Your Name.

99 Your Name is a movie I watched over a year ago or so at this point and immediately gave a 5 star and it shot into my top 4. I now find myself wondering if I was justified and if it was as good as I remember because it was one of the first I watched, I can now say that I am validated, this movie is fucking incredible and easily in contention for my favorite movie of all time, I will even say I underrated it the last time with the score and a piss poor review, so I owe it to give it a real one.  Now I did watch this movie once and generally knew the plot twist and ending, but throughout watching I was truly back in the realm of mystery and once again couldn't wait to see what happened. About 20 minutes in I also thought this story was confusing and hard to understand but it is a true slow burn in the drama romance genre and when it all clicks it is borderline euphoric and I was audibly cheering when I figured it all put again, and honestly I think my first watch I didn't fully understand it but thank god I did.  These plotpoints are just crafted masterfully and to see them all culminate was great. Now don't think there was a true weakpoint because there wasn't, the journey to get here was just as good, to see Taki and Mitsuha grow through each othee and slowly love each other without even seeing each other is beautiful and what life is all about, their dynamic is so unique in it's interactions but speaks volumes to the importance of connection, being heaps and bounds more important than seeing each other. Not to mention the immense chemistry these two can hold throughout, they give no physical reasons these two are connected or in love but thats why it is so good, it is a union, a soul connection that only them two can feel, and to allow us to have an eye into this connection is a blessing. The themes, dear god the themes in this movie are the best underlying feature as they aren't super present but are what make it all possible to save Mitsuha. Her grandma and these aspects of time are handled so well, as we and Taki and even Mitsuha are slowly understanding what all this means and how it all connects, like the sake that legit saved her life and Taki drinking it, sorry don't wanna spoil too much but this movie is a decade old now please I hope you have watched it. Something that goes unnoticed I have seen in Your Name is the sidecast in this movie. Besides the grandma I already spoke on all of the friends of kur protagonists do so much more them to reach their goals. Not a single annoying point for any of them and all great actions, just people you wanna be friends with and people who do nothing but elevate this story and all who took part in not only saving Mitsuha's life, but also saving the relationship of Taki and Mitsuha. This is one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever laid my eyes on, the colors are so vibrant and convey the themes of time and love so well, not to mention all the lively movements and montage skips which give this feeling of growth and separation of out protagonists. This super cool animation technique of using 3d to help enhance the 2d nature allows for so much creative liberty and shots I'd never think possible and never ever achievable with AI. When a story is this good, and the writing is this tight, and the characters so good, you don't need much visual pleasure to get me to love it but the visuals are sitting up there with all the other amazing aspects, truly a spectacle in every sense of the word and just a magical experience. I am honestly hard stuck to find many moments that peak harder than the climax and conclusion of this movie, to just see so many plotpoints come together it brought me to tears more times than I can count on one hand. To think about and know a scene is one thing, but to actually watch it and live through these characters union is another thing, to convey so much emotion and growth within a 2 hour period is incomprehensible and I truly hope Shinkai has more to come, still his magnum opus and it is not particularly close. Now while I'd love to stick this right back into my top 4, I have to rewatch Blue Giant again and compare this to a movie I immediately gave a 100 probably for a reason, this will be happening in the future and I can't wait to decide what my second favorite animated movie of all time is. Oh and the reason for the 99 is just a gut instinct, nothing personal just feels like much more a 99 than a hundred, any given day I could go either way but hear when I say this movie is flawless. Also forgot to add but Radwimps delivers an all time performance with an unbelievable soundtrack and score, not only giving us emotions in every not but then still giving us hope in the more triumphant tracks. Never have I seen a score compliment an artstyle so perfectly, like that animation just sounds like what Radwimps has composed and it sends the atmosphere into the stratosphere.