Episode 86 - Your Name | A Cross-Examination of the IMDB Top 250

New studio space with funky audio on the Johannes' side, apologies for the issues

Embark on a mesmerizing journey through time and space with Movie Mistrial as we explore the beautifully crafted anime film "Your Name."

Makoto Shinkai's "Your Name" weaves an enchanting tale of love, fate, and connection, set against the backdrop of stunning animation and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. The film's emotional depth and innovative storytelling have captivated audiences worldwide, making it a standout in contemporary animation.

While "Your Name" has received widespread acclaim, some critics argue that its complex narrative structure and fantastical elements may be confusing for certain viewers, potentially detracting from the emotional impact of the story.

Join us for an insightful discussion as we dive into the world of "Your Name" and examine its profound impact on the landscape of animated films.

Connect with us and share your thoughts:

Twitter: http://tiny.cc/MistrialTwitter

Facebook: http://tiny.cc/MistrialFB

Instagram: http://tiny.cc/MistrialInsta

Visit our website, www.moviemistrial.com, for more captivating episodes and to stay up-to-date with all things movies.

[00:00:17] Welcome to the video's podcast. The podcast where we debate the accuracy of IMDb's top 250 movies of all time.

[00:00:27] My name is Johannes. And I'm Raji. Today we're discussing a film that is the first

[00:00:32] anime film not made by Studio Ghibli or Hayao Miyazaki to grasp 10 million yen at the Japanese box office. Your Name.

[00:00:40] The film is filled with supernatural elements and body switching.

[00:00:44] Your Name was directed by Makato Shinkai, who himself thought that the film suffered due to the limited budget.

[00:00:52] Before we switch bodies and take on the other side of the argument, I have to ask Johannes. How is your day going?

[00:00:59] Pretty good, pretty good. People that listen to this will not say the background changed. I have my studio room.

[00:01:06] So that's what it's...

[00:01:08] Ah, the sound signature also changed.

[00:01:13] Yeah.

[00:01:13] Do you like it?

[00:01:14] I'm still working on sound, all that stuff.

[00:01:19] Still working on the reverb aspect of it. I hope it's not too bad.

[00:01:22] But we'll figure it out.

[00:01:25] Yeah, it's good. It's a work in progress.

[00:01:27] But, you know, moving in and getting something is good progress. How are you?

[00:01:32] That's good.

[00:01:33] I'm doing all right. I'm doing all right. I'm just...

[00:01:37] The usual weekend is Father's Day weekend when we're recording this.

[00:01:40] I just got a t-shirt with my daughter's face on it saying Zafi's dad.

[00:01:45] So, yeah.

[00:01:47] It's a really nice shirt. I really love it.

[00:01:51] And it's just the usual. I think I spent a lot of the weekend listening to all my friends talk about how their wives don't do stuff for them for Father's Day.

[00:02:02] I think my wife went overboard. She made food, burgers, some of my favorite stuff.

[00:02:10] And we had a really good day yesterday. And it was all thanks to her. So, it was a really cool day.

[00:02:19] So, yeah. Thank you, my wife.

[00:02:22] Whoever you are.

[00:02:24] That's great though, right? I mean, I think it's an unreasonable expectation to, on Father's Day, to have your wife.

[00:02:32] It's not your husband's day. It's Father's Day.

[00:02:36] Yeah.

[00:02:38] My kid is too young to do any of this.

[00:02:40] Right, right.

[00:02:42] Right.

[00:02:43] You're telling me she did not print the t-shirt herself?

[00:02:46] The t-shirt? No.

[00:02:48] Use her imaginary credit card to get it from Amazon.

[00:02:52] Get it shipped.

[00:02:55] But I think it was interesting because I was at the barber on Friday and he was talking about how his kids forgot everything about who he is.

[00:03:04] But when they need money, they reach out to him.

[00:03:07] And those scenarios, I really get to appreciate how much my wife puts into all of these things.

[00:03:14] She really loves those kinds of gestures.

[00:03:16] That's awesome.

[00:03:18] Yeah.

[00:03:19] Very glad to hear that.

[00:03:22] But yeah.

[00:03:24] So, your name is not on the t-shirt.

[00:03:27] No.

[00:03:28] My name is definitely not on the t-shirt.

[00:03:31] My name is definitely, but it's a good way to segue to the film.

[00:03:36] Have you heard of this film before?

[00:03:38] I feel like it's given out.

[00:03:38] I've heard of this film before, but I'd never seen it.

[00:03:43] I'd never seen this film until this weekend.

[00:03:46] It was the first time I watched this movie.

[00:03:49] Um, it was, anyway, we'll talk about more, uh, in this action after we prosecute, uh, the film.

[00:03:57] But I guess we should go through the synopsis and then once we do that, let's, let's spend some time talking about this film.

[00:04:04] Sounds great.

[00:04:06] Your name is a visually captivating and emotionally resident animated film directed by Makoto Shinkai.

[00:04:12] The story revolves around two teenagers, Mitsuha, a girl from a rural town, and Taki, a boy from Tokyo, who inexplicably begin to swap bodies intermittently.

[00:04:22] As they navigate each other's lives, they form a deep, unique bond and communicate throughout messages to help each other.

[00:04:28] However, when the body swapping suddenly stops, Taki sends out to find Mitsuha, uncovering a surprising and dramatic twist that ties their fates together.

[00:04:38] Your name beautifully explores themes of love, fate, and the impact of time, earning acclaim for its stunning animation, heartfelt narrative, and powerful emotional depth.

[00:04:47] Alright, um, should we just jump right in and flip a coin?

[00:04:53] Yeah, let's flip a coin.

[00:04:54] And that's, yes.

[00:04:57] I'm gonna go with heads.

