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Taking Names! Let's Discuss Your Name || AniMAYtion Month
16 Plays49 minutes ago
Welcome to AniMAYtion Month! This May we are diving into the world of animation by reviewing some of the genre's greatest entries, from 2.5D and stop motion to anime and live action hybrids. So get your pencils ready because this is one month you won't want to miss!
In this episode, Satsunami and Andrew discuss one of the most poignant anime films of 2016: Your Name! But why does this film resonate with the duo 9 years later? Can this film rival even Studio Ghibli? And can Andrew sing in Japanese?! All this and more in this memorable episode of AniMAYtion Month!
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Transcript
Opening Banter and Humor
00:00:02
Speaker
Hey Satsu, you ready to start the review? Heck yeah Andrew, let's do this. Although, I can't help but feel that something's different in this episode. Oh my god, you're right. I got a new haircut!
00:00:12
Speaker
No, I don't think that's it. Is it my new hoodie? Mmm, no? What about the cosmic meteor that falls every a thousand years causing time travel and untold supernatural phenomena? Wait a minute, you're right.
00:00:25
Speaker
It was the hoodie.
Introduction to Animation Month
00:00:26
Speaker
Welcome to Animation Month.
00:00:31
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Animation Month. My name's Satsunami and joining me today is... well, I actually can't remember. Can you tell me your name?
00:00:45
Speaker
Roll credits. Duolingo, if you're sign us up. Sign us up for that juicy sponsorship right now. Duolingo's dead.
00:01:01
Speaker
He's alive now. Oh, all right. I've dated this video then. How dare you? Have you not been keeping up with the lore? That was next week's episode. Oh no, the Duolingo-centric episode. You also haven't given me your name. As lovely as that Japanese was.
00:01:17
Speaker
Watashi wa Andrew Das. Arigato gozaimasu. Duolingo, again, call us. How you doing today, Andrew? I'm good, thank you. It's nice to be on here talking about a film near and dear to my heart.
Introduction to 'Your Name'
00:01:28
Speaker
And that film is, of course, Detective Pikachu. No, I'm really kidding. We spoke about that last week. Another film dear to my heart.
00:01:34
Speaker
Another one dear to our hearts for very different reasons. Yeah, today, as you were saying, we are going to be discussing a... Quite honestly, I would say that this film kind of came out of left of field for a lot of people. And that film, of course, is Your Name, also known as Kimi no Nawa, which was written and directed by Makoto Shinkai and came out in 2016, which makes me feel old that this film is nearly 10 years old as of recording. this episode. Oh, one more year guys, one more year and we'll be re-releasing this episode.
Personal Stories and Impact of 'Your Name'
00:02:07
Speaker
But yeah, before we go into why this is such a prolific and very important film, and even to Pandalurians who I reached out to before this episode to ask them their opinions, how did you hear about this film, Andrew? Why was it so impactful to you initially? We were just talking about this prior to the recording that I can't actually remember what brought me to this film. It must have been one of the YouTubers or something that was watching at the time that had recommended Your Name. Because I don't know how else I would have necessarily come across it. I was into anime at the time, but there was nothing that necessarily would have led me to discover this film. So I'm not quite sure what did it. But my best guess is probably I watched a YouTuber that recommended it. As soon as I watched it, it captivated me. I was completely invested in this film. The twist threw me through an absolute roller coaster. I was shouting at the TV, which as i I'm pretty sure I've said in previous episodes is always like an indication for me how much I love a film as if it's given a verbal visceral reaction. And so I knew that this film was really special and I immediately wanted to share it with my now wife then recent partner and had her watch it with me it'd been probably a couple of weeks to maybe like a month since i'd watched it and i got her to watch it as well with me we were doing long distance so we made sure we pressed play at the same time and watched it together she was in tears she thought it was absolutely incredible incredible and it became one of her absolute favorite movies of all time and the song from it ended up being the music that she walked down the aisle to at our wedding last year which was 2024 she walked down the aisle to mitzah's theme so it holds a very special place in both of our parts this film but how about you where did do you hear about this film and what does it mean to you well i was at a random wedding in 2024 when i heard someone go down the aisle and i just had to check out the phone Now, jokes aside, honestly, it must have been YouTube that I heard about this, but it wasn't really at the forefront of me thinking, oh, I really need to watch this, you know, oh it's the one to check out. I remember a certain someone got me the DVD because you must have watched this before me and then said, oh, this is incredible, check it out. I, of course, gave my default response. I'll check out when I check out And then for one of my, I'm sure it was either my birthday or maybe Christmas, you got me the DVD for this.
00:04:24
Speaker
And then eventually I set time aside, i watched it. I thought it was a great film. Again, I was kind of in a similar boat that my partner and i u we were looking through Netflix one day as well. And we're like, oh, there's that, your name, I've heard good things about it. And you'd got me the DVD.
Why Choose 'Your Name'?
00:04:40
Speaker
everything so we checked it out visually it's a gorgeous film emotionally it is gut-wrenching at times pulls at your heartstrings it is just a beautiful film through and through and as I was saying when I was trying to think of films that we could do for an animation month because I wanted to have an anime film and initially my go-to was oh we can do a Studio Ghibli one because obviously they're the Famous ones when you think of, oh, animation masterclasses, you usually think of Studio Ghibli, from a Western perspective at least.
