Still two months until your name. opens in theaters, but you can see the latest preview right now.
Longing and loneliness are common themes in the works of anime director Makoto Shinkai, who’s shown a rare talent for instilling the emotions of his on-screen characters in the hearts of audiences. As a matter of fact, Shinkai can stir passionate desperation even before finishing a product. After releasing the trailer for his upcoming film, your name., a few months ago, fans have been waiting with bated breath for another glimpse at the film ahead of its August release date.
Those fervent hopes have finally been answered with two new previews of the film that hint at more of the movie’s story elements and character relationships.
The trailer maintains an aura of mystery, but it’s clear that your name. centers on teens Taki and Mitsuha, who somehow begin swapping bodies when sleeping. While a bond eventually forms between the two, the new preview shows that they don’t immediately hit it off, with Mitsuha chiding Taki for not being more conscious of people being able to see up her skirt when he crosses her legs, and Taki seething right back at her for setting him up on a date without his knowledge or consent.
Having never met face-to-face, their bickering goes through some unusual channels, such as writing the Japanese words for “ditz” and “moron” on the face of their borrowed body. But their personal conflict isn’t the movie’s only crisis. At one point in the trailer, Mitsuha announces to a group of surprised classmates that “If we don’t do something, everyone is going to die tonight,” and the preview reveals that we’ll see at least one building explode during the movie. The beautiful meteor shower that shows up in so much of the promotional artwork for your name. also seems to be involved in the creation of the giant crater that’s seen.
But this is still a Shinkai anime, which means that even if there are laughs or action in some scenes, the primary focus is still on raw, unabashed emotion…oh, and gorgeously rendered, lusciously colored environments.
There’s also a condensed trailer that trims the newly revealed footage down to roughly 30 seconds.
your name. hits Japanese theaters on August 26.
Source, images: YouTube/東宝MOVIEチャンネル
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s looking forward to the release of that Radwimps song every bit as much as the movie it’s in.