Paliwangan: Your Name

The Japanese film “Kimi no Na wa.” or in English “Your Name.” is about the journey of Mitsuha
and Taki who live in different parts of Japan and at different times. In the film, both characters
wake up in each other's bodies not knowing what was happening. They had to live through the
other person's life. Through living another one's life they have got to know each other and
develop a bond that would lead them to fall for each other.

Through watching this film, some themes stood out to me and I felt that these were the most
important themes. The first important theme for me was the theme of love. Both characters were
searching for love or for the person that they love. They both went through a lot just for the other
person. It showed me that love can make you do things in pursuit of it. In the movie, it was
shown that both of them would do anything for each other. Like when their memories of each
other started fading they tried looking for each other in order to remember and not forget each
other. With the search for love, I can say that stress also comes with it. You can never remove
stress from your life; it will always be there. They have faced stress and challenges to find their
love.

In my own experience, I can say that I also have searched for love and would go to lengths to
find it. We all have longed and wanted to find love but some are not willing to search for it. I can
say that looking for it can be very difficult and stressful because of the uncertainties that come
with it. But I think it is worth it because finding love can be so fulfilling for a person. We try to
search for it because finding a person you love can make things so much better. With love, it can
change you as a person. It can make you a better person.

In the film, both characters have very different lives and because they swapped bodies they were
able to see the world from a different perspective. My experiences with love have also changed
me. The love for my family and friends drove me to try to become a better person for myself and
them. With love, we create memories not only short-term but long-term memories. Memories
that last for a long time. It's through these memories that we can reminisce about the love we
have.

Another theme that really struck me was the theme of time and memory in the film. In the film,
Mitsuha and Taki lived in different times. So when they switched bodies it was as if they were
traveling through time. As they switched bodies they would lose the memory of what happened
to their body. It became a short-term memory. In the film, the thing that they want to know is the
other person's name. They felt that something was missing. They had the memory of each other
but they could not recall it. It was only through recognition that they would remember each other.
This made me realize that time is one of the most important things in life. Time is one of the
things we can't change. It will always keep moving forward. Another thing that hit me was how
the theme of memory was shown. It made me feel that the memories we make are very important
because forgetting about them would be so bad. The way that they could not remember each
other's name is very hard especially because they love each other. It made me reflect on the time
and memories I have taken for granted.
For me, the whole movie was very moving because of all of the messages it gave. But the two
most moving parts for me were destiny and when Taki tried to save Mitsuha from the comet. In
the film, destiny is shown like the red string of fate. The two were connected with the red string
of fate which says that the two are destined for each other. I loved how after the comet they
would see each other and in the end, they finally saw each other.

Lastly, Taki did so much to save Mitsuha from the comet. He went back to the crater where the
comet hit to try to change places with Mitsuha to save Mitsuha’s village. He knew what was
going to happen to Mitsuha and he was terrified of what was going to happen. This scene
changed my outlook because it showed me that love really is amazing. Finding love is really
something that amazes me and I look forward to it. Just watching the movie from the start until
the end really moved me since it conveyed so many feelings and thoughts.