When I think of Makoto Shinkaihttp://anilist.co/staff/96117 I think of two things: beautiful hyperrealistic art and grounded unfulfilled romances. So when I heard of the success of his latest film Your Name in the Japanese box officehttp://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/japan/ I thought little of it. After all eye candy and high school heartache are a surefire combination to draw out Japanese teens in droves. 480http://i.ur.com/fL8sDtz.jpg Not one to miss a featurelength anime showing locally however I entered the cinema today with modest expectations. Despite his penchant for gorgeous photorealism Shinkais stories have always seemed a tad underwhelming to me and by this stage predictably repetitive in content matter. I was marginally albeit pleasantly surprised to find that Shinkai had managed to not fuck anything up. Dont stop believin Your Name is the story of two high schoolers: Mitsuha just a smalltown girl livin in a lonely world and Taki just a city boy born and raised in South Detroit Tokyo. The two inexplicably swap bodies at random intervals while sleeping and begin improving upon their opposites lives. A fledgling romance emerges from their exploits and is eventually threatened. The tags sum it up nicely: 220http://i.ur.com/nC2ul3v.png Yep Shinkai still has a train fetish. In this instance particularly for the symbolicallyrich sliding carriage doors. Shinkai sticks with what he knows. Body swapping isnt exactly an original concept either. In fact the opening act is incredibly stock standard. Exposition is handled with enough subtlety although all we really learn is that Mitsuha is disdainful towards her provincial life and that Taki has a solid sense of justice. Theyre just a couple of ordinary kids. Accompanying this ordinariness are the usual body swapping shenanigans: the groping of a new pair of tits the dread of having a piss etc. Its all very gratuitous maybe even distasteful and doesnt really achieve much but reinforce the ungainly pubescent normalcy of the main characters. Are their personalities uninspired? Yes. But does this detract from the film? Not especially. 480http://i.ur.com/XmUoee5.png And thats the thing. Despite how unremarkable the main pair were or maybe even because of their normalcy you cant help but smile at the development of their awkward teenage relationship and the circumstances in which they must foster it. Theyre just a couple of nice likeable kids making the best of an unusual situation. And as little substance and weight as there is to it its done in a way thats both endearing and believable. That said I do find the duos innocence and bright positive attitudes to be a tad dubious. Its all very chaste. I mean youre inexplicably swapping bodies with someone halfway across the country. Would people really react so calmly in this situation? Id probably freak the fuck out. Youd imagine that this would warrant considerable concern but these kids just take everything in stride. Major conflict is introduced in the second half that adds a neat spin to what had otherwise been a fairly typical plotline. This conflict is handled carefully enough such that the plot never becomes convoluted. But most importantly the lengths to which the main duo go to resolve their plight is admirable. Having literally walked each others footsteps the care they display for one another is palpable and ultimately youre rooting for their success. In fact this very may well be Shinkais most emotionally resonate pairing as it is far more conceivable and he dedicates a lot more attention to developing their relationship than in previous works. 480http://i.ur.com/OcziFLQ.png Again there is sufficient subtlety here. Things can teeter on melodrama or cheesiness but it never enters the uncouth sappiness of The Garden of Wordshttp://anilist.co/anime/16782/TheGardenofWords. Conversely nothing is as dull or superfluous as the second act of 5 Centimeters Per Secondhttp://anilist.co/anime/1689/5CentimetersperSecond. The film remains charming and unremarkable just like the primary characters. And really this tasteful simplicity is more than adequate. The side cast is your usual garden variety of comic reliefs. It includes every grandmother ever in the history of anime and one absolute bombshell of a crush/senpai/friend. 24 wallpapers per second Speaking of character designs both Mitsuha and Taki fit the profile of the ordinary kids they are. 480http://i.ur.com/Z74soPF.jpg Indeed we cant talk Shinkai without talking about his visual design. Miyazakihttp://anilist.co/staff/96870 uses colourful fantastical art to bolster the magic of his stories. Hosodahttp://anilist.co/staff/100067/ uses clean minimalism to bestow upon his films a homely warmth. Shinkai strives for picturesque hyperreality to emphasise the beauty of his romances. This rings especially true in Your Name perhaps more so than in any of his other works. As a guy whose livelihood depends on pulling on audiences heartstrings Shinkai does an excellent job of returning to recurring imagery and motifs at opportune moments for maximum emotional impact. Mere atmospheric shots are of course gorgeous: brilliant scarlet autumn leaves water effects and food porn are in abundance. A sequence detailing Mitsuhas entire life is a particular standout complete with pastellike colouring. 480http://i.ur.com/RtQoglu.jpg Shinkai also uses his imagery to play around with some secondary themes. This type of thematicvisual storytelling has never really been on his agenda so its nice to see him dabble in it. Gloriously detailed smartphones and shimmering cityscapes are juxtaposed with rolling plains rocky terrain and sylvan architecture. Such a simple contrast invites a variety of relevant thematic talkingpoints. Tradition meets modernity. To this end however I will say that I found Shinkais efforts to invokesomewhat jejune. 960http://i.ur.com/DtCTQjP.png Emotional peaks almost always coincide the impassioned beat of Jrock band RADWIMPS ballads. Some might find their songs too repetitive or conventional but I never got tired of them. The voice acting is pretty much faultless. a2GujJZfXpg Hi My name is... What? My name is... Who? My name is... Your Name is hardly original. Its characters arent either. Its all very conventional. But Shinkai treats both the core relationship and story with enough clarity subtlety and care that they develop to a state of cogency. The film is aesthetically gorgeous fervidly charming and perhaps most importantly unassuming. It doesnt lose itself in awkward plot diversions or unrefined characters and relationships. And although it neither becomes too melodramatic nor is it exceptionally moving Your Name might just jerk a tear or two. I doubt Ill rewatch this. However if you even remotely enjoy romance anime watch this in cinemas if at all possible.