectator with the magic of your world or with an epic breath of fresh air, but rather by focusing on the emotions of the characters.In this, he differs enormously from the master Hayao Miyazaki, creator of universes with a wide range of ideas. abundant wealth, without sacrificing emotion. Thus, in Your Name., the subject is not really the body exchange, seen and reviewed a thousand times in fantasy culture, of My father 'is me(Rod Daniel, 1987) toBody Thief(Anna Rice, 1992), including episode 3 of season 1 of em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer,episode 2 of the mini-seriesTales From The Loop, or the Punk Hazard arc inOne Pieceby Eiichiro Oda.
The real subject ofYour Name., it's a love story that everything makes impossible: space, misunderstandings, and even time.Impossible loves are the true leitmotif of Makoto Shinkai's cinema . Everything seems to prevent the mutual love that its characters have for each other from blossoming. The war in a divided Japan in two in The Tower Beyondà clouds, the incessant moving inFive millimeters per second, death inTravel to Agartha.
What message does the movie Your Name want to convey to viewers?
The animated movie Your Name is quite complex, because it highlights a lot of emotions. It focuses on love, and the characters' quest for identity. But through the story of Mitsuha and Taki whohave exchanged their bodies, the director wants to highlight the connection that there can be between individuals despite their differences. the distance and time that can separate them. Above all, he wants us not to forget the importance of ties, whether family, friendly or romantic, and that they must be maintained. In addition, life experiences, or even the emotions experienced, are much more lasting than time itself. Your Name teaches us to through its history of being much more resilient.
Who composed the soundtrack of the film?
The soundtrack of the animated film Your Name was composed by the Japanese rock band Radwimpsand she did very well. welcomed by the public. They are known for their poetic songs and the resulting album from the film met with acclaim. a huge success since it is the eighth studio album of the group and it arrived in à first place in the Oricon albums chart.
Your name more popular than Spirited Away?
The animated film Your Name met; a real success in this field. worldwide when it was released in August 2016. It set numerous box office records, even surpassing Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) with 289 million dollars in revenue. Indeed, it engendered no less than 380 million dollars which allowed it to be placed as the most profitable Japanese animated film in history, outside of Disney productions .
Makoto Shinkai, the worthy heir of Miyazaki?
First of all,Makoto Shinkai is really called  ;Makoto Niitsu and he is born on February 9, 1973 at Nagano in Japan.At the beginning of his professional career, he began as a graphic designer for video games before launching into animation.
Our fellow journalists often say of Makoto Shinkai that he is the worthy heir of Hayao Miyazaki. However, this phrase should not delude us about the nature of his cinema. If Makoto Shinkai readily recognizes that Hayao Miyazaki is a reference to which he refers to (his bedside film isThe Castle in the Sky),his films are (almost) never homages to the absolute master of Japanese animation, and often take the opposite view, except of courseJourney to Agartha, an obvious homage to the director ofVoyage of Chihiro. First of all, as we have seen, Hayao Miyazaki creates universes, poetic and fantastical, there. where Makoto Shinkai only sketches them, using them as a pretext to create new ideas. an emotional journey. Then, Miyazaki's cinema is eminently political (anti-warmongering, environmentalist, feminist, close to Marxist ideas), while politics is often absent in Makoto Shinkai's cinema, and instead leaves ;t his place at; sociology.Finally, there; where Hayao Miyazaki is a strong advocate of artisanal animation, where everything, or almost everything, is handmade, Makoto Shinkai does not hesitate to do so. use the computer for animation and coloring.
We strongly advise you to watch this masterpiece of Japanese animation. If you want other viewing (or reading) advice, don't hesitate à read our article: 13 anime and manga to choose from advisor to those who don't like it.
Otherwise, there are other animated films by Makoto Shinkai that are worth checking out if you want to know more about his work. For example, there is a very beautiful anthology in three short films called 5 Centimeters per Second. Then, The Garden of Words which was acclaimed by its beauty visual and its narration. Then there is Les Enfants du Temps which was released in 2019, 3 years after Your Name< /strong>. And if you want to go further, there is his very first feature film which was released in 2004:The Tower Beyond des Nuages. There is plenty to do if you want to immerse yourself in this director before watching his latest work entitled; Suzumereleased last year where it tells the adventures of a young girl Suzume who decided to take action. to follow a stranger looking for a door. But she decides to open it, triggering disasters ahead. across Japan. Her mission will be to close them.
How does Your Name end?
The film Your Name ends quite unexpectedly, sad, but ultimately full of hope. After a series of supernatural events and the body swap between Taki and Mitsuhawhich will allow them to prevent a comet from destroying the city of Mitsuha, near the city. know Itomori. They will return to their peaceful lives, except that the price will increase. paying is very heavy, they forget the existence of both. However, years later, when they both live next door, Tokyo,Everyone ends up with a strange feeling when they pass each other on 2 trains passing in the opposite direction. They will then find themselves face to face; face down the famous staircase. Both ask for help. the other what his name is, letting us think that they are on the verge of regaining their memory and renewing the bond they had created.
Where is the other? watch Your name?
Several options are available to you you in France. It is currently available on the Canal+ streaming service, but it is also possible to watch it on France TV on condition that you accept that it is occasionally interrupted by advertisements. Afterwards, it is still possible to buy it on services such as Orange TV or Apple TV. Afterwards, if you have a subscription to Crunchyroll, you will find it very easily too.
Is there a sequel to Your Name?
Unlike Like many other directors, Makoto Shinkai did not want to do so. make a sequel, because he is not in the habit of proposing one to everyone. his other creations. Nevertheless, he still achieved this. other films which are inspired by it and which could be considered as spiritual sequels, since the approach to themes and very similar. For example, we have Children of Timewhich follows the adventures of Hodaka Morishima, a young high school student who leaves his isolated island for Tokyo. When he arrives in the metropolis, he quickly finds himself without money and he must struggle every day to be able to survive in this urban jungle. After a while, he found a job as a writer for an occult and mystery magazine. While there is very bad weather with rain that does not stop,Hodakais sent to investigate to find out if there are priestesses of time. Very skeptical, he will start to think about it. make discoveries and he will meetHina Amano. She is a very cheerful young girl who has an extraordinary power: she can stop the rain and clear the sky. They will then experience a wonderful adventure that defies all logic.
Will there be a series or a spin-off?
No information for the time has not been given, yet the spin-offs have become very popular and we can easily imagine a more detailed version of the adventure of Taki and Mitsuha. < /strong>And for a series, there is very little chance of this happening, however, if information would point in this direction, you will be the first to know. Be in the know.