“Your Name”: why is this April 8 the perfect day to watch the acclaimed anime movie?

On April 8, 2022, Mitsuha and Taki finally meet in the story of Your Name (Kimi no Na wa). The film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai is considered one of the greatest works in Japanese animated cinema, which is why it continues to have a great impact to this day. What made the world fall in love with this teenage drama about fate and love?

Mitsuha Miyamizu (Mone Kamishiraishi) and Taki Tachibana (Ryunosuke Kamiki) are two young men who are unaware of each other's existence, but who will eventually have to unite their lives. One night, while they sleep, they both exchange their bodies and they will have to live a routine that is not their own. She is a young woman from a village who longs to move to the city one day, while he was born and raised in the great metropolis of Tokyo. When their souls exchange places, they communicate through notes and a very close bond begins to be born between the two.

Realizing the connection that will bring them to know each other in the future, the protagonists will look for ways to see each other in person. Nothing will be as expected and the weather will be very cruel, when it becomes known that a comet is approaching Earth at the most unexpected moment. Despite everything, life will have special plans for both of them and, as in every romantic plot in the anime genre, its ending causes excitement to tears.

April 8, 2022, an important date in Your Name

Although it is never mentioned that the characters meet on a day like today in the film, the manga that was released after its release specifies this. Originally, Your Name is a novel by Makoto Shinkai, a Japanese writer and filmmaker who later converted his literary creation into a film adaptation. Shortly after, a manga inspired by the latter came to light and was divided into three volumes published between 2016 and 2017.

In addition to the plot and the emotional voice performances of the cast added to a wonderful animation, part of the charm of this animated film was that it took as a reference some locations that really exist in Japan. For example, there are the Hida-Furukawa Railway Station, the Hida City Library, the Shinanomachi Footbridge and the famous red stairs of Suga Shrine (where Taki and Mitsuha meet). All these places mentioned have become tourist attractions for fans.

The film was first screened in Japan in August 2016, and the following year it hit theaters in the United States, Europe and several Latin American countries. Its box office proceeds totaled more than 357 million dollars, positioning it as one of the most successful titles in the anime industry.

Your Name is currently available to view in the catalog of the HBO Max platform .

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