Makoto Shinkai’s latest animated movie, “Your Name” has been making headlines for the past couple of months now. Aside from being extremely popular in Japan and overseas, it has also broken a lot of records.
Though the new live action movie, “Death Note: Light Up The New World” broke the box office streak of “Your Name”, it continues to rake in millions of viewers. Otherwise known as “Kimi No Na Wa”, the said Makoto Shinkai movie has taken over the spots of James Cameron’s "The Avatar" and several from Studio Ghibli’s animated movies. It has even surpassed “Ponyo” that Makoto Shinkai was eventually hailed as the next Hayao Miyazaki.
And now “Your Name” has created another record. Just recently, it has been reported that it has already beaten another Studio Ghibli classic movie, namely “Princess Mononoke”. With this feat, “Your Name” has already reached $17.3 million in the box office. It is also being called the greatest box office release in Japan for the year 2016.
“Princess Mononoke” was only able to reach $17.2 million since it was released in 1997 but was the highest grossing Japanese movie for that year. It was also the top-selling animated movie in the United States back in 2001. The Studio Ghibli movie was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and the story follows the involvement of a young prince in a struggle between the human beings and the gods of the forest, led by a princess.
Meanwhile, “Your Name” remains to draw in viewers and profit with its fresh romantic fantasy plot. Though not unique, the story has hooked millions of viewers because of its animation and the fluid flow of the story despite being an animated film. The movie was based on the novel that Makoto Shinkai wrote.
The story is about two young students who live in different parts of Japan and somehow got their bodies switched, forcing them to live the unknown life of one another. Initially released on Anime Expo 2016 in Los Angeles, California, “Your Name” premiered in cinemas in Japan on Aug. 26.