00:05:13
Speaker
But then we were talking about it and of course you had said, well, what about your name? And I have to say, I forgot how beautiful this film looked. And that is something we will dive into later, but this film definitely made... an impact with a lot of people. I was really surprised at the amount of people who came away from this saying, this is incredible, this is just a beautiful film, it's wonderful, this inspired me to do XYZ. Out of curiosity, see before you dived into this film, were you expecting something that was going to be so captivating? No, I mean, i kind of had seen some of the stuff building up to it, how beautiful it was, which is what inspired me to sort of eventually check it out. But I was not prepared for how gorgeous this film was. And I still, to this day, every time I watch it, I'm taken aback by how beautiful this film is. The director, Makoto Shinkai, is unparalleled in modern anime for how beautiful his set design is. He has such a way of showing an environment in a very organic, natural way, particularly Rain. He loves to animate Rain, and I don't think there is any animator out there, or director of animation rather, that quite captures Rain on the screen like he does. Like, he has a lot of... little tricks that he loves to come back to in his movies. Like if you kind of go through his film catalogue, you'll see that there's a lot of things that he loves to do over and over again that he has not necessarily homages, but he certainly plays with a lot of the similar themes that really is at his magnum opus with Your Name that my wife and I watched
00:06:46
Speaker
five centimeters per second a week or two ago which another one of his films it's one of his earlier works it came out several years prior to your name and you can see that it's almost the template the practice ground that he used for your name because there's so many things that like oh he used the same shot for this and used the same idea for that kind of thing so he has a lot of similar kind of decisions in his work and it just executes so beautifully for this film And it's one of those anime films that I have to say, it is, and this is going to sound so weird to say, but it's quite accessible to people who might not be anime fans initially, because it's quite, although it's very fantastical, and there's a lot of, i wouldn't say complicated themes, but a lot of very mind-twist-y themes. at times, but he's of course worked on other, as you were saying, 5cm per second. He also worked on Weathering with You, Suzume. Although there's fantastical elements, there's also that relatability that grounds the story and it makes it relatable to, quite frankly, everybody. You don't have to be a hardcore anime fan to understand the struggles of the characters or you know say oh why is this happening why is that happening obviously there are some beautiful cultural elements that are woven together like a very nice thread which is something we will definitely be touching on but he does it in such a absolutely incredible way as absolutely masterfully done and i'm so glad that we chose to talk about this So before we go into talking about what this film's about, the film itself, why it is so amazing to us, do you want to hear some Pandalurians' thoughts on this film? Yeah, I'd love to know what they to say about it So of course, I took to Twitter Slash X and Blue Sky to discuss with the lovely Pandalurians what they thought the film. The first comment actually took me by surprise because it was the Podbean account, a podcast distributor, who said, OMG, love this one. Huge shout out to Podbean.
00:08:47
Speaker
Hypno Wellness said, i love this movie. It had all the feels. CPRRedPandaVTuber said, I actually watched it in the theatre and really enjoyed it. have to say, if you'd watched this in the theatre, genuinely, I think it would have been even more incredible. And they sometimes will do this little re-release anime movies in the theaters. I would love to be able watch Your Name at the theaters because I did not get that opportunity. And I think I've watched both Weathering With You and Tsukime, his subsequent films at the cinema. And both of those were very lovely to watch, but nothing quite lives up to how gorgeous and fun Your Name was. So if I get the opportunity to, I certainly would watch that. and this in the cinema.
00:09:26
Speaker
Oh, totally. Kevin and Jason say, an amazing film with stunning visuals, a story that tugs at the heartstrings and characters that really draw you into it. Loved every minute.
00:09:37
Speaker
Stu World Order says, the rare movie that after one watch, I immediately updated my top 10 movies of all time to include up it. It floored me. Perfect. No notes.
00:09:48
Speaker
SP Film viewers say one of our favourite animes outside of the Ghibli catalogue, Sammy Saves Hyrule, love the name, said, It was good, but I think it was overhyped to me and didn't make me cry at all. Your heart is made of stone. You may have saved Hyrule, but your heart is made of stone. We will come back onto that, because that is an interesting comment. Game Club Pod. I quite like my name, to be honest. Oh, you jokers. We will be discussing this at the Podpack meeting, don't you worry. Talking Smack says, it's an all-time classic. Absolutely beautiful and captivating.
00:10:23
Speaker
Everything you want from a movie. And last but not least, CreekBro42 says, I have only one word. Beautiful. Also, I recommend you watch Suze Me, which Good point. It will be the next film that we'll probably be watching. But see without any further ado, while we dive into what makes your name the film, not Andrew, so iconic. Yeah, definitely. Let's jump into And as always, we'll be right back after these messages.
00:10:50
Speaker
Welcome to Chatsunami, a variety of podcasts that discusses topics from gaming and films to anime and general interests. Previously on Chatsunami, we've analysed what makes a good horror game, conducted a retrospective on Pierce Brosnan's run as James Bond, and listened to us take deep dives into both the Sonic and Halo franchises. Also, if you're an anime fan, then don't forget to check us out on our sub-series, Chatsunani, where we dive into the world of anime.
00:11:14
Speaker
So far, we've reviewed things like Death Note, Princess Mononoke, and the hit Beyblade series. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you can check us out on Spotify, iTunes, and all good podcast apps.
00:11:26
Speaker
As always, stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, stay hydrated. First impressions can take only six seconds to make, but if you're neurodivergent, those quick judgments about you can be misleading.
00:11:38
Speaker
Because of most people's ignorance around learning disabilities, people think it means you're intellectually incapable. I'm not rain man. Every autistic person is a rain man. I thought I was talking to people who understood dyslexia and ADHD, but they did not. They freaked out and were like, well, if you've got Tourette's, if it's going to be a problem, then we can just fire you and get someone else.
