Therapist Reacts to YOUR NAME (Filmmaker falls in LOVE)

What's it like walking in someone else's shoes? (Literally?) What can you learn from different perspectives and life experiences?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright take a look at Your Name and how it explores some of these themes. They talk about the importance of perspective taking, the unique sci-fi style twist to that concept in this movie, and how these characters learn from each other and discover new ways of thinking and doing things. They talk about how much Alan absolutely loves this movie - from the gorgeous anime art style, to the script, to the perfect balance between fun, serious, and heartfelt in the story.

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, and Alan Seawright
Edited by: David Sant
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[MajorKusanagi]

Taki writing „I love you“ was so smart because he knew that the name would vanish in the same way that his diary entries did. So he wrote something that was not adressed at Mitsuha’s memory but at her heart. This way, even though they did not remember each other explicitly, they knew there is someone who they dearly love which is why they find another again after all these events.

[trinaq]

I love that the film opens with Taki and Mitsuha as adults, talking about how they both feel like they've lost something important. This helps the audience to get into the same headspace as the characters, since we also don't know what they've lost.

[KitsunenoHibi]

The biggest part of Mitsuha's "laughter through tears" is that she was going to write the same thing. She was starting to write the characters for "I love you" as well. That's part of why she laughed.

[ChairmanAnime]

Glad you guys liked this movie! A cool note about the sharpie-handwriting scene:

Taki wrote "すきだ" (I love you) and Mitsuha wasn't able to finish writing her name...but she actually wasn't going to write her name in the first place. You can see that in Taki's hand is a long horizontal stroke which isn't how you would start "みつは”, the first stroke is short and to the left. You could argue that she was going for "三葉" which is the Kanji equivalent but its unreasonable to write the second character in what would presumably be a short time.

In other words, she was actually going to write something else that starts with a long horizontal stroke...There's not many characters that fit this bill, depending on your handwriting style, but the character す will always start with a long horizontal line in any handwritten form. Which means that she was probably intending to write "すき" (I love you) herself. 10/10 moment.

[ja-cornonja-cob]

I remember hearing someone say "Miyazaki makes the magical feel like the everyday while Shinkai makes the everyday feel magical" and I think this film is a great example of that

[samfisher]

I absolutely love this movie. And the twist that they are also time traveling is done perfectly. Another animated movie you should look at is _Howl's Moving Castle._ It tackles war, conscientious objection, pacifism, self-esteem, and belaying your dreams for family.

[minifocz]

That "I love you" scene hits you harder than the comet...

[applejuice]

12:01 love how you can see Mitsuha running more "boyishly" and Taki running more "girlishly" because they switched bodies

[tapwater]

I can't recommend enough The Wolf Children, it's a great story about love, self-discovery and acceptance, it also addresses the struggle of a single parent. It's not a perfect movie but every time I watch it I just bawl my eyes out, the tone in these films is just so kind, so you can't help but feel so emotional.

[saneill]

Those scenic shots around Tokyo are actually accurate. I live in Tokyo and they’ve drawn those places exactly how they look in real life! So much attention to detail. Even the signs on the trains and things like. Its not the first/only anime to do that of course, but yeah, it’s something I love about this film.

[zenzen]

A little translation fact about this movie the Japanese title "Kimi no nawa" translates to "Your Name is?". but it's not an every day phrase it's used when you think you know a person name but aren't sure cause you can't quite see them(like at twilight) Or when you should know some one's name but it escapes you at that moment. It's such a perfect title and it's a real shame it was lost with the English title.

[BigJMC]

What I love about this movie is the dichotomy between Mitsuha and Taki; Mitsuha has her whole life ahead of her and was given purpose by the people around her which was suffocating for her and put a lot of responsibility on her while Taki doesn’t really have that and just sort of does his own things like a wanderer. It was only until they swapped bodies was Taki able to find purpose and pursue Mitsuha and Mitsuha was able to stand up against her father and start paving the way for her own purpose. It’s like they found purpose in each other.

[snowydawn]

A good handful of people think of anime as a genre when it’s really just “animation from Japan.” It’s a medium! Every genre under the sun exists within it *somewhere.* It’s really cool to hear that you guys poked around at some recommendations (even if they didn’t end up being your cup of tea) and I’m SUPER glad to see you found something you both liked!! Your Name is absolutely breathtaking <3

[VintagePuns]

From a phycological standpoint, Violet Evergarden would be a great show to go over. Dealing with loss and the switch from war to civilian life is done so well. And she learns what the meaning of love is by writing letters for people who have their own stories to tell.

[blinkachu]

The moment that Mitsuha opens her hand and sees "I love you" on her hand, that was the moment that broke me in this movie. I had liked it up till that point, had an interesting premise and beautiful art, but that was the moment I was fully immersed and wanted everything to work out.

[Algorithm]

Your Name is possibly the most beautiful film I've watched. I cry every time I see it 🥲Thank you for the reaction video. The film is a true masterpiece.

[gojospeepee]

As a child of a single mother, Wolf Children really hits different. It's really good, realistic and emotional. Also, if you want a gut-punching anime film, go watch Grave of the Fireflies. It's a Studio Ghibli film but man was it so different to the usual feel good movies they make. I believe it was first shown back to back with Totoro in US because of how heavy it is. This is a must watch for everyone. You'll come out as a totally different person and your life is changed forever. Your whole perspective is just altered. It's so memorable I still find myself thinking about it a decade after I watched it (I never rewatched it again because I just can't).

[annachoi]

I think another thing that's implied to explain why they forget each other is that Taki went to the "underworld" in order to find Mitsuha again, and as Mitsuha's grandmother said earlier in the film, you must give something up to return, hence Taki loses his memories.

There is so much incredible symbolism, both overt and subtle, woven throughout this film that really just takes it up a level with every rewatch.

I read somewhere that Shinkai wanted to build from the idea of seeing someone for the first time and having the inexplicable feeling of knowing them...and man did he nail that.

I'm so glad you covered this film, you articulated so many things that I love about it. Thank you so much!!

[rachaeljensen]

Any movie from these creators is so deep and amazing. Wolf Children, Boy and the Beast, and Belle also address super difficult topics beautifully.

[valritz]

One of the things that I've come to love about this movie as well is the quiet mythology that lives in its margins. On the first watching or two, it's easy to just get a surface level read on the scenes with her grandma--she's teaching the traditions of the family, immersing her grandkids in the family history... But she's also subtly explaining that all of this has happened before.

She mentions that their shinto temple that they run has a bunch of traditions and practices, but the old temple burned down along with all the writings, so nobody has known for generations WHY they have these traditions. Then we learn that the women of the family have been doing the body-swap thing, from Mitsuha to her mom to her grandma. We see that the traditional sake can put you in touch with someone you switched with. We see that not only is the holy of holies a crater, but on the ceiling the comet is painted. And the braided cords the family makes are a) a phenomenal use of a Japanese trope, the red string of fate, but also they allow you to better keep your memories of when you switch.

It's so beautiful.