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Makoto Shinkai's Kimi no Na wa./your name Film Reveals Lead Characters in New Visuals

The staff of Makoto Shinkai's new Kimi no Na wa. (your name.) anime film unveiled a new visual and screenshots for the film on Thursday. Both the poster and screenshots show the appearance of the protagonists Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu for the first time.

Posters and flyers using the visual will begin appearing in theaters in Japan on April 16.

The film's official website streamed a teaser video in December.

Girl: Morning. When I wake up, for some reason I'm crying. That kind of thing happens sometimes.
Text: Animation Director: Masashi Ando (Spirited Away, When Marnie Was There) / Character Design: Masayoshi Tanaka (anohana, The Anthem of the Heart)
Boy: I never remember the dreams I should have had. But I've always been searching for someone and something.
Girl: I became obsessed with that feeling probably starting on that day.
Text: Scriptwriter, Director: Makoto Shinkai (5 Centimeters Per Second, The Garden of Words)
Boy: That day. The day the stars fell, it was like...
Text: Their promises can never meet.
Text on notebook: Who are you?
Girl: It was like...
Text on hand: Mitsuha
Girl: It was like scenery from a dream, it was just...
Girl and Boy: ... a beautiful scene
Text: I am searching for you, whom I have never met yet.

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

The film will star Ryunosuke Kamiki (Summer Wars' Kenji, Howl's Moving Castle's Markl, The Princess and the Pilot's Charles Karino) as Taki Tachibana and actress Mone Kamishiraishi (live-action Chihayafuru: Kami no Ku's Kanade Ōe) as Mitsuha Miyamizu.

(The tagline on the below key visual reads, "I am searching for you, whom I have never met yet.")

The "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 had announced on December 31 that he was drawing storyboards for a new film. He added at the time that he wanted to make a work that was more enjoyable, more beautiful, and further beyond any work he has made so far. He said he plans to spend 2015 working only on this film.

CoMix Wave Inc. released his previous film, The Garden of Words, in 2013. Shinkai worked on a series of commercials for the construction company Taisei in 2014.

Source: Cinema Today, Movie Natalie