00:12:01
Speaker
I'm Carolyn Keel, and I host Beyond Six Seconds, a podcast where neurodivergent people share their lives and advocacy. One of my goals is making autism not something that's scary.
00:12:14
Speaker
I really want to help people understand dyspraxia a little bit better. Get the real life of Trette Syndrome out there. Stop thinking we were nothing but a joke. Let's shatter misconceptions and celebrate neurodiversity together.
00:12:27
Speaker
Listen at beyondsixseconds.net or wherever you get your podcasts.
Synopsis and Key Themes of 'Your Name'
00:12:31
Speaker
And we are back. So, before we dive into what makes this an incredible anime film, and as we were discussing before, great gateway into anime, Andrew, do you want to give a brief synopsis about what your name entails?
00:12:47
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And if you have not seen this film and do not wish to hear spoilers, and I do recommend that you do go watch this film prior to us talking about this, because we are going to get into spoilers and they're pretty juicy. The film centers around two teenagers in Japan, one a boy who lives in Tokyo and the other a girl who lives out in kind of the countryside in Japan.
00:13:05
Speaker
They are experiencing kind of a weird phenomenon initially, which they later soon realize is kind a Freaky Friday situation where they're switching bodies. They go about creating rules and communicating back and forth with each other by leaving messages for the other to receive on their notes app on their phone or something like that when they switch back.
00:13:22
Speaker
It's not like a Freaky Friday situation where they're changed bodies for a long period of time. It's usually one day and then the next day they're back in their body and then the next day they're doing that and so on and so forth. And so they set rules and they communicate with each other and they end up changing each other's lives by their actions and they start developing almost a relationship with the other through the life that they're living in their body and through the kind of the communication they're having it kind of culminates with this or other i should say as well is that mitsuhar who lives on the countryside she is very kind of tired of this country living and she's very jealous and wants to live in the city and so she's getting a lot of satisfaction from being able to live this boy's life and have a bit more going for him and she
00:14:00
Speaker
comes from a very religious background and has a very important role in her community's kind of religious center. The film kind of centers around this comet that is going by Japan at the time, which they kind of realize is the cause of their body switching.
00:14:14
Speaker
And that kind of leads us up to the very end of the film where they realize, i need to find this person. And they run through the city to find each other between the two train stations. And there's this kind of gorgeous, beautiful scene with the music from Rad Wimps is playing. And that's how the film ends. Touching on something that you were mentioning there, because there's a whole back and forth of this film where, as you said, it's a spontaneous, i love the way you put it, it's a spontaneous Freaky Friday moment, or Captain Ganyu moment if you're a Dragon Ball fan.
00:14:44
Speaker
It's kind of Freaky Friday meets The Lake House with Sandra Bullock and What's-His-Face. It's been years since I've seen that film. I know exactly what you mean, yeah. Keanu Reeves. Keanu Reeves. I can't believe I forgot it was Keanu Reeves. Yeah, touching on that idea of the two of them being interlinked through. And again, we warned you, there was going to be spoilers, but throughout this film... And it's something quite interesting that they are communicating over time. And this is something that a lot of reviewers have pointed out, that if you look in the background, there's a lot of hints and clues to this.
00:15:16
Speaker
Because, you know, when I first watched this, I kind of thought, well, why don't they just phone each other? And, you know, there is a point in the film where they do phone one another. And what ends up happening is, of course... Yeah, it doesn't go through, not because of Mitsuha ghosting him. Well, technically ghosting. I mean, that's insensitive. That's insensitive to say, but it's kind of true. But the reason is, of course, because of the aforementioned comet that hits our town, which apparently is... can't remember where it's based.
00:15:47
Speaker
It's not like a real town in Japan. No, it's kind of based on several different kinds of things within Japan. There's no town of Itamori. I just want to touch on that idea, though, of them being linked through time. And this is something that is rooted heavily in, I want to say it's initially Chinese mythology. mythology but it's one of these mythologies that's kind of grown arms and legs and literal threads and it's been adapted by other countries it's obviously gone to japan it's even come over to the west as well with their own interpretations of it and the mythology that i'm talking about here is of course the red thread of fate out of curiosity before i deep dive well not deep dive but before i dive into this have you heard of this mythology before prior to this film no i had not
00:16:32
Speaker
It's basically the idea that you are destined to meet your one true love and no matter what happens, you know, fate has predestined that you're going to be with this person. Almost whether you want to or not, the fate has decided this. It's like a force out with your control, a lot like this film as well.
00:16:51
Speaker
And of course, thread is quite a symbolic thing throughout this film. Obviously, they have the thread that or rather the ribbon that Mitsuha gives Taki, the boy, in this film at the very beginning. And I have a slightly controversial point about the beginning of this film. I'll save that till the end of this. But you know, you've got that. You've got when Mitsuha is making up the thread in the Shinto temple with her grandmother and her younger sister. You've got when Mitsuha is in Taki's body. She ends up fixing one of Taki's Well, I would say love interest slash co-workers skirts when she gets into an altercation with a very rude patron by sewing it together in like a very feminine pattern and everything. This whole idea of thread and being bound by this and connected, no pun intended, it runs throughout the entire film. And it is that kind of idea that they are destined to be together. A, because the plot sets over.
Significance of Key Moments in 'Your Name'
00:17:51
Speaker
I mean, this is romantic in me saying this, but it is just so romantic, isn't it? Yes, it is a very romance-heavy anime, which is not something that I would have typically have been gravitating towards, but is told in such a beautiful way that it kind of really put me onto that type of anime as well, that I gained a bit more of an interest in it.
