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| Why the story of body-swapping teenagers has gripped Japan | Why the story of body-swapping teenagers has gripped Japan |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Japanese film has made history by becoming the first animation not made by the legendary Studio Ghibli to rake in more than 10bn yen (£76m; $98m) in a month. But what exactly is it that has been drawing in the crowds? | A Japanese film has made history by becoming the first animation not made by the legendary Studio Ghibli to rake in more than 10bn yen (£76m; $98m) in a month. But what exactly is it that has been drawing in the crowds? |
| 1. It is a body-swapping fantasy | 1. It is a body-swapping fantasy |
| Your Name, also known as Kimi no Na wa in Japanese, is a body-swapping fantasy with two teenagers at its heart. | Your Name, also known as Kimi no Na wa in Japanese, is a body-swapping fantasy with two teenagers at its heart. |
| Based on a novel, it tells the story of Mitsuha, a female high school student in a rural Japanese town, and Taki, a male high school student in central Tokyo. | Based on a novel, it tells the story of Mitsuha, a female high school student in a rural Japanese town, and Taki, a male high school student in central Tokyo. |
| Mitsuha starts dreaming of herself as a young man. Taki also begins seeing himself through the eyes of a female student in the countryside. | Mitsuha starts dreaming of herself as a young man. Taki also begins seeing himself through the eyes of a female student in the countryside. |
| The rest of the movie explores their body-swap and the journey they go on involves time travel as well as disastrous deadly comets. | The rest of the movie explores their body-swap and the journey they go on involves time travel as well as disastrous deadly comets. |
| 2. It mirrors the boy-girl swaps found in old Japanese tales | 2. It mirrors the boy-girl swaps found in old Japanese tales |
| Director Makoto Shinkai is said to have been inspired by a classic Japanese 12th Century tale, Torikaebaya Monogatari, which features a sibling duo, where a boy is raised as a girl and the girl raised as a boy because of their personality. | Director Makoto Shinkai is said to have been inspired by a classic Japanese 12th Century tale, Torikaebaya Monogatari, which features a sibling duo, where a boy is raised as a girl and the girl raised as a boy because of their personality. |
| And it's there in more recent tales too. | |
| Tenkousei is a Japanese film made in 1982 also about a teenage boy and girl who swapped bodies when they fell down some stairs at a temple. A father and daughter switch bodies in 2007, TV drama Papa to Musume no Nanokakan saw | |
| 3. It captures the melancholy of adolescent dreaming | 3. It captures the melancholy of adolescent dreaming |
| It touches on universal themes such as coming of age, adolescence and the struggle to assert your identity in a confusing world. | It touches on universal themes such as coming of age, adolescence and the struggle to assert your identity in a confusing world. |
| In Your Name the characters wake up from their dreams as each other and the line between reality and dreams constantly blurs. | In Your Name the characters wake up from their dreams as each other and the line between reality and dreams constantly blurs. |
| This aspect of the film, Shinkai says, was influenced by a famous Japanese poem titled Yume to Shiriseba. It reads: | This aspect of the film, Shinkai says, was influenced by a famous Japanese poem titled Yume to Shiriseba. It reads: |
| I wonder if he appeared in my dream because I fell asleep thinking of him. | I wonder if he appeared in my dream because I fell asleep thinking of him. |
| I wouldn't have woken up if I had known it was a dream. | I wouldn't have woken up if I had known it was a dream. |
| That melancholy moment of bleary wakefulness after a dream is the sensation Shinkai appears to have been reaching for in this film. | That melancholy moment of bleary wakefulness after a dream is the sensation Shinkai appears to have been reaching for in this film. |
| 4. It is a reminder of the earthquake that changed a nation | 4. It is a reminder of the earthquake that changed a nation |
| It also draws upon the experience of Japan in the wake of the deadly 2011 earthquake, the most powerful to have ever hit Japan, and which claimed 16,000 lives | It also draws upon the experience of Japan in the wake of the deadly 2011 earthquake, the most powerful to have ever hit Japan, and which claimed 16,000 lives |
| Widely referred to as 3.11, Shinkai's told magazine outlet Diamond that it changed not just him but the whole of Japanese society. | Widely referred to as 3.11, Shinkai's told magazine outlet Diamond that it changed not just him but the whole of Japanese society. |
