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Kimi no Na WA also known as YOUR NAME is romance anime directed by Makoto Shinkai and released on the 26th of August in 2016. it is believed to be one of the highest grossing anime films of all time with a box office sale of over $382 million worldwide. I remember after seeing numerous recommendations of it on Facebook in 2019 I was inclined to watch it.
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I tried to watch it five consecutive times but giving up every single time without even getting to understand the plot either falling asleep or losing interest completely and in my defense it was actually my first time trying romance animes as I always tagged them 'too girly' so there was no way it would appeal to me immediately. On my sixth try I made up my mind to watch it till the end as I was always getting recommendations about it nonstop and my Friends kept pushing me saying it is an experience I won't regret. I forced myself to get past the usual point I always quit on and ever since then, it set a chain reaction to my love for romance animes and also converting my elder r sister into the anime culture after I told her to give it a try.
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The anime tells the story about two high schoolers, a boy named Taki Tachibana who resides in Tokyo and a girl called Mitsuha Miyamizu who lives in a small town called Itomori who both start switching bodies. Taki works a part- time job at an Italian restaurant in the city with a huge crush on one of his co-workers while Mitsuha lives a traditional life with her family but dreams of exploring the fascinating life Tokyo has to offer.
Without any prior notice, they both wake up to discover their minds switched to different bodies that are not even of the same gender. At first they both think it is some kind of dream or illusion but when this body swapping becomes a frequent event, they both start living each person's life. Both Taki and Mitsuha start living messages for each other on papers, books , reminders and even on their bodies to bring the original body up to speed about what transpired while they still switched. Because of the new phenomenon, they both begin to improve in their social lives respectively. Mitsuha tries to help Taki connect with the co-worker he has a crush on while she is in his body but the relationship only lasts for a while.
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One day the body switching stops as abruptly as it had started. Taki who was already used to the whole event decides to go find Mitsuha. He travels to her Itomori only discovers that the town had been destroyed three years ago by a comet meaning that their body swapping phenomenon was happening across time. Desperate to save Mitsuha, Taki looks for a means to travel back to her body one last time which he successfully accomplishes after drinking a special liquid. He tries to warn everybody in the town about the comet but nobody listens to him. When all hope seems lost both of them meet at the twilight and promise each other to meet again but as soon as the twilight passes they both completely forget each other but Mitsuha was saved.
After years have passed and both of them forgetting each other, they live their lives in Tokyo but with a very strong feeling that something is missing as there was a deep void in their hearts. They finally cross paths again and as they walk past each other they can't help but feel a previous connection and so they both turn around and ask "Have we met before".
The maturity in this anime is what drew me to romance anime in the first place. Everything about it is a product of an anime done right starting from the plot, visuals, storytelling and even soundtracks. Besides having a thousand good sides, the reason I love this anime and appreciate it with every fibre of my existence is the lack of Fan service.
