Funimation Blu-Ray (Subtitled)

When I first got discord, I spent a lot of time on this one server. This was back in December of 2020, and quarantine had made it extremely difficult for me to keep up with school friends. I had interacted with most of them in-person, and didn't particularly have many ways to contact most of them. College was also around the horizon, and with anxiety rising within me, I take a courageous leap to join a college application server of all places, hoping to be more comforted in the wait for college. I can't recollect how, but somehow, I ended befriending this one person with a Princess Bubblegum profile-picture, a girl by the name of Lexe. Although we applied to radically different places, the mutual fear of having to live up to the weight of expectations as well as the general self-doubt that many young people have to go through. We were both quite supportive of each other, and out of it, a friendship sprouted, especially through music. I had been very much into 88rising's music, having just discovered Keshi and NIKI and Joji during quarantine. My cousin had recently gifted me spotify premium, and one day, we shared spotify profiles, and she said she liked my taste because I had Phoebe Bridgers in my playlist. I'll be honest, I did not recognize much of her music, but for some reason, one night, I shared with her "A Song from Her Memory" from the Final Fantasy IX soundtrack. And thus, started our Spotify listen-alongs. I learned about the Arctic Monkeys, the Strokes, Backseat Lovers, Rex Orange County, and a lot of others from her. She was also a very kind person, always encouraging and supportive, easy to talk to, and especially relatable, when we talked about our cultural upbringings. I really enjoyed talking to her, and it was refreshing to have someone want to talk with you for your interests rather than for academic knowledge for a change. Yet, one day, I just lost contact with her, when I deleted my first discord account last year. Before that, our conversation patterns had been more erratic, as she was on discord less often, and dealing with personal issues, but any time I got to talk to her, it was always wonderful. I miss her.

Your Name was perhaps the biggest anime milestone back when I first got into the medium in Middle School, hailed as an anime film for the ages, it was a far cry from the action anime that I had become accustomed to watching. Wanting to see what all the hype was about, I somehow came in with the mindset of being ready to dislike it and I don't know why I decided I disliked the film but I did, and I let all the contrarian opinions sort of take over (how the characters are underdeveloped, or how the plot made no sense, and how the insert songs were unnecessary and badly placed, etc.). I remember talking to my friend Noah, as his face was in disbelief over my apathy to this film on first viewing. Something I disliked then, and still bugs me slightly now, is how generic the character designs look, almost as if there is no personality in them. I've warmed to it over the years, but still. I was ready to be done with the film afterwards, thinking I would just forget about, like one of many dreams that fade with time.

Here's the thing, though. I never stopped thinking about this film. I could say that for many a movie that I have seen in my lifetime, I don't particularly remember them or care to remember. Makoto Shinkai's film was different. Every time I thought about it, I felt somewhat emotional, and thought of the film more highly and highly each time. The music, the feeling of something so transitory and fleeting, the special connection and bond across space and time, it all felt so special and emotional to me. So eventually I rewatched it when I was a senior, having gone through a whole new chapter in my life, having grown up. And it was beautiful. I saw it another time afterwards, and to ring in my first film of 2022, and to cope with the fact that I wasn't able to see Belle this weekend, I felt a hankering to revisit this film.

I own the Blu-Ray, but it's a shame that Funimation has yet to put it out on 4K (I know there is a Japanese release but I'm not importing), but even then, the film is simply one of the most gorgeous films to ever grace the screen. In so many scenes, the lighting is soft and feels so naturalistic, as much of it comes from sunlight, bathing the characters in a beautiful light, and it makes for a striking introduction when Mitsuha and Taki are both introduced (their introductory shots parallel each other too!). Often times, the visual architecture of the film, the landscapes, the tables, the buildings, are framed in wides with characters amidst the frames, to allow the beauty of this animated world to linger in our brains while also keeping the characters in focus. The serene and quiet but vibrant nature of Itomori is stunning, while the modern Tokyo setting feels alive and comforting and exuberant as well. I find it extremely fun how the film turns from a body swapping comedy to a road trip film in the second act, which opens up the scenery to something more varied than just the village or the city. These wide shots more than anything, give a sense of the environment around, and I think that’s just nice. The film also works with a lot of space, rather than closeups of extreme closeups of most of the characters. The film feels like it reserves closeups mainly for Mitsuha and Taki, or just the intimate character conversations, where it should be because that’s where our emotional core lies.

