Your Name
Book review:
It’s a special book that can manage to be an adventure, mystery, romance, comedy, drama with of dash of magical fantasy. As to how well it holds together? The animated film topped Japan’s box office in 2016.
One morning, for no apparent reason, Taki awakens to find he is somehow inhabiting the body and identity of an unknown girl. She is of around his own age and lives in an isolated mountain town. Predictably confused, he fumbles his way through a regular day of her life. Similarly, country girl Mitsuha finds herself assuming Taki’s identity in Tokyo and vicariously experiences the big city life she’s yearned for. At first, both believe they are dreaming but soon realise that while the switching is temporary and occurs unpredictably; their actions have normal, permanent consequences. Attempts to communicate directly with one another via email and phone mysteriously fail so they end up leaving notes to each other in order to mitigate the chaos caused to each other’s lives.
The animated film of Your Name dominated Japan’s cinema box office in 2016. Its international revenue surpassed even that of Spirited Away, despite some countries only granting it a limited theatrical release. It’s a story that could be described as a fantasy set in modern times, but is really a blend of several genres. The body swapping element, that, in other works, might be slapstick or played for lazy gags, is instead breathtakingly integrated. The switching itself is just one of many pivotal elements that combine towards a satisfyingly well constructed plot.
Interestingly, the novel is authored by Makoto Shinkai, the writer and director of the film. A bit like the story itself, the book is a juxtaposition of contradictions. Shinkai conceived Your Name as an animated work but the novel ended up being published while the film was still a few months shy of completion. Both versions are consistent but the difference in media has a profound effect. Like the film, it can be difficult to always grasp all of what is happening. However with the novel, it becomes much easier to distinguish which character is which and when something profound arises, it’s an easy matter to backtrack a few pages rather than flounder around with the seek bar. In spite of the author’s original intent, the book version is a worthy creation in its own right.
Shelf: 913.6 SHI
[Kimi no na wa. English]
Your name
by Makokto Shinkai ; translation by Taylor Engel.
Yen Press, 2017.
184 pages; 24 cm.
Translated into Japanese from the English.
ISBN: 978-0-316-47186-2
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