I remember going to see this film in theaters.
We had to drive a few towns over to see it somewhere that wasn't sold out, which not
only turned out to be a boon because it wasn't all that crowded of a theatre but also one
of the employees there recognized me, which is always a pleasant surprise.
But I remember thinking while driving over, "Why am I doing this?"
Why am I going through this much trouble for a Makoto Shinkai film?
Yeah I've gotten pleasure out of his work before, but there are levels of hassle that
I'm willing to deal with and this was skirting the line. All for what I figured
was going to be a mediocre experience.
Back in high school I remember watching Voices of a Distant star and being so entranced by
its animation and the brief glimpse of a story.
So much so that I turned it into an AMV that I got an award for, though it's one of those
adolescent projects I'm embarrassed about remembering, and would be happier now if it
never saw the light of day again.
I remember looking far and wide for a copy of 5 centimeters per second, only to finally
get ahold of one and not really jive with how disjointed the narrative felt.
I know shortly afterwards I watched A Place Promised In Our Early Days but honestly I couldn't
even tell you what the film was about, as I only remember flashes of animation and blurs
of color.
Finally I watched Garden of Words, fashionably late compared to others I talked with at the
time, and while I did finish it thinking that it was an absolutely B-E-A-U-Tful film, I
found that I didn't care that much for the story it was trying to tell.
It was the kind of thing that made me look back at the wonder I felt watching Voices
of a Distant Star with a different outlook.
One that was depressed at the story I never got to see fleshed out.
Just hints of an enticing narrative but not much else, a preview into a story not told.
Probably with more significance for the one who made it.
Before watching Your Name, I started to look at watching Shinkai films similar to how
I might go and visit an art museum.
There could be hundreds of breathtaking and gorgeous art on display but it's not something
that sticks with you all that much, or at least it did not stick with me.
I can see it all and appreciate its visuals and the beauty within the artwork, but I'm
not one that can piece out the feelings of the artist on sight alone.
With Garden of Words for example I think it's one of the best LOOKING animated films I have ever
watched, even better looking than your name, but to me it was nothing more than a surface
level painting that I couldn't find much enjoyment out of.
Which is really how I had come to looking at Shinkai's work as a whole.
I saw him as an artist who was really focused on the beauty of his work, to almost the detriment
of what could be enjoyable about it.
I felt like he wasn't really using the medium that he was working in to benefit his work,
and after 4 films and other short works he was probably set in his ways.
Boy was I wrong, and I can't think of many other times I was so relieved to be such.
Ladies, Gentlemen and others My Name is Arkada and today, Makoto Shinkai's Your Name.
Let's Jam.
Your name.
Spelt specifically in all lower case with a period after it for some grammatical or
artistic reason is a film from 2016 written, directed, storyboarded and basically all around
created by Makoto Shinkai and the production team at CoMix Wave Films.
It was a contender for best anime film of that year by most people who judge that sort
of thing, and personally it still holds up even 2 years afterwards compared to productions coming out
now.
If you've seen the film before watching this video you might understand why, if you
haven't hears the rundown.
The story focuses on two high school students, Mitsuha a girl from the rural countryside,
and Taki a boy from Tokyo.
Due to some mysterious circumstances possibly involving a mysterious shrine in the mountains,
or also possibly involving a very large comet that is set to pass over head, the two teenagers
wake up one morning to find themselves in each other's bodies.
This of course comes off as rather strange to the both of them, since this happened without
any semblance of explanation.
They spend several separate days swapping about, freaking out each other's friends
with how they act, and overall thinking the whole thing has to be a dream until well,
it keeps happening.
Not back to back, they have a bit of a reprieve in-between swapping but when it keeps occurring
for several days a week eventually they start to realise just how real this is and start
to come up with some ground rules.
They communicate with one another using a diary app on their phones, keeping each other
apprised as to what the other has been doing in their shoes.
With both of them not really being happy with each other's decisions.
A lot of the opening of the film has this level of mystery to it that pulled me in almost
immediately, but not for the reasons I first thought.
Initially like most people I wanted to know, well, why exactly are they swapping all the
time?
Is there a rhyme or reason too it?
Though it doesn't take long for the film to make you forget those questions as you
become engrossed in the story of these two people and how their lives get entangled with
one another.
The why and reason becomes secondary to the experiences that they share.
This is the first major improvement in my mind that Shinkai has made over all his other work.
Within 10 perhaps 15 minutes of this film it introduced the lead characters and made
me care about what was happening to them, made me curious as to what was going to happen
next, and made me hopeful that in the end some good would come out of it.
These were feelings I can't say I've really experienced from a Shinkai film before now,
though maybe back when I watched Voices of a Distant Star all those years ago.
But this time the gratification from a well told story is there instantly, and it stays
there virtually the whole time from start to finish.
That's not to say that the film skims in the animation department in lieu of its narrative.
It's still a Shinkai film.
Sure I did say only a moment ago that it doesn't match up to the animation quality of Garden
of Words, but honestly that's a high bar, and trading just that slight bit of animation
polish for a fleshed out story means oh so much more in the end.
And hell, if anyone tries to say that this film isn't beautiful they are either lying
or couldn't identify beautiful if it was a door that hit them in the face.
