The Red String of Fate: A Review of Your Name

When it comes to Japanese-animated films, most people are usually familiar with Hayao Miyazaki’s work from Spirited Away (2001) to My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and others. However, 2016's Your Name (Shinkai) is one that shows that Japan’s creative vision can and will continue forward after Miyazaki is long gone.

​Your Name is the story of two teenagers who discover they are connected to each other beyond time and space. Mitsuha Miyamizu (Stephanie Sheh), a girl in a small rural town, and Taki Tachibana (Michael Sinterniklaas), a boy working in the middle of Tokyo, discover that they switch bodies in their sleep. Through writing notes down on their hands and in their phones, they work together to improve each other’s lives. When Taki wants to visit Mitsuha in her town, he finds everything is not how it seems, and that Mitsuha’s future is in danger. Taki and Mitsuha must work together to survive and push past all obstacles so they can finally meet in-person.

Taki waking up in Mistuha's body for the first time.

​A part of Japanese culture that plays a major role throughout Your Name is the “red string of fate.” The legends behind it say that people connected by it are irrevocably tied to each other through a vein that starts at someone’s heart, passes through the pinky, and to another person’s heart (American culture represents this myth through the “pinky promise”). Though the string can lengthen or tangle, it can never break (Monasterio, 2015). In the film, Mitsuha wears a red string as a hair tie. A flashback/dream sequence depicts Mitsuha reaching out to Taki using the string, trying to connect with him. Taki is also shown wearing a red string, using it as a bracelet. Mitsuha’s grandmother Hitoha (Glynis Ellis) reiterates the ideas behind the red string of fate when talking about “Musubi” or the flow of time and how all things in the universe are connected. The cords of the universe, as she says, “converge and take shape. They twist, tangle, sometimes unravel, break, and hone connect again.”

The film uses the red string to not only fuel the relationship between the two leads but also to inspire hope that they’ll finally meet. As Mitsuha and Taki learn more about each other, the forces of nature sever their connection through the comet Tiamat. It is revealed that Mitsuha lived three years in the past apart from Taki, and that she died when a piece of the comet struck her town. Taki decides he is going to change the past so he can prevent Mistuha’s death so that they can meet. Despite the absurdly impossible conditions that Mitsuha and Taki’s relationship exists in, they always find a way to keep their bond strong.

The symbolic red string tied in Mitsuha's hair.

Your Name is not only a great story about how two people can overcome obstacles that get in the way of their relationship, it is also a great story about how close friendships are made and maintained. When Mitsuha and Taki discover that they are switching bodies with each other, they each come up with a list of do’s and don’ts for whenever they are switched. They are honest with each other, telling each other what helps and hurts them to do. This is a good example for what healthy relationships should look like, whether they are platonic or romantic. Meanwhile, having each other literally in their lives shakes up their routine. While Taki acts more assertive and confident in Mitsuha’s body, making her more popular with her peers, Mitsuha acts more kind and caring in Taki’s body, making him more appealing to his crush Miki Okudera (Laura Post).

Mitsuha and Taki discovering the notes that they wrote for each other.

Your Name is a heart-warming, hopeful story about friendship that literally transcends time and space, and a recommended watch for fans of Japanese animation and movies in general.

Source Cited:

Monasterio, Lucia Ortiz, "The Legend of the Red String in Japan" Faena, 6 Nov 2015, http://www.faena.com/aleph/articles/the-legend-of-the-red-string-of-japan/