Your Name (Kimi no Na Wa?)

So what would an anime "Freaky Friday" look like?

Instead of two family members from different generations, two completely random teenagers from different walks of life would have their bodies swapped, there would be heavy elements of "Ranma 1/2," "Deep Impact," and surprisingly, the 2006 Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock movie, "The Lakehouse," and it would be through the lens of Mr. Subtle-Sci-Fi-as-an-Excuse-to-Comment-on-Human-Relationships, Makoto Shinkai.

...

I'm really talking about "Your Name," the Japanese box-office dominator from two years ago and which never seemed to be airing at a theater near me.
 

A girl from the countryside, destined to be a shrine priestess and dreaming of a more exciting life, wakes up to find herself in the body of a high school boy in Tokyo. As these inexplicable and randomly happening switches keep going on, they form the quirkiest bond and their different personalities cause coinciding concern and relief from their friends and loved ones. And when the bond is broken as inexplicably as it started, the boy goes to great lengths to find her again. What follows is a trip though, as elements you don't expect get thrown into the narrative, and you're left wondering can destiny really be changed and will these two find each other ever again to ask the ever-important question, "new phone, who dis?"

A marvel of 2D animation since the two protagonist's designs had subtle hints as to which gender was in which body, the backgrounds and landscapes were breathtaking, and the fluidity of everyone's movements (in some cases, showing actual fatigue with excessive running) was top notch. Further kudos to the voice actors as well since, unlike the later Harry Potter films which showed the Polyjuice Potion'd folks still retaining their original voices, the boy's VA had to suddenly have a meeker tone when possessed by the girl, and the girl had to accommodate for the more testosterone-filled, rough-&-tumble dude's vocal mannerisms.

Overall, fantastic, if not a little confusing and slow at first, but once things start rolling, it's completely engrossing. Check it out if you have the chance!

For a SPOILER-FILLED analysis (and more comparisons to movies that share similar themes), go here.

Speaking as a dumb Westerner who don't know the intrinsic beauty of how kuchikamizake was made, it was honestly kinda disgusting