[00:05:00] Ooh, tails.

[00:05:02] Tails, my friend.

[00:05:04] So do you wanna argue for or against this movie?

[00:05:07] Uh, I'm gonna go against it.

[00:05:09] You wanna go against it?

[00:05:10] Okay.

[00:05:12] Um, alright.

[00:05:13] Yeah, yeah.

[00:05:15] Okay.

[00:05:16] Okay.

[00:05:16] Let's go.

[00:05:17] Uh, you have the floor, my good sir.

[00:05:26] I'm gonna go against it.

[00:05:29] I'm gonna go against it.

[00:05:44] I'm gonna go against it.

[00:05:55] It's not a big deal.

[00:05:56] But it's also kind of a verb of Back to the Future.

[00:05:59] And let's just say, those are two great tastes, but those two tastes don't go well together.

[00:06:05] So, it's, it's a very strange film.

[00:06:08] Um, the story is, um, all building to this big reveal that I'm sure we'll talk about later.

[00:06:17] Um, but until we get there, it, A, takes a long time.

[00:06:23] And B is kind of uninteresting because it's the time it takes to set up these characters and the time it takes to, to kind of make sure that we understand that one is the city boy, the other one is the country kid.

[00:06:38] And they switch places back and forth every now and then.

[00:06:43] And, uh, once we figure out, okay, there's also a time difference in involved.

[00:06:49] Uh, and then we try to reverse time, alternate time in some shape or form.

[00:06:55] Uh, this will completely ask me.

[00:06:58] Um, I found it deeply on this, uninspiring and uninteresting.

[00:07:02] Um, after about like 25 minutes.

[00:07:07] And the only thing that kind of got me back into it was the music, uh, which I found interesting and fun.

[00:07:14] But as a whole, this film just didn't catch me.

[00:07:16] I'm going to go basically with the idea.

[00:07:19] I think, um, I got some of the points you were making.

[00:07:22] The movie is a combination of Freaky Friday and Back to the Future, and it feels like it doesn't work together.

[00:07:28] I think that movies have derivatives all the time.

[00:07:31] And I think that this movie, I started watching this film thinking it was like a derivative of Back to the Future.

[00:07:37] Uh, no derivative of Freaky Friday.

[00:07:40] Uh, and by the end of this movie, it won me over with its charm and its storyline.

[00:07:46] The, the impact of the change, uh, compared to what we, we got in Freaky Friday, which is basically one individual switching to another individual.

[00:08:00] Um, it's, it's a very small mindset given the subject matter we have in here.

[00:08:06] This movie deals with time.

[00:08:08] It deals with consequences.

[00:08:10] It deals with destruction and it deals with family troubles.

[00:08:15] Um, all of those stuff have, um, their themes of people who are dealing with depression.

[00:08:21] How they, how they react to those.

[00:08:25] Um, the relationship, for example, of the daughter and the father strained as a result of the death of, um, of their mom.

[00:08:34] Um, which caused the father to switch into something where he's more fake, uh, be at least being a politician.

[00:08:44] Um, and how that affected their relationship, especially the relationship of the, of the father and the grandmother kind of played into some of the decision making that happened at the very end.

[00:08:55] Right?

[00:08:55] It's like, it's like this movie starts as a subtle nod to, um, to movies like Freaky Friday.

[00:09:05] But at the end of the film, I'm rooting for the guy as he's trying to save a whole, a whole town.

[00:09:12] Um, or sorry, a third of a town from existential death.

[00:09:17] Um, all because he had a, a dream, um, and connected with somebody in the past.

[00:09:26] I think the idea in this movie is very, very brilliant.

[00:09:30] And it's actually incredible that they got this through.

[00:09:34] Um, it's, it's very difficult to deal with ideas that are so, um, I mean, because it's a very Japanese film.

[00:09:43] We're dealing with spirits.

[00:09:45] We're dealing with balance.

[00:09:46] We're dealing with, um, the nether worlds.

[00:09:49] These are things that are very Japanese and it's, I mean, it's infused.

[00:09:54] And I think we talked about Princess Mononoke in the last episode where I talked about some of the ideas being very Japanese.

[00:09:59] But this one is even more Japanese and it's a shorter film.

[00:10:02] So we get hit with the Japanese mantras, the beliefs, the Shintoism, all of those stuff.

[00:10:09] We get, um, we get, uh, we get hit with that very quickly.

[00:10:14] But I think this movie works.

[00:10:16] It works very, very well because the stakes are very high.

[00:10:21] Um, and by the end of this movie, I couldn't believe how much I liked it.

[00:10:25] I thought it was a masterpiece.

[00:10:26] Um, I thought it was a masterpiece.

[00:10:30] Um, honestly, the characters were charming.

[00:10:34] The, um, the relationship between the guy and the girl was very cute.

[00:10:41] Um, the time difference was very intriguing.

[00:10:45] Um, the fact that she had seen him in Tokyo earlier and he didn't know who he was, gave, who she, he didn't know who she was, gave me a bit of a chuckle.

[00:10:58] Um, and then he just said that she was beautiful.

[00:11:00] And she just gave me a joke.

[00:11:03] And she just did not care for a smile.

[00:11:04] Um, as it's like, she was too, that was very cool.

[00:11:07] Um, so it's the beauty of the girl.

[00:11:10] She gave me that, um, she didn't know why.

[00:11:13] Uh, she was very, uh, in the land.

[00:11:19] Like, uh, uh, she seemed to really not see them.

[00:11:20] I can say they're still not wrong.

[00:11:23] So, um, I like, oh, I think they were like, you know, how do some of the girls got the answers?

[00:11:28] I think the problems I had with it was

[00:11:30] that it just kept meandering