News

Makoto Shinkai's 'your name.' Anime Film Earns 10 Billion Yen in 28 Days

Makoto Shinkai's your name. (Kimi no Na wa.) anime film has earned more than 10 billion yen (about US$98 million) as of Thursday, after 28 days in Japanese theaters. The film has also sold more than 7.7 million tickets as of Wednesday, and ranked at #1 for its first four weeks in theaters.

The film is the first anime film since 2013 to earn over 10 billion yen — and the first anime film not made by Studio Ghibli or director Hayao Miyazaki to accomplish this feat ever. Ghibli and Miyazaki's 2013 film The Wind Rises earned 12.02 billion yen (about US$123.5 million at the time). So far, the only anime films to earn over 10 billion yen at the Japanese box office are Ghibli and Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, and The Wind Rises.

Shinkai's original novel that inspired the film has sold about 1,029,000 as of Tuesday. The novel and other tie-in books have collectively sold 1,820,000 copies.

The film held its world premiere on July 3 in Los Angeles during Anime Expo, and it is slated to open in 85 countries and regions.

The film's "story of miracles and love" revolves around Mitsuha and Taki. Mitsuha is a female high school student who lives in a rural town nestled deep in the mountains. Her father is the mayor and isn't at home much, and she lives with her elementary school-aged little sister and her grandmother. Mitsuha has an honest personality, but she doesn't like the customs of her family's Shinto shrine, nor does she like her father participating in an election campaign. She laments that she lives in a confined rural town, and yearns for the wonderful lifestyle of living in Tokyo. Taki is a male high school student who lives in central Tokyo. He spends time with his friends, works part-time at an Italian restaurant, and is interested in architecture and fine arts. One day, Mitsuha has a dream where she is a young man. Taki also has a dream where he is a female high school student in a town in the mountains that he has never been to. What is the secret to their dreams of personal experience?

Shinkai also wrote the script for the film. Masashi Ando (Spirited Away, When Marnie Was There, Paprika) served as the animation director and Masayoshi Tanaka (anohana, The Anthem of the Heart, Toradora!) designed the characters. CoMix Wave Inc. animated the film.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web