I usually avoid watching Japanese anime movies as somehow they will be available for download online (yep.. shame on me!). So I have to admit that I am sort of drawn to all the positive reviews about Kimi No Na Wa which is likely going to be the no 1 film in Japan this year. That poster is not a lie haha.. Of course I am pretty sceptical considering those Studio Ghibli movies are not really that impressive to me. I read reviews about Kimi No Na Wa and they make me even more curious. How can a story about a boy and a girl who swap bodies be that interesting?
Hmm.. Kimi No Na Wa is actually not only about a gender-swapping story. It has elements of everything. We start with the typical comedy from gender-swapping experiences, then to mystery and science fiction as we realise the swap happened during different periods of time, then to adventure as Taki (the male character) tries to solve the mystery behind this and eventually for Mitsuha to save her city from a falling comet, and it ends with some kind of romance. I would say it is a roller coaster ride for a movie but it is great the these elements are interwoven nicely.
It is also a roller coaster ride for my emotion. I will go crazy if what happens in the movie actually happens to me. Firstly, during their body-swapping experiences, both Taki and Mitsuha think that everything happens in their dreams while it is actually a reality. The body-swapping happen in random manner so you can be living as 1 person today and as the other person tomorrow. Wow... Realising that it is a reality is already shocking, so how shocking it will be for Taki to find out that he is swapping with someone from 3 years ago and that person is already dead. Similarly for Mitsuha, how does it feel when 'someone' from the future informs you that a comet will strike your town tonight and it will kill everyone? How to convince everyone to run away from the impending doom when everyone is so eager to view the comet? Whooo.. I got chills imagining it.
Although I mention that the last part is sort of romance, it is not really a romance. It is actually quite heart wrenching that both Taki and Mitsuha (yep in the end she successfully save her town.. don't ask me about time paradox lol) cannot remember about anything that has happened and yet they always feel that there is something 'missing' and they are constantly looking for 'it' without exactly knowing what they are looking for. I guess that strikes a chord with me because I am feeling quite lost in my life and I am searching what actually is my purpose here.
Ultimately, this movie is not really my cup of tea. It is interesting, it is great, it is unique, but it does not make me wanting to go watch it again. Well, I guess the Japanese really has a unique taste for movies because all their hyped movies turn out to be only quite so-so for me.
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