your-name

Though I’d hardly consider myself an expert in the field of Japanese animation, I was nevertheless surprised to read that, without adjusting for inflation, a 2016 feature called Your Name is the highest-grossing film of its kind, having surpassed previous title-holder Spirited Away during an initial theatrical run. It was only a matter of time before the film arrived in the United States — an occasion now scheduled for next month, thanks to the always adventurous Funimation Films.

So there are now dubbed and subbed trailers. As is customary with anime, you’re best-off watching the thing in its original Japanese, both for the fact that the language is, of course, what’s originally intended, and perhaps more pressingly because the pop-rock song playing over the whole thing is a lot more tolerable when you don’t have to hear it in English. (Unless you, too, have some fondness for the music of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, to which this bears some resemblance.) But Your Name looks lovely in either form, and, if critics had the right idea, might be just the thing to experience on a big screen as respite from our year-long summer at the multiplex.

See both subbed and dubbed trailers below (via i09):

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?

your-name-poster

Your Name will roll out to U.S. theaters on April 7.

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