Speaking of beauty, there are so many visual cues that note that Taki is in love with the beauty of the world. His ability to draw extremely well, the fact that his date with Okudera was at a museum where one of the exhibits was a photography gallery, his awe at looking at the crater during Kataware Doki (as Mitsuha), it's all in service of showing that despite his somewhat hotheaded nature, Taki is a big ol' sentimentalist in love with the world (sometimes through the eyes of a girl. Elliott Smith reference, anyone?). Even in the end, after everything he's been through, he still loves the world, and his way of expressing it is through architecture and creating something beautiful. Taki’s need to preserve and create beauty after he experienced the catastrophic destruction of a place he fell in love with, even if he can’t remember, it's all bolstered by his shared experiences with Mitsuha. I’m also glad that Taki kept in touch with Okudera, if Taki were his normal self before body swap, they would likely have lost contact, but after Taki grew to be more empathetic and gentle from Mitsuha, and their journey together, it’s no wonder Okudera and Taki still are friends. I used to think that Taki was almost like a blank slate, but he's really endearing.

Mitsuha is another character that I'm just absolutely in love with. Her compassionate and kind nature, the bullying and teasing she has to put up with at school, all of it is affecting. She also holds the burden of carrying on the family tradition, which is never easy. Her father is probably in the running for worst fathers in all of anime and he has about six and a half hours less screentime than Gendoh Ikari. All her desires to escape are very much justified, and her being able to find that something special and what she needs (someone who doesn't carry the emotional baggage she has) in someone else, Taki, is absolutely heartwarming. When Taki drinks the sake, and experiences the timeline of the Mizuhara family from Mitsuha's perspective, it's a work of sheer beauty. It's Taki sharing Mitsuha's pain, permanently weaving the two together in the eyes of fate, as with this knowledge, he can go on and attempt to save the town as Mitsuha. I love how Mitsuha has clearly grown as a person from Taki, taking in his confident and assertive personality, and it shows in her determination and fierceness in the climax. Just the way her face looks so determined rather than the gentle look she usually has, it shows everything.

Let's talk about that score, shall we? I'm not the most well-adjusted to be judging music, RADWIMPS' work on the film is nothing short of enchanting. A lot of it is composed with piano and strings for the instrumental, and it's written so gorgeously and delicately, it makes the atmosphere feel so lush and serene. The insert songs, personally for me, definitely heighten the emotions of the film. Dream Lantern is a good intro song, and really nice, while Zen Zen Zense accentuates the light-heartedness of the early act. Meanwhile, Sparkle and Nandemonaiya absolutely destroy me. I think I might as well tack on the side characters here: I like them well enough! They're good friends to be supporting Taki and Mitsuha for this long, and their own separate interactions with each other outside of the main characters breathes more life into them, like they exist in their own right outside of simply serving as the friends of the lovers, and I find it a nice touch that we get some resolution with them in the epilogue.

Okay, let's talk about Kataware Doki. I love it, obviously. The film's colors really shine at the twilight hour, with the violets and yellows melding into a visual spectacle where the most intimate moment occurs between Mitsuha and Taki. The emotional and physical gap across time and space has finally closed between the two. Taki held onto the ribbon of Mitsuha, one that she gave on that fateful day in the train, ultimately connecting them together. He returns it to her, and their dialogue is awkward, but so cute at the same time. It's a single fleeting moment of enchantment, of pure love, and they could only wish to have more time. As the strings swell, and as the sunset becomes its most beautiful, Taki disappears, before Mitsuha could write her name, and your heart breaks in two, as both fail to recollect the name of the other. Yet, the most important thing occurs here. Rather than writing his name, Taki wrote "I Love You." You could poke fun at how easy it would be to write his name, but even though he didn’t write his name, the sentiment of him saying “I love you” to Mitsuha is powerful, more powerful than any name could possibly be, and it’s something that, even in a dream long since past, stays with you. I know that, at least for me, if someone said "I love you," I would remember it for the rest of my life. Mitsuha carries Taki’s love with her, in her ribbon as well that Taki held on for so long, and when she's at her lowest point in the climax, seeing what Taki wrote in her hand gives her the will to push forward with the plan to save everyone from the splitting comet. Even when I first watched the film, I was absolutely stunned by this scene. The night sky, filled with the blue streaks of comets was absolutely gorgeous, Sparkle evokes emotions I'm not sure any normal score would be able to do. Seeing Mitsuha, who at once, despised her village, attempt her hardest to save it, while still facing the ridicule of those around her, is absolutely moving, and because the stakes have increased to the size of life-ending consequence, and the uncertainty of whether Mitsuha will get everyone to evacuate creates tension unlike anything else. I should also mention that the tempo of the song matched with editing of the film in the sequence matches perfect, and when the comet splits as the song hits that high note, it's utterly breathtaking.