Speaking of, I hope you like doors.
Now obviously I'm not going to be a dick and spoil the whole film for you but I will
go just enough to say that this is a film that does answers most questions, just not
in the way you might think.
We do get some semblance of an explanation for the body swapping, but less of who or
what is causing it and more of an answer to the problem that the swapping was meant to
solve.
There's a lot of that with this film actually, it really is masterful in the way it answers
your questions, and placates you for those it chooses to avoid.
Some other films might just have some magic be the cause of things because reasons and
the plot be a string of coincidences, but your name avoids the coincidences entirely
and gives you just enough so that it can focus far more on a tale of fate.
This can be exposited more with the theme of the red string of fate that ties the two
characters together.
The red string trope is not necessarily an original idea, but in this case having a literal
string that is passed between the characters at a time where it's not immediately clear
what the significance of it was, is a nice touch.
That's the other thing I think Shinkai nailed with this film, all the nice touches.
Little tiny things with the narrative and how the characters act or react that on their
own seem small and insignificant but overall help flesh out everyone's development far
more then he's done in the past. Becasue of this
Your Name is, without a doubt in my mind, the best film Makoto Shinkai has made.
Full Stop.
It's like after finishing Garden of Words Shinkai said to himself, "Ok, got a mastery
of the artwork down pat.
Let's work on narratives." and then took apart everything he's done before now,
pulling away the flaws he had with them.
This film combines Shinkai's artistic mastery with a grasp on narratives
that few others in his field have been able to replicate.
You could look at the characters and claim that they are too simplistic, that's there's
no depth to them, and you might have a point.
But my counter would be that there's only so much you can do in just two hours
of running time, so it's far more important in this case that the time is used wisely.
And wisely it was.
This story does so much more then tell you a tale of relatable characters, it juxtaposes
so many elements, male and female, city and country, spirituality and science, present
and future all, again in just under two hours.
It is both an epic sci-fi adventure, and a heartwarming romance wrapped in an artistic
style that is second to none.
This film begins with the tail of a comet, trailing its way across the sky.
The wonderful light, and glow of that comet will fade from our eyes, eventually, as the
film ends and we walk out of theatres to drive several cities back to our homes.
But if you've watched it, you'll know, that glow, and this film, will not soon fade
from your mind or your heart.
Thank you for spending the time to watch this video on Makoto Shinkai's Your Name.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I would normally put a link in the description so that you can stream whatever it is I talk
about in my videos, but anime films have a habit of not usually being available online
for streaming.
The film is however freely available on DVD and Blu-ray from the wonderful folks over
at Funimation and I'll put some links of where you can purchase that down in the description
instead.
For alternate anime recommendations, if you have seen Your Name already, I'm actually
going to go out of my way and recommend three anime this time instead of the regular two.
The first being another film from the same year Koe no Katachi or A Silent Voice that
shares a similarly beautiful kind of animation and a heartwarming narrative without the sci-fi
or body swapping.
Those instead I leave for the recommendations of The Girl Who Leapt Through time for its
narrative similarities, and the anime series Kokoro Connect for being one of the few anime
out there that try to handle a story about body-swapping in a meaningful way.
Between those three I hope you find something to your liking.
Lastly, a very special thank you to my patrons, who not only support my work in general, but
allow me to do what I do, I love and appreciate you all.
Specifically though, as I like to do, I want to give particular shout-outs to patrons Rune
Jachobson, Devon North, Joshua Garcia, Calhoonboy, Siri Yamiko, Victor Ekmark, and Ryefan Boneapart
for being especially awesome.
You guys are great!
And until next time – ladies, gentlemen, and others – watch more anime…and stay
frosty.
For more infomation >> Daar Bij Het Water - Heartbeat Worship - Duration: 5:37. 
For more infomation >> La Familia P. Luche | Ludovico llora por la infidelidad de Federica - Duration: 1:31. 
For more infomation >> Saad Lamjarred - BADDEK EIH (EXCLUSIVE Music Video) | (فيديو كليب حصري) BADDEK EIH - سعد لمجرد - Duration: 3:57. 
For more infomation >> Myth #1 If I Can Get Healthcare Anyone Can - Duration: 2:35. 
For more infomation >> Motorola One VS Huawei P20 Lite | Enfrentamiento | Top Pulso - Duration: 17:11. 
For more infomation >> ASMR ♥️ Hand sounds para dormir y tingles. Español, hombre - Duration: 23:46. 
For more infomation >> [4K] Short clip: Man crashed with electric bike - Duration: 4:41. 
For more infomation >> A101 Lenovo Tab 7 Essential 8GB 7" Tablet DETAYLI İLK BAKIŞ - PİNTİ AKTÜEL İNCELEME - - Duration: 2:04. 
For more infomation >> 【FORTNITE/PC】メイプルストーリーDUO With hoshi【VANC】 - Duration: 3:41:39. 
For more infomation >> Ο Νέρων, ο Τάκιτος και οι "φλεγόμενοι Χριστιανοί" (ελλ. υπότιτλοι) - Duration: 48:37. 
For more infomation >> Руны дня прогноз на сегодня 18 декабря / Наталия Рунная #рунныймаг - Duration: 2:28. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét