Review of Your Name. (2016) by Niro S — 11 Dec 2016

Kimi no Na wa transcends the boundaries of cinematic entertainment, it is an experience that should not be missed, one that will leave your mouth gaping as you set your eyes upon the "words-can't-describe-this" artistic flair that utilizes every single colour palette that you can imagine and then some. It is a rare combination of beautiful original soundtrack, attention gripping plot and loveable characters, as for the art, do I need to say more (I actually do) but with Makoto Shinkai at the helm, you expect the best and the man adds a new stroke of astonishing visuals above your already ever-high expectations.

The music in the movie includes foot tapping opening and ending song with a blend of a few situational insert songs that push the A factor up the roof. Whether it's an emotional scene or an upbeat scene, the music is there to gracefully hold the hands of the dialogues and voice acting through smooth sailing. There's this melancholic feel to the music, almost nostalgic in a sense. Radwimps the band behind the magic have definitely collaborated with the director's vision in the truest manner to accomplish this feat.

With two main characters being the main focus of the entire body-swap plot, there's a dash of side-characters who aren't memorable to death but play their part justice and when they grace the screen it's laugh-out-loud comedy and they do their best to support the main characters through different motions of their life. Some being over-the-top and some being calm and collected, the side characters are unique to their own traits and definitely push the screenplay a few volumes up just when the tone starts to go towards the darker moments.

The plot isn't really mind-blowing stuff, body-swap is a played out cliché in the anime industry mostly pulled out for comedic effect and pure fan-service factors but within the hands of the right person, something as childish as body-swapping protagonist can be evolved into an entire new medium of story-telling with multiple layers. It doesn't follow the classic method of plot progression, it jumps between one protagonist to the other, fleshing out their characters and reactions to the bizzare situation, truly an enjoyable moment learning together with the characters as they figure out to overcome their rather precarious state. Makoto Shinkai mixes in mysticism and sci-fi with emotions, separately they stand out rather oddly and the movie strolls a bit to fuse all those elements together but when the right note hits the tempo, you are completely drawn into the world of Kimi no na wa.

Kimi no na wa is hands down one of the best animation movie I've watched this year, though there are some downfalls like the entire time-space travelling logic shifts and how the protagonists romantic relationship doesn't feel entirely earned due to the usage of montages and how the bonding moments are pieced out like puzzles that take time to come together, those are minor points that can be easily shrugged off as you'll be rooting for them be together deep from your heart.

+ If eye-candy needs a new definition it should be the phrase Makoto Shinkai.

+ A movie that can switch gear from high-octane to dramatic without any glaring issues.

+ Great comedic sequences that are sprinkled through and even maange to plaster the much emotional 2nd half.

+ Clever usage of plot-progression technique that keeps the screenplay fresh.

- Mysticism and sci-fi need a little leap of logic to be fully accepted or given a pass.

- Romantic factor feels like it comes out of nowhere and requires a long time to fully seep into the plot.

- Ending is pretty cliché yet you'd be suckered in easily.