Then we cut to the epilogue. The leitmotif of the theme Date from when Okudera and Taki went on a date is almost enough to trick you that the status quo was reset after the incident, which is why, seeing Mitsuha's friends talk about their engagement in the cafe feels hits so hard. Then, after a conversation with Okudera about what they've been through, Nandemonaiya begins to play, and the film cuts to black, before cutting back to a room. You realize that these scenes are almost the same as the ones shown in the beginning of the film before the introductory credits, almost like this whole film is like one circular thread of time. I know for a fact that if Taki had written his name, they would have never found each other in the epilogue. But as they head to work, and share a fleeting glance with each other, it's then apparent that Mitsuha and Taki are fated to always be together no matter how far apart they are and how long it takes. When they ask for each other's names in the final shot of the film, like they've seen each other in a dream before, it's because they have. Although they may not remember, their love transcends time and space, and those few special moments they shared at Kataware Doki, the body-swapping, all of it, it means something. The film’s ending note of Mitsuha and Taki finding each other again, is so moving. After everything they’ve been through, their love persevering by the slight recollection of each other, the promise that they’ll be together, it’s moving, like everything is going to be alright. Yeah, everything is going to be alright.

Yeah, if you're not already aware, I absolutely adore this film. The soundtrack and score is sweet and the lyrics, especially in english, strike such emotion with me, that sometimes, when I listen to the songs themselves, I almost cry because the emotions and context its attached to have not left my mind. The animation is so beautiful, and the direction and cinematography allow for us to soak in every single beautiful landscape, and appreciate the beauty of the urban as well as the small town village. I wholeheartedly love Mitsuha and Taki, and even if you don't, the lengths they go to meet each other and help each other is touching. Like who else would literally travel back in time to help save your village from death? Get yourself a man like Taki or a woman like Mitsuha. The themes of interwoven fate and the threads that bind us all at times can be unnerving and scary, but the movie proves that we can reweave them for a better future, and that things will be alright in the end, if we try to make them better. The film has a reverence for tradition in the rituals Mitsuha performs and the offerings of the kuchikamikaze, but it never feels like it tries to undermine the new as well. It's abashedly sincere at its core, and I love the sweetest and sappiest and sentimental cinema, because they wear their hearts on their sleeves, and just show you everything. And the ending, it's perfect, and I won't hear another word on it.

For the longest time, Back to the Future held the title as my favorite film, but I don't think it does anymore, for no film better speaks to me, moves me, and inspires me as much as this film does. I love how unabashedly sweet it is, the messages and the filmmaking always get to me no matter what, and one day I hope to share this with someone, my Mitsuha. Throughout my entire life, people have been weaving in and out, and a lot of my elementary school friends are people I never got to see again, but they laid the foundation and their interactions with me are why I am the person I am today. Similarly to my high school friends, I don't know how many of them I'll be able to keep in touch with, but I'm grateful for the memories they gave me for the short time I was able to know them. It may just be an inevitability of life that some people fade away from your life with time, but I do hope that eventually I'll be able to meet with some of them again. I never really got to talk to Lexe again after the deletion of my account. But in the few months that I was able to get to know her, she was absolutely a wonderful presence. She influenced a lot of my current taste in music, was so supportive of when I got into college, conversations with her got me more out of my introverted shell, and she was just a beautiful soul who was always willing to listen and allow me to share my experiences with her, and was open to share hers as well, even if these were only for a little while. She wasn’t like mitsuha in a romantic sense at all, but in how my interactions with her affected me as a person, 100% she was. So thank you for everything, Lexe.