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Makoto Shinkai’s latest film has seen huge success in the Japanese market, but can it win a nomination for the North America film industry’s top honor?

On November 7 Funimation Studios, the distributing company for the widely successful animated film Your Name in North America, announced that Makoto Shinkai’s hit is officially on the consideration list for the 89th annual Academy Awards.

Your Name (Kimi no na wa in Japanese) is competing for one of five spots in the Best Animated Feature category, and will be making its qualifying run, which we mentioned before, from December 2 to 8 at the Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles. From there it will be released in select theatres across the country.

The story follows that of Taki and Mitsuha, two high school students who are complete strangers living totally different lives, yet one day find themselves switching bodies. The switch continues to happen randomly, and they begin to form a connection with each other through notes and messages as they try to find their way to each other.

The film has done extraordinarily well at the Japanese box office, raking in over 17.9 billion yen (approximately US$172 million) since its release on August 26, making it the seventh-highest grossing film of all time in Japan. It’s captivated audiences with its stunning animation and beautifully told story, and it will be interesting to see how North American audiences react to it. Do you think it has a shot at earning a nomination? Let us know!

Source: Cinema Today　
Featured image: YouTube/東宝MOVIEチャンネル