your name found me at a very specific time in my life, quite literally mirroring the lives of the two main characters. two 17 year olds, entering school in the ever 'monotanous' month of august. my summer was a total slog - constant work and work and work for a payoff i wouldnt be able to see for half a year. I was proud of what I had created, but i felt empty, lonely, and hopeless going into my senior year. i was miserable.

yet, this film brought me such joy that it literally was my life preserver through my most academically diffulcult year of school ever. a story so understanable and relatable, yet simultaniously so complex with every twist and turn throwing you off in the perfect way. an ending so good, it made me feel complete and brought me to tears. this film brought my spirits higher than they had ever been, and brought me to my emotional knees. no other film, no other piece of fiction, has made me feel as strong of emotions as your name has. for the entirety of this film, i was on the edge of my seat simply entranced by just how good and fun and engaging and sad and beautiful this films plot and visuals are.

it's difficult to put into words how gorgeous this film is. every single frame is so beautifully animated, every background so complex and brimming with life. every motion the characters make feels poignent and dynamic and effortless beyond belief. every ray of sunlight and reflection feeling like you just turned RTX on in real life for the first time.

the soundtrack by radwimps is truly perfect. all of the instrumental tracks hit the mark just right and the four original vocal compositions are simply fantastic. i have never seen such a perfect combination of song and visuals in a film before. it works so well, doesn't detract from the experience, and heightens the emotional impact tenfold.

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this film makes me want to wait 'just a little more.' everytime i watch this movie i am simply floored by its beauty, emotion, and reality. i am simply baffled this didn't get best animated feature in 2016 but fuck the academy at this point i guess. call me basic or whatever, i dont even care this is like surface level taste or like im a newbie and that this is basicially like the #1 anime film of all time. i've just been dumping crazed ramblings for five paragraphs now, i know - but this film is very diffifult to communicate my feelings about. there is so, so much more I could say about it but its so difficult to put those thoughts into words. frankly, this film is only able to communicate its 'good-ness' through the simple act of viewing it. its genuninly something i believe every human should just do once in their lives. go watch this film. you'll get it after watching this.

11/10. perfect. favourite film of all time.