| The film itself is also overshadowed by the threat of a natural disaster. Shinkai said he used the film to reflect a sentiment that many, including himself, shared - that a disaster could strike at any moment. | The film itself is also overshadowed by the threat of a natural disaster. Shinkai said he used the film to reflect a sentiment that many, including himself, shared - that a disaster could strike at any moment. |
| "You will never know when Tokyo could become like this," the character Taki says at one point. | "You will never know when Tokyo could become like this," the character Taki says at one point. |
| "It takes five years to digest the shocking experience and sublimate to such a scale of art," one Twitter user Yoshinaga Tastuki reflected. | "It takes five years to digest the shocking experience and sublimate to such a scale of art," one Twitter user Yoshinaga Tastuki reflected. |
| 5. Fans are making pilgrimages to its stunning locations | 5. Fans are making pilgrimages to its stunning locations |
| The film has also been appreciated for its beautiful graphics, often modelled after real-life locations. | The film has also been appreciated for its beautiful graphics, often modelled after real-life locations. |
| "I finally watched Your Name. The story, acting and music were all good but most of all I was overwhelmed by the beauty of [the] images. Each cut was amazing," said one user on Twitter. | "I finally watched Your Name. The story, acting and music were all good but most of all I was overwhelmed by the beauty of [the] images. Each cut was amazing," said one user on Twitter. |
| Other users posted pictures of real-life locations that the film modelled after, with fans descending upon locations such as Shinkai's home town in Nagano Prefecture, the Gifu prefecture and even Tokyo. | Other users posted pictures of real-life locations that the film modelled after, with fans descending upon locations such as Shinkai's home town in Nagano Prefecture, the Gifu prefecture and even Tokyo. |
| And the film's audience was not limited to only Japan. | And the film's audience was not limited to only Japan. |
| "Each detail of the film was painstakingly thought out and executed with such precision and passion," Canadian anime fan Ismael Ramos told the BBC. "It was a perfect balance of art, music and storytelling." | "Each detail of the film was painstakingly thought out and executed with such precision and passion," Canadian anime fan Ismael Ramos told the BBC. "It was a perfect balance of art, music and storytelling." |
| 6. Hope for the next generation of mainstream Japanese animation | 6. Hope for the next generation of mainstream Japanese animation |
| For the film to be such a success, it had to transcend boundaries and appeal to audiences wider than young people and anime fans. | For the film to be such a success, it had to transcend boundaries and appeal to audiences wider than young people and anime fans. |
| As such, Shinkai has been hailed by some as being the next Hayao Miyazaki, whose name is almost synonymous with anime and has been credited with bringing Japanese animation to a broad global audience. | As such, Shinkai has been hailed by some as being the next Hayao Miyazaki, whose name is almost synonymous with anime and has been credited with bringing Japanese animation to a broad global audience. |
| He directed award-winning hits such as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle during his time with Studio Ghibli, all of which have gone on to break the 10bn yen mark. | He directed award-winning hits such as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle during his time with Studio Ghibli, all of which have gone on to break the 10bn yen mark. |
| "Shinkai is on his way to Miyazaki status with Kimi no Na wa," said one Twitter user. | "Shinkai is on his way to Miyazaki status with Kimi no Na wa," said one Twitter user. |
| Others had a slightly different view. | Others had a slightly different view. |
| "I think Miyazaki and Shinkai actually have very distinct styles, though they are equally as powerful," said Mr Ramos. | "I think Miyazaki and Shinkai actually have very distinct styles, though they are equally as powerful," said Mr Ramos. |
| "What they do have in common is the ability to take audiences through a journey and experience, which I believe is the ultimate goal of any artist." | "What they do have in common is the ability to take audiences through a journey and experience, which I believe is the ultimate goal of any artist." |
| And if you believe imitation is the highest form of flattery, the film has already been turned into a mini horror movie spin-off by fans. | And if you believe imitation is the highest form of flattery, the film has already been turned into a mini horror movie spin-off by fans. |
| Reporting by Yuzuha Oka in Tokyo and the BBC's Yvette Tan. | Reporting by Yuzuha Oka in Tokyo and the BBC's Yvette Tan. |