Your Name: Capturing the American Longing and Loss
It’s about understanding, perseverance, and acceptance.
In the chaotic and unending slog through life, one rarely goes without wishing that it would all be better if they were just someone else. Inspired by a classic Japanese story about body-swapping, Torikaebaya Monogatari, Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) follows the two lead characters, Taki and Mitsuha, who wake up one morning to find themselves in a body different from the one they fell asleep in. Throughout the film, both leads switch bodies multiple times, where they learn to perceive the world through one another’s eyes. Unfortunately, about half-way into the film, their connection is inexplicably disrupted, leaving the characters longing for the connection they lost.
The plot, however, was not successful in of itself, the quality and life that the film actualized through the depiction of Shinto rituals in Mitsuha’s village, the diverging trains in the Tokyo metropolis that Taki lives in, and the near photographic beauty in which both settings of Japan are portrayed meet the expectations of a western audience that idealizes a Japan that the Japanese wish existed.
In addition, the original soundtrack created specifically for the film by RADWIMPS, a popular Japanese rock band, helped convey and direct the emotions between characters, as well as between the characters and audience. The combination of the both the visual and audio arts certainly influenced its extremely positive reception from an increasingly anime receptive country.
However, despite the suspenseful story pacing, masterful depictions of Japan, and chart-topping discography, what truly appealed to primarily adolescent Americans was the depiction of longing, loss, and the perseverance to move on with life. The great turning point in the film was inspired by a disaster that resulted in great loss, essentially splitting people’s lives into a pre-event and post-event timeline.
In this regard, the movie spiritually appealed to the different lived experiences of Americans, whether it’s having lived through 9/11, endured the Great Recession, bearing the loss of a loved one, or reminiscing about a relationship that was not meant to be. The utilization of time and space by Your Name compliments the topics of loss and longing that many Americans of younger generations have endured, yet, within such a premise it still radiates a feeling of hope and beauty in the world. The film embodies the human spirit to forge forward despite devastating loss and spiritual fragility, yet, it delivers to its audience a resonating message of the promise that the future is capable of delivering.