00:18:11
Speaker
And I think that they do this romantic side in such an interesting, captivating way. because even we've all definitely discuss one of Japan's most famous staircases is actually something that Martin McAllister and discussed in our Chatsu Cafe episode when we were saying off the top of our heads, those are the two most famous cinema staircases. That, of course, being the Joker one and the one at the end of this episode. where the rocky one and the rocky one actually yeah we did mention that as well yeah so sorry that's three we're gonna have an episode in this famous staircases in cinema pandalorians please feel free to reach out and let us know your favorite staircase in cinema what actually love about not only that but just in general is obviously other than the comment that hits mitzah's town and demolishes everybody One of the things that I find so interesting is a lot of the normality of it, even though, you know, all they've switched bodies and things, they still have to go about their everyday business, and don't get me wrong, obviously it gets kind of Armageddon-y towards the end when they're trying to save the town, but just seeing them trying to live each other's lives... It is so nice to see, and even when they meet at the very end, again, tying back to this idea of the Reds' thread of fate, bringing them back together, in such a, and again, I'm not very knowledgeable about this particular place that they meet, but it does seem quite ordinary. And I don't mean that as an insult, I just mean that it seems quite relatable, do you know what I mean? Yeah, it's a pedestrian pathway that it's not a dock or like a cliffside or anything extraordinary, that it is something that your average commuter is going up and down on a regular basis, which is kind of almost why there's that moment where they do kind of encounter each other and then they go from running to a walk and they walk past each other. You almost think that they're not going to actually talk. That's it. that They're just going to walk past each other now because it's just what you would be doing as a regular pedestrian. And that's kind of part of the reason why it's so wonderful. Tying back to something that I was saying there before, yeah, I've got to ask you something. What did you think about the intro for this film? At the very beginning, they have an almost, and I know it's ironic saying anime-esque, but they had quite an anime intro at the very beginning. The montage aspect of it? Yeah, it almost felt as if the film was starting and then all of a sudden they cut in an anime intro and then they cut back to the film. You know, like if you were watching an anime show and then you have your intro and then it cuts back to the actual thing. It was almost giving not spoilers, but kind of hints about what was going to happen in the film. I thought it was beautiful. I really, really enjoyed the intro to it. It's one of those films where, particularly the intro, you don't quite pick up everything that's really happening on your first watch.
00:20:58
Speaker
And so it's only the second, third, or fourth time you're really kind of getting everything that it's showing you and making up these little hints. and understanding where you're at in who's and whose body, how the time jump is working. With many time travel type films, it is kind of confusing at that. And they do in such an interesting way of jumping into it immediately. When you have body switching films, typically there's a bit of a buildup. You kind of get to know what they're like as themselves on a day-to-day basis before switch happens. But you're gaining those context clues in a different way in this film. It's been like a horror movie where they give you the hints as to what's going on straight away. and then like you're kind of left back in their own bodies being like, what do you mean this has happened? What are you talking about? But it's sort of tying the rad wimps kind song, the introductory song to the events of the body switching and what's happening is such a beautifully ingenious way of throwing you into the film. It sounds like from what you were saying earlier that you have kind different opinion of the introduction. You feel like it didn't quite do it for you. It felt quite jarring in a way. I totally agree you with what you're saying. is beautiful. It's so visually just incredible. You know, you're watching this and you're seeing the intricate details of everything. There was no skimping out in the backgrounds and the characters, that kind of thing. I just thought it was a weird choice. Again, I wouldn't say it's the worst thing in the world, but I just thought it almost felt like you were watching an anime film. film and again i'm not talking about the medium i mean like if you were watching a film from an anime series you know like dragon ball for example if you were watching that and then they cut in with the intro and then it's like now back to your scheduled programming kind of thing and i was like oh what Okay, that was a bit jarring, but I suppose on the flip side, that kind of adds as well to the rewatchability that you can say, I recognise that, but I know what's going on there. But it also adds to that almost, at least for first time watchers, that sense of disorientation that if one day you woke up in someone else's body, you had no idea what was going on, all of these flashing memories going by, you can't really piece them together. So in a way, I think
00:23:05
Speaker
at least from a symbolism point of view, that definitely hit the nail on the head or the nail on the thread. ah But yeah, I don't know. It's the only bit in the film I would kind of go, yeah, it's an interesting choice. The more I think about it, the more I think, yeah, it's quite cool what they did with that. Yeah, i think you are right with what you're saying there, that it is giving you almost a clip into what their lives are like right now, that they are confused as to why they're seemingly, they're being told that all these things have happened and they have no memory of it. And that they're kind of experiencing what they kind of consider to be a dream state of themselves in someone else's body. So they can kind of do whatever they want because they're oh, it's just dream. Why does it matter? And so you're getting this kind of such chaotic kind of energy of these kind of clips in the films. It's not necessarily a here's what's to come like you would get into an anime intro. It's what is currently happening and that what you've kind of missed almost.
00:23:57
Speaker
So it's really interesting that they kind of throw you into the deep end and you're just as confused as they are. And that adds to the intrigue that you have throughout this movie. And when the realization does hit, hits so much stronger and it kind of everything that's been going on, like, oh. oh, that makes so much sense. So I personally think that it was very clever introduction to the film. And I really, really enjoyed how they did that. and i think that it does benefit from rewatches to fully appreciate it.
