Your Name. [Blu-ray]

As Hayao Miyazaki has gotten whiter of hair and older in age, the quest to find the next Miyazaki has steadily increased with mixed results for any anime directors so described. On the one hand to be publicly described as the “Next Miyazaki” is a great honor; on the other hand, it is also a stupefying burden, worst of all largely decided more by mere opinions than anything one can measure,.. with a single exception. The latest “Next Miyazaki”, Makoto Shinkai, earned his designation the old-fashioned way: by writing and directing the highest-grossing anime film of all time in 2016, actually beating the legendary Miyazaki himself for the first time in a long time, with “Your Name”.Though knowledge of Shinto and Japanese can make some things a good deal clearer, it was Shinkai’s genius to tell a story that doesn’t really require said knowledge; Americans and other foreigners should have no trouble grasping the main premises. After some decidedly interesting opening scenes (that will be more fully revealed when repeated and expanded later), “Your Name” opens with what seems to be Yet Another version of Freaky Friday: a boy living in Tokyo, Taki, and a girl living in the boondocks, Mitsuha, mysteriously find themselves switching bodies for a day, two or three times a week, and after realizing this, set some ground rules and leave each other notes on their cell phones and notebooks, sometimes even writing on each other’s skin, in order to cope with this mysterious problem. They also use their talents to help each other out: Mitsuha builds Taki’s potential relationship with the college student he has a crush on, Taki boosts Mitsuha’s popularity, and everything proceeds along very nicely.But there is a dark side looming, and the indicators can be seen more clearly upon rewatching. In a twist reminiscent of the first season-ending of Steins;Gate a truly horrific fate is coming, and soon Taki and Mitsuha are desperately trying to save over 500 lives,... including one of their own. The price for doing so is high, and the movie fades to what appears to be a sad end as the price for the miracle,... only to end with another miracle.“Your Name” was such a box office smash that it suddenly focused a huge amount of attention on the previously barely known Makoto Shinkai, and most people were astonished to learn that far from being his first film, “Your Name” was actually his eleventh, the seventh made available over here, though none before were anywhere close to being as successful. (“Your Name” earned over fifty times more than anything else he ever did.) And while none of these previous films were quite as good as “Your Name”, there was clearly genius at work in all of them, and they are certainly worth viewing. One thing that becomes clear upon doing so is that Makoto Shinkai is that rare thing, a short story writer rather than a novel writer, and that he has a tendency to cut too much that needs to be corrected, proven by the fact that he has later written 6 mangas and worked on 3 light novels based upon his animes and every single one of them is an improvement, ESPECIALLY in the additional scenes and much clearer endings. Anyway here is what you can find and see so far:She and Her Cat (1999) a short about a cat and his lady owner that made Makoto Shinkai a professional and got him a contract from CoMix Wave Films, available in three different versions (5, 3, and 1.5 minutes) on the same DVD with noticeable differences between the three.Voices of a Distant Star (2002) his breakthrough 25 minutes long CoMix Wave short about two young school children falling in love who are separated by an alien invasion; she is sent off to fight it, while he remains at home awaiting her cell phone messages, where the wait for light-speed transmission grows from 6 months, to a year, to 8 years. The movie ends with him after all this time preparing to enter the military and (hopefully) be reunited with her. It is another stunningly beautiful short story, showing bits and pieces of their lives.The Place Promised in our Early Days (2004) his first feature-length, 90 minutes long, the story of two middle school best friends who share a dream and love for a girl. The dream in this altered reality in which Japan has been divided between Hokkaido and the rest, between the USSR and the USA, is to build and fly a plane to a mysterious, impossibly tall tower on the island of Hokkaido, allegedly used by the Soviets for the exploration of alternate realities; the girl is fellow student Sayuri Sawatari that they are both in love with. However, her disappearance fractures their friendship and stops work on their plane, but three years later they are reunited by circumstances leading towards a world war.5 Centimeters per Second (2007) his second feature, though of only 63 minutes in length, and arguably the original version of the love story used in "Your Name", though this one had an extremely sad ending instead of the extremely happy ending in "Your Name". Interestingly, as in so many other cases, Mr. Shinkai wrote a happier ending to the much-expanded manga version.Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) his third feature, 116 minutes long, and IMHO Makoto Shinkai’s biggest failure yet (I call it “Viewers Who Chase Lost Endings” for a reason), an attempt by a short story writer to do a Miyazaki style film, an epic adventure into a Hollow World about which it reveals almost nothing.Garden of Words (2013) his fourth feature (and most successful before “Your Name”) and at only 46 minutes in length, yet another short story about a couple of misfits, divided by age, but nevertheless drawn together by circumstances and weather until they are driven apart but with hope for the future. It is also notable for being much improved in the later written manga and as-yet-unseen light novel by Makoto Shinkai.Note: It is not uncommon for animators to briefly insert characters from previous films into later films (Miyazaki did this a lot) without necessarily needing to logically be considered connected to the originals, but there is a huge difference between something like that and the character of Yukari Yukino, a small character in “Your Name” who was also one of the two main characters in “Garden of Words”, with the same look, the same name, the same profession (literature teacher), and was portrayed by the same voice actress, Kana Hanazawa. What is significant about this, though unstated, is the presumed character arc of Yukari, who has gone from being saved by Takao Akizuki from being all but immobilized in her life and her career in “Garden of Words” to surviving a comet strike in “Your Name” thanks to the frantic efforts of Taki and Mitsuha. I wonder what she did and what she became as a result of it all? And I wonder if Makoto Shinkai will ever tell us?Note: The contents of the various versions are a little more complicated than usual so let me explain them. First, the Blu-ray of the movie contains a couple of special features, subtitled specials about the movie, not present on the DVD. Second, the three versions are set up like this: the DVD version contains only the DVD, the Blu-ray version contains both the Blu-ray and the DVD, and the Limited Edition version contains the Blu-ray, the DVD, and a couple of soundtrack CD’s: one containing all the BGM plus the 4 songs in English, and another containing only the 4 songs in Japanese.

