I watched "Your Name." 8 years ago, and it was a movie that shocked both me and my child! Youth is always in our hearts✨

"Your Name."

When I saw it in theaters 8 years ago,

A masterpiece once in a few decades.

Honestly, that's what I thought.

Please listen to it on my Voicy audio broadcast♪

Usually, when I go to see a movie after hearing it has good pre-release reviews, I'm 80% satisfied, but in the case of this work, it easily exceeded those expectations.

Works that are praised nationwide can sometimes feel like déjà vu before you even watch them, and the emotional impact can fade, but in the case of this work, such preconceptions were blown away.

Having watched over 3,000 films, I have rarely seen a movie where the script, visuals, music, background art, characters, and dialogue all converge at a high level on the single point of "stirring the emotions."

Having watched too many movies since I was a child, there came a day when I stopped being moved as easily. My sensitivity had dulled, and year by year, I stopped feeling those heart-tugging or spine-tingling sensations. It seems that my critical perspective and cinematic memories were preventing movies from encroaching upon the deeper parts of my emotions.

With this work, I felt goosebumps run through my body several times.

That nostalgic sensation of my solar plexus tightening.

That bittersweet feeling of lost time in my own life flashing before my eyes like a kaleidoscope.

I shed tears countless times. But I don't know the core reason why.

Director Shinkai is known for using beautiful skies and celestial scenes to stir lyricism, but in his past works, that sometimes took precedence, making the characters feel like an afterthought.

However, in this work, both Taki and Mitsuha are vibrant and full of life.

They live, they thrive, and they exist, as if bursting through the overly beautiful backgrounds.

Even though they are anime characters, has there ever been a movie where their existence felt more real and closer to me than live-action?

The ennui-filled Okudera-senpai and the realist Yotsuha-chan are also unforgettable.

They try to reach out to that name, to the memory of that existence, because they don't want to forget, they must not forget...

Don't we all have that? That sensation we suddenly grasped in the middle of the night, that vivid feeling that could change our lives, getting buried in our daily routines and nearly disappearing into the oblivion of forgetfulness... as the days go by one after another.

But it certainly existed. That feeling, that thought, that person, that moment—things I never want to forget, things I must not forget, even if I had to bet my whole life on it.

As a voice actor, Ryunosuke Kamiki is wonderful, from his poignant narration to his soul-stirring cries. Following "Maiko Haaaan!!!" and "Chihayafuru," Mone Kamishiraishi has been born as a high-purity heroine, integrating transparency, cuteness, and dialect as a voice actor. She now plays lead roles in dramas.

The story line's swell is comfortable; it starts from a premise of body-swapping that could easily have been a slightly risqué comedy, but as you laugh and follow their daily lives at a good tempo, it slides into a story of them painfully chasing after each other.

Director Shinkai's past works sometimes have moments where his narcissism comes to the fore, which can be off-putting, but in this work, he threw a fastball right down the middle that struck deep into the pit of my stomach.

How human psychology and emotions are shaken, how they bounce, how they make your heart skip a beat, and how they make you feel a pang of longing—if you aim for that half-heartedly, the artifice shows through. But when a fastball is thrown to that spot again, and again, and again, your body's reactions and emotional fluctuations synchronize with the rhythm of the work, and your emotions resonate vividly with every single scene.

I am happy that a miraculous youth film has been born, transcending the boundaries of anime and live-action.

I still haven't forgotten that feeling I had 18 years ago when I watched "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time."

This "feeling" I got this time has surpassed that. I will surely never forget it, even 20 years from now.

My eldest son, who was in his second year of junior high, went to see it with his friends beforehand and had already bought the soundtrack. I wrote a review at the time while listening to it.

The presence of RADWIMPS, who stand by this work—no, who loudly amplify the swell of emotions as another protagonist (it has a music video feel that might be considered unorthodox for film music, but even that is forgivable)—is overwhelming. I first knew Yojiro Noda not as an artist, but as the actor from "Pieta in the Toilet," exuding an atmosphere of holding his own unique world, so I am endlessly intrigued that he sent such grand and upbeat songs out into the world all at once.

When I returned home and met my eldest son's eyes, he grinned and said:

"How was it?" "It's a masterpiece." "It's crazy, right?" "It was really, unbelievably good." "My friends and I were so moved." "It gave me goosebumps." It doesn't sound like a conversation between a parent and child, but...

My son, I envy you for encountering this work in your second year of junior high.

But you know, after watching this movie, I, too, made a vow.

That I would never again let go of "that feeling" that I had left behind somewhere deep inside.

And...

Eight years have passed since I saw this movie, and my eldest son, who was in his second year of junior high, is now nearly 180cm tall, easily towering over me. He is now a senior in college and living on his own.

Just the other day, we celebrated his 22nd birthday as a family.

Will I be able to regain "that feeling"?

Is my eldest son living "that feeling" right now?

I hope you don't forget it even after you become a working adult.

If you have forgotten "that feeling"

watch this movie again and let your heart flutter.

If your heart aches, you are in the midst of your youth right now.

Youth never ends.

Let's go meet youth and "that feeling" again today.

Please also listen to this poem of youth, which connects to the youth of "Your Name." and gives you the courage to live your youth no matter how old you get♪