Story
Your Name is a subtitled Japanese animated fantasy. It’s about a mysterious body swap between two senior high school students who live in separate parts of Japan. Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi) is a young girl who lives in the small countryside town of Itomori. Mitsuha longs for the bustling life of a city like Tokyo. Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is a high school boy who lives in Tokyo. Taki and Mitsuha start having vivid dreams in which they seem to have swapped bodies, but they soon realise that they actually inhabit the other’s body.Taki and Mitsuha start communicating by leaving each other messages or phone memos, to help keep things normal when the other person is in control. Eventually, each starts intervening in the other person’s life in small but significant ways. Mitsuha spends her time in Taki’s body developing a close relationship with one of Taki’s female work colleagues, eventually organising to take her out on a date. In turn, Taki helps Mitsuha become increasingly popular at her school.At one point, Mitsuha mentions to Taki that a comet is going to appear soon and that she’s excited about seeing it. Soon Taki realises that he and Mitsuha no longer seem to be swapping bodies and he decides to visit her, travelling around rural areas of Japan to locate her hometown. Taki discovers things that bring him new challenges.
Themes
Friendship and romance; fate and destiny; the supernatural; natural disasters; death
Violence
Your Name has some violence. For example, when Taki is in Mitsuha’s body, he arranges an explosion at the Itomori substation so that the village needs to be evacuated before the comet lands. The explosion is large and fiery, but no-one is injured.
Sexual references
Your Name has some sexual references. For example:
- When Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, she says, ‘Something’s there’, and touches between her legs. She looks very shocked and uncomfortable.
- When Mitsuha is in Taki’s body, she flirts with Taki’s female work colleague. There are scenes that present the colleague in a sexualised way. For example, the camera pans up the length of her body.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Your Name shows some substance use. For example:
- Men drink what looks like an alcoholic beverage while they’re sitting around a dinner table. People also drink glasses of red wine at Taki’s restaurant.
During a dance ritual, two young girls make saké. Another character explains that if they chew on rice and spit it out, the rice ferments and turns into saké. Someone then asks Mitsuha whether she could make money by doing this, and she states that it would breach Liquor Tax Law.
Nudity and sexual activity
Your Name has limited sexual activity and nudity. For example:
- There are several scenes where Taki wakes up in Mitsuha’s female body and gropes or squeezes his breasts. This is usually presented in a funny way.
When he’s in Mitsuha’s body, Taki stands in front of a mirror and removes Mitsuha’s nightgown, leaving only underwear on. The camera is behind him, and viewers can see Mitsuha’s naked back and legs.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
There is some coarse language in Your Name.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Your Name is a romantic movie about the flourishing relationship between Taki and Mitsuha, and Taki’s quest to save Mitsuha from her fate. Although the two don’t meet for most of the movie, they touch each other’s lives in significant ways.
Your Name highlights the importance of living in the moment and not taking the people that you love for granted. It emphasises the importance of fighting for what you believe in and taking risks when necessary. The movie also explores the nature of fate, and the question of whether some people are meant to be with each other.
This movie is more suitable for teenage viewers. Its story might confuse younger children, and it has some upsetting scenes and themes. It’s also in Japanese with English subtitles.