Your Name is a film everyone is familiar with. Known for its two main characters, unique storyline and visuals and more.
Now people might think I'm crazy for saying Garden of Words, another film which came out in 2013 and directed by Makoto Shinkai, is a better film than Your Name, which I don't blame them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But I honestly felt like Garden of Words did a better job.
I am also a fan of Your Name, too. If I were to give it a rating, I would say it's a solid 8.5/10. Check out my recent review for Your Name: https://lewisknight123.wixsite.com/lewistalkinganime/post/day-5-your-name-a-film-we-all-know-and-love
I sound like an old record player when I talk about Garden of Words, but the film is criminally underrated and I want people to know more about it.
Garden of Words involves a teenager, Takao, who ponders upon a secondary school teacher, Yukino, sitting at a park by herself.
I'll explain what I liked about both respective films before I explain my conclusion.
Firstly, why do I like Garden of Words?
The storyline itself is simple and takes the approach of it being 'Less is More'. The film lasts 45 minutes, but when you watch it, the film does not feel like it's 45 minutes and it shows how Shinkai use the 45-minute runtime to explain a story.
But the more you watch it, the more you can relate to these characters and how they resemble people in the real-life world. Takao is a 16-year-old kid and Yukino is 27 years old. Each has an 11-year gap and it explains how each person is going through their problem.
Takao has dreams of becoming a shoemaker and on the other hand, Yukino is a teacher who's not attending her classes and you can say she's going through a 'mid-life crisis' in a way.
What I like about it is how these two characters build up a bond for each other and how they help each other. Thanks to Takao knowing how to make shoes, he made a pair for Yukino, which helped her realise her purpose in life.
The two characters were well-written for the roles followed by the contrast they have with each other and how they help each other. It feels like one of those moments when the characters can have a huge impact on the story of the film.
Not only the story and the characters which is a standout for me, but visually, this film was one of the best things about the film. Check this video down below and you will know why.
I mean, the film is just a perfect watch for a rainy day. The droplets of rain and the rainy visuals make a simple thing such as rain visually pleasing to the eye. But then again, this is a Shinkai film, he always nails this element in every one of his films.
You can say that through the rain, this resembles what the characters are feeling. The rain in a way can how explain Takao and Yukino's situation. Usually, when it rains, most people get miserable because they can't go outside; however, when the rain stops, everyone is happy again.
In terms of cinematography, it's just pleasing to watch. There are nice shots of the pair sitting by themselves by the park and also seeing the tall buildings in Tokyo.
Safe to say, I've seen this film almost 10 times and it's a perfect film to watch on repeat due to its duration.
Secondly, why do I also like Your Name?
Your Name does not need an introduction. But to those who have not seen it, Mitusha, a girl who is staying in the countryside switches bodies with another character, Takao, who's a boy who is staying In Tokyo.
In terms of the main characters, these two characters are seen as the perfect balance for each other. They both come from different sides of Japan and they somehow experience each other lives without having met each other physically.
You have Mitsuha who lives with her little sister and her grandma with aspirations of her going to Tokyo to like that city lifestyle. You have Takao who is just an ordinary guy who is staying in Tokyo and has a part-time job working as a waiter.
Creativity-wise, the imagination process of the film is for sure up there in terms of a Shinkai film. We have moments where these characters know of each other despite them not meeting each other. Watching it as a viewer, almost makes the viewer eager to want to watch more of the film.
The journey is like a journey for Takao and Mitsuha to meet each other and it doesn't feel like your so-call romance film. It for sure implements elements of drama and romance into it.
Visually stunning, is a common phrase which I would say about a Shinkai film. It's like one of his trademarks in any film you watch any of his work.
Your Name was probably one of Shinkai's best works before he released Weathering with You and Suzume. The two films focused a bit too much on visuals and less on the story. You can check out my review regarding the two films right here: https://lewisknight123.wixsite.com/lewistalkinganime/post/visuals-over-story - Suzume
https://lewisknight123.wixsite.com/lewistalkinganime/post/day-7-31-weathering-with-you-visuals-over-story - Weathering with You
Why Garden of Words is better?
Firstly, the Garden of Words approach to its story is a simple approach. The run-time of the story is only 45 minutes compared to its counterpart, where it's almost 2 hours long. The Garden of Words simple storyline feels a lot more relatable and has a clear direction to its story.
Now with Your Name, the narrative structure was there, it's visually stunning and the characters were on point. However, when thinking about it, was the run time of almost 2 hours needed to tell a story?
The elements of fantasy and romance were at their strongest; however, watching some bits of the film felt like that scene was unnecessary to add in. Some might say it was nice to have an element to the story, but I felt like if the scene had stopped at a certain moment of the film, I would say the story would be a solid 8.5/10.
Secondly, based on the budget which was given for each film, 150 million yen ($1.4 million) was allocated to Garden of Words and 750 million yen ($4,781,025 million) to Your Name and it shows one of the reasons why the runtime for each film is different to each other. Your Name had a bigger budget for the film and was able to do more things than its counterpart.
Personally speaking, if Garden of Words had a bigger budget, who knows, would it have been as famous as Your Name? Or would the budget not have an impact on Garden of Words?
Lastly, Garden of Words shows a good example of a film not needing a big budget to make a good film. Its simplicity to the story in 45 minutes shows how sometimes in a film, taking a 'Less is More' approach can make a film look good. Everything about the film makes it good. The two characters, visuals, cinematography, music and many more are all a solid 10/10.
Your Name; however, everything was a solid 10/10 in terms of characters, visuals, cinematography, music and more, but the story is an 8.5/10. If a thing changed or two had changed regarding the story, it would be a different story.
Garden of Words: 10/10
Your Name: 9/10
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