First, the "(Original Japanese Version)" Does have English subtitles. I just rented that version and then rented the English dubbed version right after it.I am very moved by this movie, it is very beautiful and emotionally stirring. As adults we often scoff at teen romanticism or think back on our teen years, shake our heads and say, "I was so silly to get so caught up." But that's the problem... the fading that happens after many years doesn't adequately convey the weight of those teenagers years. To a teen, subjectively, it's never superficial, even if it was, objectively. It meant the world back then.This film captures the awe and wonder of the awakening of romantic interest, the curiosity of attraction, and the awkwardness of adolescence. The longing, searching, restless heart... a restlessness that can persist through adulthood... that voice inside that asks, "Isn't there something more? Someone else?"The only possible negative about this movie is that it adds to the mythology of the one and only "soul mate," which places huge pressure on the already tumultuous adolescent heart... frankly, any one of us could marry any number of people in the world and be happy for a lifetime.But, the way this movie gives credibility to the teen experience and nobility to the searching heart is very affirming. We may not have sweeping, mystical, dramatic experiences of love, loss, and longing like what is so beautifully portrayed in this movie. But we each have a name, your name and mine, that we want to know and be known so that true union with another can be ours, no matter the time or place.<slight spoiler alert>The English dub says "magic hour" where the Japanese-translated subtitle says "twilight" which I think has more finesse. The little sis doesn't call her a "jacka$$" but simply a "fool." They don't search for the shrine god's "relic" but his "vessel." And I think the Japanese word musubi, which the dub translates as "union" should have been left untranslated so as to better convey the mysticism of the term to English speakers rather than narrowing it down to a concept we're familiar with.<<more major spoiler>A couple of times, the English dub loses track of who's who... or else chooses to interpret the story slightly differently than the subtitled version. In the English sub, Taki as Taki finds the shrine and recognizes the two Votive offerings saying, "This is Yotsuha's, and this is Mitsuha's," which I think is more accurate than the English dub that says, "This is Yotsuha's, and this is mine." Taki qua Taki can't say it was properly "his."Another bigger difference in interpretation is when he wakes up after the trance. This time it is Mitsuha as Taki and she, through him, is now able to look out over the crater and see that the town is gone. Mitsuhi qua Taki asks in stunned disbelief, "Did I die?" But, in the English dub, it seems that Taki is still himself because he asks "Did they die?" which is much less poignant.Also, in the English sub, when Taki catches up with Miss Okudera later in life, Taki gives a nostalgic retelling of the story of their high school search for Itomori as part of their conversation. But in the English dub, his retelling is more like a narration over shots of their reunion, which I think distances Taki from her.Finally, the final question in the final scene is better in the English sub - it is quicker, more impulsive, more desperate, more surprised to finally be able to be asked. It is more in line with the urgency of the rest of the film. It is more triumphant. The English dub, on the other hand, takes the climax out of the asking by making it too polite.All in all, these are only subtle differences and I think the English dub actually tells a clearer story than the Japanese-translated subtitles which can be a little too literal.Now stop reading, pick a version, and watch this movie.

Best movie ever made.

The premise is that of "Freaky Friday" - Highschooler Taki is a boy living in Tokyo and Highschooler Mitsuha is a girl living in the village of Hida Takayama, Gifu. But, "Freaky Friday" is not a match for this film. In this film, like "Back To The Future," Taki living in a body of Mitsuha and Mitsuha living in a body of Taki meets in attempt to change the past. What's more, scenery of Mitsuha's village and comets are dreamy beautiful!I will give 10 Stars if I could.