--- title: "Your Name.: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/your-name/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/your-name" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Your Name. (2016): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 11 reviews: 9 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Your Name., with praise clustering around Shinkai’s detailed animation and the emotional pull of its teenage body-swap romance. The landscapes, cityscapes and skies receive particular attention for making the fantasy feel rooted in recognisable places. The reviews also admire the movement between adolescent comedy, mystery and longing, with many finding the complicated storytelling rewarding rather than merely busy. For its strongest supporters, the humour and romantic feeling keep the spectacle from overwhelming the characters. Agreement on the visuals is firmer than agreement on the script, and judgements range from enthusiastic to mixed. Several reviews find the later plotting tangled or the pacing uneven. Little White Lies enjoys the early body-swap comedy but finds the second half confusing and drawn out. The Evening Standard is less persuaded by the characters as the story develops, finding that they become blander and that the final act loses momentum. ## The Telegraph Rating 5/5. The critic calls the film a dazzling, gleaming daydream that is anime at its very best, praising its beauty, raucous teenage body-swap comedy, metaphysical themes and embrace of human helplessness amid cosmic events. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/10/31/your-name-review-this-dazzling-gleaming-daydream-is-anime-at-its/) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2016. The critic hails the film as a breakthrough for Shinkai and a worthy successor to Spirited Away, celebrating its richly detailed hand-drawn animation and narrative boldness. They single out the dextrous handling of the lead characters and the film’s genre-blending mystery for praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/name-3-review/) ## Total Film — Kevin Harley Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2016. The critic praises Shinkai’s inventive body-swapping, time-travelling teen romance for its emotional depth and visual invention. They single out the film’s breathless pacing, Radwimps soundtrack and satisfying blend of poignancy and plot for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/your-name-review/) ## Time Out — Cath Clarke Rating 4/5. 14 November 2016. Clarke lauds the staggeringly beautiful animation and emotional resonance of the body-swap story, highlighting its sci-fi fantasy with an apocalyptic twist and the exquisite depiction of nature and cityscapes. She notes some comedy drags but overall calls it a thing of beauty. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/your-name) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/3/3. 18 November 2016. The review finds the first half's body-swap fun engaging but criticizes the second half for dragging with confusing time-travel elements and melodrama. It acknowledges the film's ambition and slick visuals despite not fully delivering on entertainment. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/your-name) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2016. The critic finds the animation exquisite and the focus on the physical aspects of the body swap refreshing, but feels the story loses steam once it shifts into eco-disaster territory. They single out the increasingly anodyne characters and weaker third act for complaint. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/your-name-film-review-shock-of-the-body-swap-a3399266.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang 6 April 2017. The critic hails it as a thrillingly beautiful, expansive achievement that juggles farce, romance, and survival epic with cosmic reversals and sensitivity to young people's fears. Shinkai's hyperreal, painterly visuals and tonal balance from comedy to tragedy are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-your-name-review-20170406-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico 7 April 2017. The critic calls it a beautiful, captivating animated film that starts rocky but builds to an emotional, powerful ending with remarkable visuals. Shinkai is praised for turning a body-swap premise into something with melancholy, honesty, and empathy between characters from different worlds. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/your-name-2017) ## Sight and Sound — Kate Stables 18 November 2016. The critic praises Shinkai's body-swap teen romance for its emotional depth and stunning visuals blending sci-fi with Japanese landscapes and culture. She notes it mixes wit, heart, and spectacle but mentions some plot indigestion in the later stages. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/your-name-review-emo-anime-magic) ## Slant Magazine 2 April 2017. The critic notes the film's boldly unpredictable storytelling and romantic core but finds the later plot twists desperate after a delicate early focus on longing and character; it remains a passionately beautiful mess of a narrative. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/your-name/) ## The Guardian 20 November 2016. The critic hails Shinkai’s body-swap romance as a breathtaking, rip-roaring and heartbreaking YA adventure that confirms him as Japan’s new animation king and a worthy successor to Miyazaki. The film’s thrilling animation, astral magic, natural disaster spectacle and fusion of ancient and modern elements are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/20/your-name-review-makoto-shinkai) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Deborah Young 29 October 2016. Festival review. The critic calls it a dreamy, entertaining narrative puzzle that sparks imagination through its animation and visuals, but finds the story ultimately incomprehensible and less emotionally stirring than works by Miyazaki or Hosoda. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/your-name-film-review-942290/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge 7 October 2016. The critic describes an endearingly loopy, enormously entertaining mix of time-travel, body-swap, and disaster elements that is vividly realized and emotionally satisfying. Shinkai's stunning animation, especially the hyper-realistic backgrounds and skies, is highlighted as making him a household name. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/your-name-review-makoto-shinkai-1201880723/) ## Vulture — Emily Yoshida 6 April 2017. The critic praises the film's assured emotional through line exploring time, memory, and loss, with vibrant characters and hyper-detailed animation that feels deeply lived-in; it is ultimately a romantic, infectious story of connection despite its metaphysical tangles. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2017/04/your-name-movie-review.html) ## Collider — Dave Trumbore Rating A+. 6 April 2017. The critic praises the film's unconventional storytelling, gorgeous visuals, and tear-jerking romance as a timeless crowd-pleaser that transcends typical anime tropes. Minor flaws are forgiven due to its earnest intimacy and breathtaking animation of real-world inspired landscapes. [Read the review](https://collider.com/your-name-review/) ## The Ringer — Justin Charity Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2017. The review calls it the saddest and most emotionally devastating body-swapping teen rom-com, conceived in response to Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami for catharsis. Shinkai's film tops Ghibli box-office records with its mix of adolescence, history, escapism, and genuine emotional devastation. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/04/12/uncategorized/your-name-anime-japan-national-trauma-3e96cbf9f01d) ## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie Rating 4/5. 9 November 2016. The critic calls it a funny and moving fantasy romance that is unmissable, praising its intricate plotting, heartfelt emotion, and superbly crafted animation that feels more real than real. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/your-name-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Daniel Goodwin Rating 4/5. 17 October 2016. Festival review. The critic praises the film's breathtaking animation and epic, magical body-swapping romance between teens that feels grander than some Ghibli works, but notes that complex plotting, disorienting sequences, and subplots slightly slow the pace and distract from the central story. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/your-name-review/) ## The Skinny — Josh Slater-Williams Rating ★★★★. 18 November 2016. The critic notes the high-concept body-swap premise is exploited to full comedic and emotional effect, balancing sweet sentiment, romance, existential themes, and a comet-induced catastrophe in a way that explains its massive popularity. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/your-name) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/your-name.md