Biggest Anime Film of All Time Coming to US in April

The biggest-grossing film of last year in Japan was an anime called Your Name., directed by Makoto Shinkai (Voices of a Distant Star, 5 Centimeters Per Second). It’s also become the biggest anime film of all time worldwide, beating the Miyazaki movies Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

Your Name. movie logo

If you’re curious to see what captured the imagination of so many Japanese movie-goers, Funimation Films has announced Your Name. will be showing in North America beginning April 7. You can choose from two versions, dubbed or in Japanese with English subtitles.Here’s the trailer (dubbed):

And the subtitled version (where I like the voices better):

As you can see, it’s a body-switch story. Two students find themselves living each others’ lives at random times. Here’s the official synopsis:

The day the stars fell, two lives changed forever. High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other. Yet, somehow, it works. They build a connection and communicate by leaving notes, messages, and more importantly, an imprint.

When a dazzling comet lights up the night’s sky, it dawns on them. They want something more from this connection — a chance to meet, an opportunity to truly know each other. Tugging at the string of fate, they try to find a way to each other. But distance isn’t the only thing keeping them apart. Is their bond strong enough to face the cruel irony of time? Or is their meeting nothing more than a wish upon the stars?

I can understand why this would be so resonant — the idea of having some kind of fated person to meet is a popular, epic one. It’s also lovely, with the hand-drawn animation, as you can see from these stills.

You can order tickets now from the film’s website.



One comment

  • MMOByte

    This is a beautiful Anime. I’ve seen it in Japanese and cannot wait to see it in English! I’m honestly not sure how good the dub will be but I loved the Summer Wars and Wolf Children English dubs!

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