Kimi no Na Wa (New Makoto Shinkai Film)

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

So I finally got to watch it, but yeah... It definitely is over-hyped. That said, it was a good movie.

Yup, you're not alone. I feel that way too, about Your Name. But we're definitely a tiny minority. I try not to kick a fuss about the hype though, because, like you, I also enjoyed the movie, and I see no reason to begrudge the praise it gets.

Originally Posted by konart

While it's true that one of the reasons Your Name is more hyped than other of his works is a happy eanding for once - it is certainly not over hyped. you get more insight into characters' lifes, their "worlds" etc. There is a whole lot of developments there too.

My big problem with the happy ending in Your Name. is that it felt too contrived. I felt that neither Mitsuha nor Taki earned their happy ending, which relied heavily on an implausible deux ex machina. I felt cheated, because the Shinkai went for a cliched conclusion, and that cheapened the impact of the drama for me.

I also disliked how Shinkai handled the side theme of natural disasters, and of their impact on communities. He tried too hard to shoehorn this into the story, and it distracted from the main plot about Mitsuha and Taki's budding romance.

The parts I enjoyed most were the scenes featuring the customs and history of Mitsuha's hometown. It provided the narrative grounding for the fantasy about the red string of fate connecting Mitsuha and Taki, and made it possible for me to suspend disbelief about the convenience of their miraculous connection.

The body-swop trope, unfortunately, didn't go down as well with me, because it's such a tired cliche in Japanese/Asian drama. Luckily, Mitsuha's lovable dorkiness, and "her" tomboyishness whenever Taki took over her body, were entertaining enough for me to give this a pass.

Overall, though, the artistry of the entire film — in terms of production quality, it's leaps and bounds ahead of what Shinkai achieved in the early days of his career — was what eventually tipped the movie to a strong positive for me.

Originally Posted by Vegard Aune

While the fact that Your Name has a happy ending is indeed one of the reasons why it's the only Shinkai movie I've actually liked, I don't think it's the only one. A much bigger reason is just, to me, his other movies just tend to be... emotionally monotonous.

Fair point.

I'd say, though, that the melancholy in 5 Centimetres Per Second — still by far my favourite Shinkai movie — was strongly supported by the different range of themes presented in its three-part running span. And this made the film far from monotonous, as far as I'm concerned.

But hey, different strokes for different people, and it's not something I care to argue about any more.

[blakstealth]

Originally Posted by Verso Sciolto

ANN relayed: Director Shinkai Edits 'your name.' Ending Credits for 1st TV Broadcast

[Not counting wowow]

TV Asahi

Edit:
TV spots were hosted but are no longer available on YT.

Spoiler for Kotonoha no Niwa:

cameo
https://twitter.com/shinkaimakoto/st...02685321330688
confirmation
https://twitter.com/shinkaimakoto/st...56207312093184

The revival of "CrossRoad" for the first CM block was nice too.

exclusive ending credits? what does that mean?

[Verso Sciolto]

Originally Posted by blakstealth

exclusive ending credits? what does that mean?

For the credits, the screen was divided in two. Lists of people were rearranged and the list was moved to one side. As these credits scrolled, brief scenes from the film appeared on the other side of the screen, as vignettes, alongside the scrolling names. White text and images on a black background.

[Before the film started there were also selected scenes with statistics about the releases so far and a line about the Hollywood adaptation. Shinkai appeared on screen to deliver a message before it started as well.]

[blakstealth]

There's nothing more appropriate than showing stats about a movie's release before broadcasting it.

[Verso Sciolto]

Originally Posted by blakstealth

There's nothing more appropriate than showing stats about a movie's release before broadcasting it.

Quite. From appealing with images and references to the story lines -in text blurbs and narrated TV spots- to listing statistics in the lead in, every effort was made to convince people to have a look, or another look, at this film. Stats have been listed in the aftermath too. The present campaign is ongoing, for a few more days.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

My big problem with the happy ending in Your Name. is that it felt too contrived. I felt that neither Mitsuha nor Taki earned their happy ending

They kept looking for each other despite not remembering each other. That's how they earned their happy ending. In 5 Centimetres Per Second the main characters decided to let go and move on. That's why they couldn't meet each other again. But Mitsuha and Taki could never forget their feelings and kept looking for each other even after years. They're feelings were that strong. That's why they got their happy ending.

Not that I think the movie is perfect. I think that it lacked more interaction between Mitsuha and Taki. Like we're told they love each other but the movie doesn't really show it.