Character Dynamics and Humor
00:24:23
Speaker
And speaking of of rewatches, because I'm assuming that when you rewatch this, you obviously noticed a lot more for things like the characterization. And this is my subtle way of saying, let's talk about the characters. I have to say, one thing I did like about the characters, obviously other than the two main characters which we all get onto, but what I loved was the fact that for the most part the supporting characters, at least the friends of the main characters, like Mitsuha and Taki, they were both really supportive of them. You know, whether they changed bodies or, you know, they were just the same person.
00:24:57
Speaker
I don't know, it just made a nice change in a way. I don't know, maybe it's just me being like, please stop firing. But yeah, i thought they were really well done. But before we dive into, you know, the dynamic duo themselves, what were your thoughts about the characterisation in this film? Yeah, we'll get into the main characters themselves in a second, but Mitsuhar's friends, Tessie and Sayaka, are very entertaining. Tessie in particular is quite fun. and You kind of get a glimpse into his life of the son of a local construction company owner, I guess.
00:25:25
Speaker
And then you get to know kind of some of Taki's friends as well. More so, i think it's Tsukasa. And then his previous kind of love interest turned friend. And Miki, who, as said, he previously had kind of a crush on and he works with at a local restaurant and becomes a friend and She and Tsukasa are the ones that help Taki to try and find the town that he later finds has been destroyed. So you're getting kind of an idea of these characters and their motivations in helping both see out their goals, whether that's Mitsaha's friends helping to prevent this great tragedy or Taki's friends who are supporting him in this crazy endeavor that they don't quite understand to try and track down this girl that he's been looking for. As you were saying there, they were very entertaining to watch. I never felt really that there was like a dull character in this film. And again, I think part of that is due to the normality of the characters. Even with Mitsuha's father, he is... want to say, is he the mayor of the town?
00:26:23
Speaker
Yes, I think he's mayor and he's also up for a re-election as well. So he's presenting as a figure that's trying to sort of continue to gain power and prioritises that over his family. Yeah, Hitsuhar's father is very stern, and it's one of those characters that initially, you obviously, not hate, maybe that's too strong a word, but you really dislike because, as you were saying, he puts his duty above his family, and you know, he's very strict on his daughter, he's very distant, that's why they live with the grandmothers. And towards the end, they obviously soften up and they get to trust each other a bit more. But at the same time, there's a lot of, again, I keep going back to these words like normality, relatability. And I mean, that is something as well that I just want to touch on going on to, you know, Taki and Mitzahar.
00:27:11
Speaker
Something that I do love, and maybe is a bit stereotypical, but I love how distinctive they both act. and something that i found that was really funny that i didn't actually realize until i re-watched it was that you see that mitsuhar ties her hair up and you know the bun when she's in her own body but when it's tacky he just doesn't have time he doesn't know how to do it so he just shoves it in a ponytail and it's just like yep that'll do it start the day kind of thing but i did love how, again, visually and the way they acted, the way they spoke, there's quite a funny scene that I have to say it didn't really translate well in the English dub, but it was, you know, when Taki's, well, Mitzahan Taki's body is talking to Taki's friends and she uses the wrong pronoun.
00:27:58
Speaker
I can't remember what she says. I think she says Latashi and she eventually has to look around to say Ore, which is the masculine Yeah, so she had tried to sort refer to herself, I think initially, with a feminine honorific, and then they kind looked kind of confused. And then she corrected herself with a male honorific, but she said it in a very formal, not really used way, because she's kind of a country bumpkin. And so then correct herself a third time to a more casual male honorific. And they're like, okay, there we go. I tend to like the way they were saying that. I'm like, hmm, hmm. And then when Isaah gets it right, they go, hmm, hmm.
00:28:32
Speaker
Yeah, what did you think of the two main characters? Yeah, I thought they were very interesting. Taki is very kind of normal. There's nothing really super extraordinary about his life. He's a city boy. he has his regular kind of school. You only see much of his school time. He has a couple of friends he hangs out with. He has a part-time job at a restaurant, and that's his life. Mithaha is out in the countryside. She plays an important role in her town's religious history that she performs at these festivals and in very traditional garb but she's also bored of this old lifestyle in this rural setting and so a lot of her characterization is a frustration with where she lives and a desire to get out of the town and experience what else is out there and which is why they end up having the best moments are and the most kind characterizations are when they are in each other's bodies that their personalities and character comes out more living their life through someone else.
00:29:23
Speaker
that You kind of have the very anime jokey thing of Taki grabbing Mitsuhara's boobs while in Mitsuhara's body, and it's kind of a comforting thing. There's that joke at the end where when he wakes up as Mitsuhara at the end after knowing that she died, and he's crying and while holding the boobs.
00:29:37
Speaker
And Mitzaha's having a lot of fun in Taki's body, talking to girls and doing lots of things that he wouldn't otherwise have been doing. Taki in Mitzaha's body is also talking to girls and and playing sports in a very unfeminine way. So that would cause great offense to Mitzaha when she came back into her own body. I do think that they have such an interesting dynamic together, especially, as you said, when they swap bodies and they're acting more, as you said, masculine and feminine, and it's completely against the kind of people they are, which, of course, causes great confusion. I have to say, I thought they're chemistry was really nice which i know obviously the love struck teenagers and that's the kind of stereotypical dynamic that you get in these kind of anime films that oh you know boy meets girl boy travels through time trust me it happens a lot more than you think was it us that watched the girl who leapt through time as well completely unrelated another film that's very important in mine and my wife's film history because it was the very first anime film that we watched together yeah no i genuinely really like them as characters i never find them overly annoying although you have the aforementioned chest grabbing when tacky's in meets his body and things although that's done for a laugh and things i never feel as if you know them swapping bodies is sexualized yeah sexualized or gratuitous they do that obviously is the joke like a
00:31:02
Speaker
You know, a teenage boy appearing in a teenage girl's body and then vice versa where she's surprised. It's that expected reaction. Yeah, it's kind of what you'd expect would likely happen in that situation. Again, it's not done in an over way because that was the thing I was worried about when I saw that first scene where he grabs himself and you thought, oh God, this isn't going to be one of those anime tropes.
