Holy shit its been two months since I login... Well, time to lurk in various threads again!
I watched "Your Name" today, and it is bloody amazing.
My personal AOTY for sure. Characters are all likeable, especially Mitsuha :D
Scenery is your Shinkai Makoto style but it looks better than ever. I got goosebumps from several scenes, simply because of how gorgeous it is. Also, a long take in the film is done very well!
Story is beautiful despite some of its flaws (you can definitely get over it, personally I rather take some minor loopholes than lengthy explaination that destorys the pace of the film). I am at the edge of my seat in some parts, and even tear up a bit...
The music is great; it flows well with the visual, and I would argue that it has the best music out of all of Shinkai's works. Dude has great taste. Since it is a limited screening (official US release is 2017 ugh), the theater they chose is a bit small, which kinda cuts down the impact in the sound department. However, everyone there is passionate about anime so the atomsphere is pretty nice.
I can see the wider appeal, but in the end it is a Japanese-centric film. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
If you are in the US and is interested in it, please hold out for a few months and experience it in theaters - this film does not deserve a 240p first impression along with all the hardcoded subtitles. Also you will get more out of it if you watch some of Shinkai's previous works, especially The Garden of Words. It is a great time to learn more about him!
My conclusion: as someone who thinks rewatching movies/TV shows/anime is a waste of time, I will happily rewatch it when it come to the theaters. Funimation please release it ASAP!
http://imgur.com/a/guaVh (Some photos from the theater; nothing special. I think Chartz's image linking system hates me, it's a pain in the ass to work with)
PS: I bring up The Garden of Words in particular, because ("Your Name" and The Garden of Words spoilers ahead) the teacher in the beginner who called on Mitsuha is Yukino from The Garden of Words, and in one of the shots you can see the poem that Yukino bring up when talking to Takao written on the blackboard!