[sion21]

Just watch the movie, cant help but feel abit underwhelm, Its definitely not a bad movie but i was expecting alot more with the hype.

Personally i feel the movie is too short, it probably better if its double the length or as a trilogy. alot of the thing feels rushed. for example, Taki and Mitsuba was barely more than a friend yet when Taki go on a date with his workmate, Mitsuba suddenly cry and when to met him in Tokyo dispite there is no foreshadow what-so ever. so with Taki's work mate saying he found someone he loved despite we were not shown anything. There is virtually no relation development between them but they suddenly realise they love each other for no reasons.

then there is the really convenience way to evacuate entire town somehow 3 kill is able to pull off.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by konart

Can't really understand this. You only suggest typical hollywood "and they lived happily ever after" kind of stuff to other people?

Me? Nah. I suggest stuff like doujin by hal (the version that does gruesome stuff) and anime like Battle Programmer Shirase to my friends.
That said, such thought process is quite common (and understandable) and you are overestimating the human race if you think otherwise. It is unfortunate, but it is as it is.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Finally watched it. Overhyped? Maybe, I have seen much better anime films, but more importantly, does it deserve to be called a top-class anime? Yes it does. It's a nicely contained short story that is deep and touching while wrapping up with little loose ends as far as the message it conveys goes.

All in all it's similar to a modern version of an old folk tale. The story seems to have vaguely Buddhist undertones. Musubi here functions more like karma rather than simple fate or ties between people. IMO whether Mitsuha and Taki got together in the end was not as important the fulfilment of their debt of sorts to each other. Getting together was just a bonus but the real culmination happened before when the disaster was averted. Overly focusing on the ending detracts from all of this especially since this show doesn't seem to be a strict romance.

Did Shinkai ever touch on what the comet was supposed to represent, apart from its connections with the Tohoku disaster? From the way it is presented near the end, I got the feeling that Taki and Mitsuha were one soul in two bodies, what with Taki being linked to one of the comet's two main fragments



On another note.....Pleasantly surprised to see Hida as the setting. I love that place. Best vacation spot in Japan IMO

[blakstealth]

so so so cool!

[Infinite Zenith]

I'd love to hear the orchestral soundtrack standalone with no voice overs. The latest CD they released of this concert performance is like an audiobook version of the movie. While enjoyable, the music is the star of the show, and the orchestral pieces (e.g. "Date 1", "Mitsuha's Theme", "Date 2") sound absolutely beautiful with their strings, which creates an incredibly wistful feeling.

[blakstealth]

Originally Posted by Infinite Zenith

I'd love to hear the orchestral soundtrack standalone with no voice overs. The latest CD they released of this concert performance is like an audiobook version of the movie. While enjoyable, the music is the star of the show, and the orchestral pieces (e.g. "Date 1", "Mitsuha's Theme", "Date 2") sound absolutely beautiful with their strings, which creates an incredibly wistful feeling.

yeah, I would love to hear a proper orchestra soundtrack recorded in a studio or something. I'm okay with this, though.

[The One Above God]

Finally watched the film for the first time. I think I now understand what all the hype and praise for it is all about. It was good. I want to watch it again someday to appreciate it more since it was kinda noisy when I watched it and I had to pause several times to do some things. For now, I just wanna preserve the "magic" the film cast on me on my first viewing and try to see if I fall for the same "spell" in my second or possibly more viewings.

[Infinite Zenith]

At the two year anniversary to the opening date, it's time to bust a few myths for my amusement, and also such that moving ahead, no misconceptions of the film remain. Two of the more relevant ones for here include:

1. Taki and Mitsuha's meeting is not undeserved. If they hadn't met, the film would betray expectations and fail to give the payoff that symbols and foreshadowing throughout the film have pointed towards: if anything, not meeting would degrade the film's meaning.
2. One does not need "foundational knowledge [of the Man’yōshū] which in turn inspires further exploration and the formation of a never complete but ever expanding baseline for understanding" before watching the movie to appreciate the story and get the most out of the movie. Plenty of the people enjoyed the movie without this.

[Akito Kinomoto]

I watched this a while ago and wanted to give it time to settle. Yeah it's a good film. 2nd half makes it more memorable but it's also divorced enough to be separate movies. Slight negative which puts it behind A Silent Voice as far as prominent anime films in the last few years go

It also doesn't have the cathartic edge of Garden of Words. It's definitely comfortably in the better half of Shinkai's films at least