00:31:25
Speaker
that we talked about. God, it must have been last year, the year before, in our Anime Trope episode. Wink, wink, go check that out after this episode. But, yeah, no, I did like the fact that, although there were moments like that, at least it was dealt in quite a relatively respectful way.
Anime's Popularity and Accessibility
00:31:41
Speaker
Again, this links back to something that we were talking about the very beginning, and I know it's something you wanted to touch on again as well, and that, of course, is the idea that this feels as if it's penitentiary perfect starter point for an anime because usually when you're trying to introduce someone to anime and this is again something that we spoke about in our anime tropes episode where we were talking about how there are a lot of very problematic tropes in certain shows and certain films that you have to kind of skirt around and be like oh no it gets great after this episode or oh skip this but to be honest usually when you introduce someone you'd
00:32:20
Speaker
probably go for something like Studio Ghibli or even some of the Madhouse films like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time or even Wolf Children. For this one, would you say this is the ideal, rather one of, the ideal anime films to get people started in the medium? Yeah, I think it is a fantastic starting point. And from what I understand, it has been a fantastic starting point for many people. that Your name has acted a bit like Spirit Away did for many a decade prior. So it has become such a key starting place for many people who hadn't watched anime before or that weren't as familiar with anime movies.
00:32:58
Speaker
That this is such a easy film to sink your teeth into and get to grips with a lot of the themes of anime. Unfortunately, because and I'm very biased in this, because it's such a wonderful film, I feel like it's often going to be downhill from here for many people who would want to watch other anime films and anime shows for that matter. But I do think it is a fantastic starting point. I'd said that The Girl Who Left Through Time was the introduction for my wife to anime movies, and she really did enjoy that. but it wasn't really until Your Name that she became so on board with anime movies and got her more inclined to watching anime shows.
00:33:32
Speaker
Even though anime is by far a heck of a lot more popular than it used to be, would you say there's still that stigma that anime's more action and weird tropes and things that would put people off going to see something like this?
00:33:48
Speaker
I think that it still does exist. I think that anime has become much more normalized to the extent that it's not really stigmatized in the same way that it once was. And while still it's one of those things where all these nerdy properties are still stigmatized in a way. and the The fact that these films are now coming out at the cinema kind of shows how far we've come from where you used to get an awkward VHS release or pay lots of money for a DVD of it, watch it pirated. The fact that it's become so much more accessible has just made it such an easy outlet to get into these movies.
00:34:24
Speaker
And the because of the popularity of this film, that it was for a long time the highest grossing anime film out there, I think that Demon Slayer took that over, then I think maybe film after Demon Slayer eclipsed that afterwards.
00:34:36
Speaker
But it held such a strong point and you now had both Weathering With You and Suzume come out of the cinema to a much wider release that I was able to watch it at our local cinema. And there's been other anime that have have screened at our cinema as well. and I think that that is a large part of the reason why. I joked about it at the very beginning of this episode to say that this came out in 2016, which as of recording this episode, we're recording in 2025. So it is nearly 10 years old. And it's amazing to think that there are other, and maybe this might be a little bit dramatic, but it is good to see that there are other studios that are stepping up to the play to create these absolutely breathtaking and fantastical films. Don't get me wrong, Your Name's not the only one to have done that, but I would argue that it's probably one of the ones that could definitely challenge any of, you know, the Studio Ghibli ones, or at least in modern day, because as we've discussed, the art style in this is just, honestly, I cannot praise it enough. It's just gorgeous. Every single detail in this just
00:35:42
Speaker
pops, the colours are so vibrant, the lighting, everything just is so memorable. For something like this to then not be a Ghibli film, and the only reason I'm bringing up Ghibli so much is just because usually that is the one studio you think of. You know, a bit like Disney or DreamWorks, because remember they had a really bad drought at one point of films, their Home and the Range era. That's genuinely the only way I can remember. Home and the Range, Chicken Little, you know, that kind of period where both studios were just churning out terrible film after terrible film. And then that, of course, gave rise to other companies who maybe they're not as culturally impactful, but you've got Illumination, you've got Sony, you know, you've got all of these other ones that have came in and they have made the mark in the animation scene.
00:36:30
Speaker
It's the same with this one that although obviously he's been doing this since 2004 with the place promised in our early days, the film, of course, not the actual place, the movie or the planet? I'm curious, have you watched any of Shinkai's other works?
00:36:44
Speaker
No, i haven't, but I've had Weathering With You recommended to me by, i want to say it was Cindy from the Hypno Wellness podcast when her and I were chatting on an episode. She had recommended that one. Weirdly enough, I was talking to Martin about Suzume and he recommended it.
00:37:02
Speaker
I was like, I was really put off by the fact the guy turns into a chair. And he was like, no, no, no, don't let that put you off. It's an incredible film. So they're definitely on the list.
00:37:12
Speaker
This film has been so impactful that it does make me curious. I do want to learn more about these films. The lesson that I'm taking from this is i need to get my anime backlog a lot better and manage that because there are so many that I'm missing out on.
