Reflection : Kimi no na wa and on life in Tokyo

Yvon Chang

Forewords : The following article will contain spoilers (light or heavy) about Shinkai Makoto’s latest movie : Kimi no na wa. The following reflection will also be a relatively long and unorganized mess. Read at your own risk!

I’ve only ever followed news from afar. While Shinkai Makoto’s previous work Kotonoha no Niwa (Garden of Words) definitely impressed me with the sheer visual prowess it accomplished, it definitely felt like it was more of a visual show of Shinkai’s talent. As a result, the story didn’t feel very impactful or important at all either. It was a really simple one at that too : a student falls in love with his young teacher… Or her feet, who knows?

That’s why I kinda waited eagerly this new movie by director Shinkai Makoto. The premise seemed more interesting that the last, kinda going back to his sci-fi/fantasy “roots” but outside of a handful of information I read here and there on the Internet, I was going in completely blind.

This was probably the best decision I made, and this is one I should do more often about anything. Things kept me interested through and through with little time for boredom. I don’t remember rolling my eyes over either because it felt too dumb or anything like that.

While the very basic premise of it is simple — romance between a city boy and a country girl with sci-fi/supernatural elements — some developments keep you awake and sometimes on the edge of your seat. While the secondary charaters definitely get the short end of the stick, they have enough screen-time and development to feel like people, characters that have life outside of their presence around their respective “MC”.

The two MCs though, as expected, are fairly well developed. Nothing too unexpected of course, but it’s not trying to break the rules and conventions either anyway. Instead, it follows a path you might already know, but it does in a very convincing manner, although you get less convincing arguments as to why Mitsuha, the girl, falls in love with Taki. Although now that I think about it, did she ever fell in love with him? They are clearly looking for each other, but only Taki ever confessed his love, although in a round-about way…

All in all, Kimi no na wa is a really enjoyable experience ; a really solid execution without really falling into heavy-handed clichés and supported by a magnificent art direction. I highly recommend it once it’s released outside of Japan. It’s totally worth it.

Another thing I found funny while on the way out of the screening room is that I could somewhat relate to what Mitsuha, the heroine, felt about Tokyo, although in a somewhat twisted way. She is a country girl who wants to leave her small town where there’s barely anything to do for Tokyo, where everything you’ll ever need will be at the door right next to you. Using the maze-like railway network is something she always dreamed of. Getting lost in the street and discovering new cool shops, stopping by a shop with friends, working a part-time job at a classy restaurant, etc…

Tokyo’s life style sure isn’t all grey and monotonous of course, but it’s definitely not what we, as foreigners, or rather people like her and me, who never lived in a big city like Tokyo think it is. It takes time getting used to the sea of people coming and going, the countless train lines, the many districts and the asphyxiating hotness of summer too…

Add to this the fact that, like any metropolis, Tokyo attracts its fair share of tourists. As I said in previous articles, they flock at specific spots, making Tokyo appear even more “diluted” than it is.

If we’re being honest though, I haven’t visited the most popular districts yet like Shibuya or Shinjuku etc… That might be why I’m not finding life in Tokyo all that exciting yet. Although even Akihabara, which should be the place I find the most interesting given my hobbies started off with a very shaky first impression and didn’t impress me much.

However, this difference in Mitsuha’s perspective on Tokyo and mine is specifically why I’m here for. I want to understand why. Why Japanese people are who they are, why they have those rule specific to their country, why… everything! Including why people would want to live in Tokyo. Until then, I won’t feel like I fully understand what it is to be Japanese, nowadays at least.

Even back in France, I’ve always felt like I prefered countryside to the city. This first week in Tokyo (well, not exactly Tokyo if we’re being totally honest) further confirms this thought. That’s why I kinda want to try life in the countryside of Japan, so I can compare and get a fuller picture.

So yeah, it’s getting a bit too rambly and I really don’t feel like I’m being clear, and I don’t think I could find a way to make this clearer either, so I’ll leave it at that for now. Maybe I’ll make a follow-up to this article on day, who knows.



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