"Your Name." is a movie that my child and I watched 6 years ago and were both shocked by! Youth is always in our hearts✨

"Your Name."

When I saw it in theaters 6 years ago,

I honestly thought it was a masterpiece that comes along once every few decades.

That is what I honestly thought.

Usually, when I go to see a movie after hearing good things about it, 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 kicked to the curb.

In my nearly 3,000 movies watched, I have rarely seen a film where the script, visuals, music, background art, characters, and dialogue all converge at a high level on the single point of "shaking the emotions."

Having watched too many movies since I was a child, I had reached a point where I was less and less moved. My sensitivity had dulled, and year by year, I found myself unable to feel that tug at the heart or that thrill. It seems that my critical perspective and cinematic memories were preventing movies from penetrating 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 the lost time of my real life flashing before my eyes like a kaleidoscope.

Tears welled up in my eyes countless times. But I don't know the core reason why.

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

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

They live, they act, and they exist, as if breaking through the overly beautiful backgrounds.

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

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

They don't want to forget, they must not forget...

They reach out for that name, for the memory of that existence, but 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 almost disappearing into the oblivion of forgetfulness... as day by day passes by.

But it was definitely there. That sensation, that feeling, that person, that moment—things I wouldn't 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. As for Mone Kamishiraishi, coming from "Maiko Haaaan!!!" to "Chihayafuru," she has given birth to a high-purity heroine as a voice actor, integrating transparency, cuteness, and a dialect. She now plays leading roles in dramas.

The story line's swell is comfortable, moving from an entrance that could have been a slightly lewd comedy about gender-swapping, to a story where, while laughing, you follow their daily lives, and then slide into the feelings of them painfully chasing after each other.

Director Shinkai's past works sometimes have narcissism that comes to the fore, and depending on the work, there are moments where I pull back, but regarding this work, a fastball was thrown right down the middle, and it pierced deep into my solar plexus.

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 point again, and again, and again, your body's reaction 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 movie was born, transcending the boundaries of anime and live-action.

I still haven't forgotten that feeling I had 15 years ago when I watched "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time."

This "feeling" this time exceeded that. I will never forget it even 20 years from now.

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

The presence of RADWIMPS, who stay close to this work—no, who loudly amplify the swell of emotions as another protagonist (it has a PV-like feel that could be considered unorthodox for film music, but even that is forgivable)—is overwhelming. I knew Yojiro Noda more as an actor in "Pieta in the Toilet" who exuded an atmosphere of holding his own unique world rather than as an artist, but to think he sent such a grand and upbeat song out into the world all at once... my interest is endless.

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 being able to encounter this work in your second year of junior high.

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

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

And...

Six years have passed since I watched this movie, and my eldest son, who was in his second year of junior high, is now nearly 180cm tall, and he has easily surpassed me in height. And now he is a sophomore in college living on his own.

Just the other day, we celebrated his 20th birthday as a family.

Will I be able to regain "that feeling"?

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

Let's watch this movie again and feel that pang in our hearts.

If your heart aches deep inside, you are currently in your youth.

Youth never ends.