Makoto Shinkai's Style and Influence
00:37:28
Speaker
Of the Shinkai's films, we just watched 5cm per second, which was the earliest of his works that we've seen. I'd like to watch A Place Promised in our Early Days and Children Who Chased Lost Voices. We watched The Garden of Words years ago now, like it was probably the second film after Your Name that we saw Shinkai's.
00:37:46
Speaker
That's a very bizarre one. Again, loves rain, that man. Like, it's very rain heavy. It's a beautiful film in many ways, but it's very weird. It's not in like a Shinkai's usual weird thing. It involves a young man who falls in love with a teacher and the teacher has like a breakdown.
00:38:02
Speaker
It's not very long film, so like it's quite easy to kind of get through it, but it is weird. Weathering With You, again, so much rain. It's very gorgeous. It's very Your Name-esque in many ways, and it takes place in the same universe.
00:38:14
Speaker
I won't spoil why I can confirm that's the case, because that's a fun little Easter egg in the movie itself you should watch. But it does take place in the same universe as Your Name. And then Susan May, it all right. There's a very catchy little song in it, but the film itself was just kind of weird. Well, i mean, a guy turns into her chair and she walks through a magical door, does she not?
00:38:31
Speaker
Um, yeah, she walks through doors, she tries to close doors, very door heavy. Oh, Shinkai loves doors. and So many shots of more so like the sliding doors shot. He loves that low angle from the floor shot of a Japanese sliding door sliding closed and sliding open. So many his movies involve that. You know, the man had a vision, okay?
00:38:50
Speaker
He had a vision. It was a door. but They just ran with him. I do agree on the rain part. Again, I'm not an animator, but something that I have heard from a lot of animators and, you know, people who have done interviews in animating films as just how difficult animating water is. And especially for this film, there is a lot of water at times, other than obviously the rain, but you know, there's the scene where Taki's going to the temple that's been nearly submerged, he has to walk through the water, you know, there's the scene where they're going through a rain soak. Tokyo and whatnot. Honestly, it's just as incredible the way they weave in and they make it look so realistic. But at the same time, obviously, you know it's animation, but it's just so captivating that you just get sucked into this world. And that is something that I feel as if a good anime film does well. You know, as silly as that sounds to say, it's a film that grabs you not just by the story and the characters, but also by as visual perspective.
00:39:49
Speaker
presentation. You can always have stylised ones that maybe aren't as body looking, to borrow a Scottish phrase, they're not as nice looking, but for this it's almost the full package. You know, you've got the animation, you've got the characters, you've got the really intriguing story and mystery about why this is occurring, but you kind of get 90% of why. I think the rest of it's just magical thread through space and time, which is very Doctor Who-esque, but you know what?
00:40:17
Speaker
I can't give played. Timey-wimey. Wobbly-wobbly etc.
Final Recommendations and Emotional Impact
00:40:20
Speaker
But honestly I cannot praise this film enough for as I said the animation the characters just everything about this film is something that I would recommend if you're looking for a film to introduce your friends to anime and whatnot this is probably up there I would say next to the obviously Studio Ghibli or Madhouse or you know those kind of studios but yeah I definitely say this is one of the top films that should be getting recommended. And as well, it's something that, and I don't know if you've had a film like this in your life, at least an anime film, that has brought you back into the medium. Because it's funny you mentioned earlier that Spirited Away was a lot of people's entry point into anime, because that was one of the films that brought me back into the world of anime, as well, an interest of the culture and things like that, because at that point, I always thought that anime was just, oh, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, oh, it's all fighting, it's very childish, and then you saw a film like that, and you went, oh my god, this is absolutely incredible, look how beautiful it looks, look how vibrant the colours are, look how great the characters are. But was there any film like that for you, an anime film that brought you back into the world of anime?
00:41:35
Speaker
I don't know. it's It's tough because I'm trying to think of a time where I had that lull. Honestly, it probably would either be this or The Girl Who Left Through Time for me. That they both were such interesting and beautiful films at a time that I hadn't really discovered much of what was out there in anime films. like By your name, yes, I had, but I kind of felt like I'd gone through what I was interested in seeing. And that i was like, the anime films, there wasn't enough of good ones, in my opinion at the time. I've since later learned that that was not the case. That there was more there to see and the the kind of great expanse of these beautiful films. And that I kind of had such a history with anime as a TV show and didn't really, other than the likes of Ghibli, have much history and a knowledge of the films.
00:42:24
Speaker
One major thing that we briefly touched on it but not really kind of gone into it is the music. Oh, of course. That's one of the key important aspects of this film is the music by Radwimps, a Japanese rock pop band. They are amazing throughout this whole film. Even if you've not seen this film and aren't interested in watching the film, I do recommend popping on the soundtrack to some time and just listening to just how fun and gorgeous the film that they composed this film and sung was. I don't think they wrote some of the songs for I think that might have been someone else.
00:42:56
Speaker
But the music in this movie is so captivating. It really makes you sympathize with the characters. It gives you a dive into their emotional states and it raises you up at very key points. They know exactly the beats to hit in this film for really motivating you and pushing you right at the end, especially when they're reuniting. They're running through Tokyo and the music is playing. They do like a reprisal of the song that was on earlier and it's so, so brilliant. I referenced it earlier, the Mitzahar's theme, which is such a beautiful melody. was the song that my wife, and actually, to some extent, Satsunami, walked down the aisle to.
00:43:33
Speaker
Well, I had already beaten her to the punch, but yeah not to brag or anything. Yeah, because Satsu was my best man at the wedding, so he did walk with my wife's maid of honour initially first down to this music, so he too has walked down the aisle to it. Always the best man, never the...
