Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name (2016) and Suzume (2022)

I recently re-watched Your Name and watched Suzume for the first time, in the theater – and man, it was a beautiful experience! I was already a huge fan of Your Name after I’d first watched it back in 2019 and despite that, experiencing it on the big screen was heavenly.

Your Name follows the story of two teenagers, one living in countryside Japan and one living in Tokyo; both having one huge thing in common – at an interval of a few days, they keep switching places with each other and live each other’s lives! This movie is BEAUTIFUL! The animation is so, so good and the storyline is mind blowing. The lives of these two is changed forever and as the movie progresses, the reason why they are swapping places is slowly revealed and even though I already knew the major plot points, watching every single reveal was a treat in itself. The music of the movie is HEAVENLY. I’ve been listening to Your Name’s music since 2019 and hearing the same songs on the big screen made me super teary-eyed!

Suzume is the story of a teenager named Suzume, who, on her way to school one day, meets a mysterious man who’s looking for an old door in her small beachside town. Being naturally curious, Suzume goes on a hunt for the same door she has guided him too and discovers another world through the door. What follows is a journey that Suzume and this mysterious young man are forced to go on around Japan. They have one simple goal – find the doors, close the doors, save the world. Oh this movie is amazing. Again, the animation, the dialogues, the storyline – everything comes together perfectly to make a breathtaking cinematic experience. The music of the movie is top-notch and if you’re a fan of Your Name’s music, you will quite easily spot the same band creating another banger for Suzume.