Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Your Name Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson November 18, 2017

Your name. (Kimi no na wa.) has become not just an animated mega-hit but also something of a global cinematic phenomenon. It received a very favorable response at the Busan, London, San Sebastian, Tokyo film festivals and also made a small splash at Anime Expo last year in Los Angeles. It did respectable business in the US (grossing over $5 million) but had a monumental impact in its native land. Prognosticators estimate that it's made over ¥15bn (nearly 134 million USD) in Japan and amassed $355 million worldwide in ticket sales (surpassing Spirited Away as the top earner in anime). It was so popular in the UK last year that, according to Sharuna Warner of AVForums.com, it received an IMAX release, a first for an anime title. Ever since his earlier features (5 Centimeters per Second (2007), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), and The Garden of Words (2013)), forty-four-year-old director Makoto Shinkai has been anointed as an heir apparent to Miyazaki. Based on the work he's done on your name., this hugely talented animator is on a very promising path to be a worthy successor to one of the masters.

Perhaps the movie's greatest strength (besides the exceptional command Shinkai has of the color scheme combinations and sense of light in the frame) is the literate screenplay, which is not dumbed-down for the adolescent/teen niche that it's designated and should satisfy film fans of all ages. Body switching and time travel have been done several times before but Shinkai (who also wrote the eponymous novel) does the timeless "boy meets girl" story through a chance encounter between the geeky urban-based teen Taki Tachibana (voiced by Ryûnosuke Kamiki) and country girl Mitsuha Miyamizu (Mone Kamishiraishi). The petulant Mitsuha has been yearning to find a handsome young guy near downtown Tokyo and has her wish granted unexpectedly when she awakens one morning in Taki's body. Taki also experiences his gendered reawakening and can't stop looking or fondling at his/Mitsuha's breasts. Shinkai skillfully handles both characters' confusion and surprises at their new roles vis-à-vis comedic mishaps. Mitsuha's inexperience in dealing with customer complaints is reflected when Taki inadvertently misses a toothpick that's been inserted in a snobbish customer's meal. But Mitsuha imbues Taki with some feminine magic that makes him more accessible to a female co-worker. Meanwhile, Taki helps make Mitsuha more outgoing and sociable with the guys. Taki and Mitsuha exchange text messages and school notes about their day-to-day observations. Things return to normal when Taki wakes up in his own body again. He tries to arrange a date with Mitsuha but can't get a hold of her.

Taki and Mitsuha swap bodies.

Shinkai incorporates the narrative with a somewhat tricky timeline but clarifies things by employing symbols and visual motifs such as a red ribbon and braid cord, which serve as connective tissues to unify the characters in the realms of dream and reality. Shinkai also uses them to comment on and connect rituals and traditions that are passed down from the generations. For example, Mitsuha's grandmother, Hitoha Miyamizu, heads the family shrine and serves as master of the kumihimo (or "gathered threads"). Hitoha is a wise sage and philosopher to Mitsuha and her sister. In addition, Shinkai uses the eerily beautiful comet that soars through the sky with shimmering colors as a metaphor for natural cataclysms that have occurred, including Japan's tsunami and earthquake in 2011.

If I have one central quibble about your name., it's that Shinkai is not patient enough with the pace of the story. The movie is not long (and doesn't feel so either) so it's frustrating that he doesn't hold shots of sun-baked landscapes with character inhabitants longer. Obviously, a great deal of work went into their design and we should be able to appreciate them more before they flicker away. For the music, Shinkai chose Japanese band Radwimps and the twenty-two instrumental pieces (mostly twinkling piano and some guitar) are lovely, saccharine, and sentimental. However, one or two songs would have sufficed. The band composed four ballads for the Japanese version and as much as I enjoyed "Sparkle," the placement of the lyrics at the beginning and end of the film seem merely obligatory and make the tone too sappy.

Your Name Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Your name. makes its US debut courtesy of FUNimation as a BD/DVD combo that comes with a slipcover. The BD-50 includes both the original Japanese version and the English language edition. The feature receives an MPEG-4 AVC-encoded transfer that averages 34693 kbps and 44.00 Mbps for the whole disc. Your name. appears in its originally composited ratio of 1.78:1. The DI print looks flawless with no source flaws to speak of. I thought I noticed one white blip but that was part of debris in the sky. Your name. is a seamless blend of hand-drawn and CG animation. The most impressive aspect is the sun illuminating tiny details in the backgrounds, including cels in the wide compositions and in extreme long shots. Objects are vivid and life-like (see the diagonal close-up of the iPhone in Screenshot #14).

FUNimation has provided fifteen scene selections.

Your Name Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

FUNimation supplies the original Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround mix (2577 kbps, 16-bit) and the English dubbed Dolby TrueHD Audio 5.1 remix (2508 kbps, 16-bit). I focused primarily on the native sound track for this review. Dialogue is generally well-amplified; I had the volume set moderately high on my Onkyo receiver and words sounded too loud at times. On the front and satellite speakers, depth and range are excellent. The announcements broadcast on the speakers from the Itomori Town Hall brought a wide and spacious sound mix to the fronts. Thunderbolts, raindrops, footsteps, and other/fx are deep and resonant with occasional use of the subwoofer.

The English subtitles for the Japanese version are clear and legible.

Your Name Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• your name.: Interview with Makoto Shinkai (25:35, 1080p) - In this very detailed interview, which is a FUNimation exclusive, Shinkai sits down to discuss ideas that inspired him to make your name. and how it compares to his other works. He also explains different short stories, movies, and TV series that influenced him. He covers several topics and the questions are displayed on an electronic placard before he replies. In Japanese, with English subtitles.

• Makoto Shinkai Filmography (10:46, 1080p) - this is more like an illustrated filmography with quickly moving text introducing each work, followed by clips from Shinkai's shorts and features. In Japanese, with English subtitles.

• Special TV Program (22:25, 1080p) - the piece starts out with footage from the 2016 Anime Expo in LA and then shows interviews with Makoto Shinkai, Mone Kamishiaishi, and Ryûnosuke Kamiki (the latter who visits the locations where Shinkai's films take place.) There are descriptive captions in Japanese introducing each segment of the making-of and they are subtitled in English, as well as comments made by the filmmaker and his two voice actors.

• Trailers - previews for a handful of FUNimation catalog titles.

Your Name Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Makoto Shinkai is a supremely gifted filmmaker whose your name. has to rank as one of the most visually striking anime titles I've seen in a long while. FUNimation's standard BD/DVD twin pack boasts an immaculate transfer and more than adequate lossless audio. The interview with Shinkai is very informative and the making-of doc contains a lot of good material from the director and his two leads. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.