00:43:50
Speaker
yeah so the music is just absolutely gorgeous what are your kind of thoughts on music in this film the music is just absolutely benetting and i'm kind of kicking myself that i didn't mention it earlier because i talked about the trifecta of what made this film great the characters the animation and the story itself but there is a fourth one in there that famous fourth trivector that famous fourth trifecta four trifecta is no longer a triangle, it's a square. But the music is just absolutely beautiful. You know, it hypes you up as the viewer, it really sucks you into the narrative that's being told. Genuinely, it's absolutely incredible. Rad once did an absolutely fantastic job of it. I think the main theme as well is just so iconic that, as you were saying, that your wife, and of course myself, I don't want brag, we did. in the aisle to you know the fact that you used it for that and then so many other people have equated this particular song as a romance song in particular you get a lot of people who make big romantic gestures in that specific staircase in tokyo as well absolutely incredible to see how culturally impactful this film has become obviously to all the lovebirds out
00:45:05
Speaker
yeah but it's so great to see. There's a kind of bittersweet irony to that because as far as I know, this is something that I didn't mention at the beginning, but this film was actually inspired by the, i think it was the Great Eastern Earthquake in Japan. It was the Fukushima natural disaster, wasn't it?
00:45:24
Speaker
It was the earthquake in Japan in 2011 which was absolutely devastating. Every time you see an earthquake happening in Japan of that magnitude, you know, your heart sinks. And the fact that Shinkai saw this particular disaster and created something so beautiful out of it, it could have easily gone for a very generic, oh, hey, there's a disaster, these lovers from another time. Well, not really, I another time, you know, three years apart, come on. But he could have easily done something as simplistic as that, but he didn't. He took this inspiration from real life, this horrific tragedy, this natural disaster, and they turned it into one of the most beautiful anime films of all time. That is honestly just such an incredible thing to behold, to be able to see this story turned into this beautiful romance film. And obviously that is the central theme that we as
00:46:19
Speaker
As far as I know anyway, we as people, we can't go back in time and change these horrific things, but it is great to see that this type of art has been birthed from this tragedy. Honestly, I can't praise this film enough. I genuinely think that Shinkai has done just such a brilliant job both with this with you know subsequent films honestly if you haven't seen this film and you're not bothered by the spoilers even if you've heard the spoilers in this episode please go and watch it or watch it again watch it with your loved one watch it by yourself it honestly doesn't matter because it's a beautiful story it's a beautiful film i cannot recommend this enough but before we wrap up andrew what are your final thoughts for this film I'm going to give final thoughts in a second, but I also want to give final thoughts that my wife has provided with me as well to film and what kind of means to her and what she took from it. And she says that she believes that in her words, the film is heart grabby because Shinkai manages to get you to really connect and identify with the characters right off the bat.
00:47:20
Speaker
It could be the body swapping that has the effect or might be something else, but it's really good at pulling you in emotionally. And that's what we touched on earlier. And it's it's true. It very much is something that Shinkai is so good at, at managing to utilize the characters and have us connect with them in such an in-depth way that allows us to really involve ourselves with his films, particularly this one.
00:47:42
Speaker
And I and my wife cannot recommend this highly enough. It is one of my favourite movies of all time, and I'm sure I think it is in her top three films of all time now. So I can't really say more other than please go and watch this if you've not already. And if you have already seen it, watch it again. Couldn't agree more. And on that note, Andrew, thank you so much for joining me in this episode to discuss your name. you. so much for having me, it's so wonderful that we finally got to talk about this film, something that we'd both seen so many years ago and it's been long time coming. And of course before we wrap up, where can these amazing Pantallorians at home find your content?
Closing and Host Information
00:48:18
Speaker
You can find me on some other fantastic episodes of chat tsunami we very recently did an episode on detective pikachu for animation month and i've been in several other of our themed months and just kind of regular episodes as well so you can find me across the years and seasons of chat tsunami and you should check out all these other fantastic episodes on chat tsunami where all good podcasts are found. can also find myself, Satsunami, Martin McAllister, and Robotic Battletoaster on our other podcast, Stop, Drop, and Roll Initiative, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast.
00:48:48
Speaker
Again, where all good podcasts are found. And you can find me at GreenChill95 on Twitter, and the Stop, Drop, and Roll Initiative podcast at SDRIPod on Twitter as well. And as you were saying, if you'd like to check out more episodes from ourselves, then definitely check us out at our website, chattsanami.com, as well as all good podcast apps, because we would love to see you there. I also want to thank our amazing Pandalurian patrons, RoboticBattleToaster, Sonya, Ghosty, and Cryptic1991. Thank you so, so much for supporting the show. it honestly means the world to us if you would like access to a exclusive episodes commentary tracks behind the scenes stuff andrew talking more in japanese and singing in japanese for legal reasons that last one's a joke then you of course can check us out at our patreon page patreon.com forward slash chats in that me i will embarrass myself for money don't even try me yeah please we both will come on
00:49:43
Speaker
Come on, Drewlingo, give us that money. This podcast is, of course, a member of the Podpack Collective. For more information, check us out on our Twitter slash X page, Podpack Collect. And last but not least, but if you fancy chilling in our Chatsu Cafe over on Twitch, then you can check us out at twitch.tv forward slash chat tsunami.
00:50:03
Speaker
But until next time, thank you all so so much for listening to this episode, and next week we will see you for the finale of Animation Month. Stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, much like Makoto Shinkai, stay hydrated.