The body switch subgenre (wherein two individuals switch bodies as shenanigans ensue) feels like it's been dead for a long while now. Chalk it up to there not being too many box office juggernauts in the subgenre unless they come with the Freaky Friday brand name or the fact that it's been parodied to death, but there's no denying the scarcity of this subgenre that was never all that ubiquitous to begin with. Your Name., an international box office juggernaut and particularly successful in its home country of Japan, dives head-first into the world of body switching storytelling and manages to inject some real clever twists into the formula as well as some surprisingly well-done depth that make it a real treat.
Life isn't exactly a picnic for Mitsuha Miyamizu (Mone Kamishiraishi), who wishes to be free of her humdrum life, which mainly consists of sporadic appearances from her overly strict and distant father, adhering to rituals that make her embarrassed in front of her fellow High School students and feeling trapped in the small town of Itomori. She wishes for a new life and, wouldn't you know it, she manages to get her wish one day when she awakens and finds herself in an unfamiliar bedroom and being told her name is Taki Tachabana, a boy she's never met before who lives a pampered life in Tokyo, Japan, a city that previously seemed like an impossible destination for her that is now apparently her home.
Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki) has also awkward in Mitsuha's body, creating instant confusion for the two as they attempt to navigate the unique and unfamiliar surroundings they've each been plopped into. Your Name. separates itself distinctly from many other body-switching tales by immediately establishing new wrinkles in how the body switch mechanics in this story work compared to typical depictions of such a fantastical device. While most body-switching tales have two individuals swap bodies permanently until the curse/effects can be reversed (which typically occurs when they learn some morals in their newfound lives), Mitsuha and Taki only spend a day at a time in the other person's life.
After 24 hours, they switch back into their normal bodies with only fleeting memories of what happened the day before in the other person's body. After a few more days, they'll switch bodies again for another 24-hour period without warning, but the less permanent nature of their predicament compared to other body-switching tales means neither of the two leads find it incredibly cumbersome (though they certainly have quarrels with certain things the other person does such as Mitsuha using up a lot of money in Taki's bank account!), so the plot doesn't center on the two racing to find a cure for their body-switching predicament or anything like that.
Instead, Your Name. turns a surprisingly introspective eye onto how two people from directly contrasting upbringings and financial status manage to live in the other person's shoes, a kind of Prince And The Pauper kind of tale if you will. Mitsuha, particularly, relishes the chance to live in more fancy circumstances while also helping the super shy Taki in his romantic life. The writing by Makoto Shinkai (who also directs this piece) finds a lot of fun and heart in examining the duo's time living another person's life and a surprise third act that gracefully adds some massively impactful new facets to the entire plot only furthers the depth of the movie that uses its basic body-switching gimmick to create depth instead of just one-note gags as other movies in this subgenre have a tendency to do.
It's also worth mentioning that Your Name. is depicted in hand-drawn animation, specifically, Japan's distinct Anime style of visual imagery and the movie is utterly beautiful to look at for sure. Seeing this and The Red Turtle on the big screen this year makes me seriously wish hand-drawn animation was a more frequent presence on the theatrical film front because, man oh man, are there some beautiful shots in Your Name., especially whenever we get a glimpse at some meteors that are passing by the Earth while the events of the plot transpire. These space rocks are gorgeously realized and the same can be said for the insightful and fun Your Name. that takes the body-switch subgenre to profound new storytelling ground that's incredibly exciting to watch unfold.
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