your name

SUMMARY

  • Makoto Shinkai's Your Name was a phenomenal success and according to Shinkai, he simply wanted to re-create the 'boy meets girl' trope.
  • The movie became the second highest grossing movie of the time in Japan after its release.
  • Shinkai admitted that he did not foresee such a huge commercial success of the film.

Makoto Shinkai is a name that does not need to be mentioned twice in the anime industry. From beautiful love stories like Garden of Words and Your Name to his latest release, Suzume, each and every one of his anime movies are blockbusters, and deservedly so.

Shinkai can be called a revolutionary in the industry due to his depiction of very intricate emotions in his films. Your Name, one of his most successful works, is a simple romance told in the most extraordinary style.

Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name Became a Hit Despite Following the Most Common Trope

CoMix Wave FilmsMitsuha and Taki in Your Name | Credits: CoMix Wave Films

The story of Your Name begins with the introduction of Mitsuha Miyamizu, a girl from a mountainous region of Japan who is bored with her country life. The next protagonist is Taki Tachibana, a high school boy from Tokyo. They begin unconsciously switching bodies when they sleep. As time progresses, they communicate with each other by writing notes on their phones, on paper, or on each other’s skins.

They begin helping each other as Taki helps Mitsuha become more social, and Mitsuha causes Taki to develop a relationship. But as time progresses, they realize that they are in love with each other.

CoMix Wave FilmsTaki in Your Name by Makoto Shinkai | Credits: CoMix Wave Films

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Makoto Shinkai mused about his take on the story, by admitting he simply wanted to make a very common trope make a comeback with Your Name.

It was of course a very simple boy-meets-girl narrative, and I don’t think that narrative has been told in an anime medium in quite some time.

-Makoto Shinkai

‘A boy meets girl’ is probably the most oversimplified statement of the century when it comes to describing Your Name. But at the same time, it does the movie justice. Mitsuha and Taki indeed fall in love with each other and it would have been a simple love story had there not been time-traveling hijinks mixed in the plot along with an impending meteorite crash.

Makoto Shinkai Muses on Your Name‘s Box Office Success

CoMix Wave FilmsA scene from Your Name | Credits: CoMix Wave Films

Your Name became a huge commercial success not only in Japan but also in overseas markets. It grossed over 25 billion yen in Japan and became the second most grossing domestic film, standing just behind Spirited Away at the time. It topped the Japanese box office for 12 weeks (non-consecutive), which was a record-breaking number.

In the United States and Canada, the movie grossed over 5 million dollars. In the interview, Makoto Shinkai confessed that neither him, nor the team could foresee such an overwhelming success.

We had no idea that it was going to be received as well as it was and produce the numbers it did. Our initial goal was to aim for about the equivalent of $20 million, and that alone would have been considered a huge hit.

-Makoto Shinkai

The bold color palette as well as the lush and capturing animation of the movie was bound to be eye-grabbers. But the essence of the movie also lies in the beautiful music and background scores of the movie.

Your Name is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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Written by Aaheli Pradhan

Articles Published: 540

Aaheli is an anime content writer at FandomeWire. With four years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cat.