Some context about me: I despise subtitles. I find they get in the way of my appreciation of almost any film or TV show, and thus I avoid them as often as I can.

That said, a friend dragged me to the Japanese animated filme “Your Name” the other day, and I can say that the quality of the film justified the labored reading required to follow the story-line (Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t fun).

First of all, the scenery was brilliant. At some times exotic and aspirational, and at others intricate and photorealistic, it was enjoyable to watch, but it didn’t get in the way of the plot (ala “Dunkirk”). Second of all, the plot was engaging. Without spoiling it, I’ll say that some parts of the story caught me off guard, which is hard to do in a film constrained by so many norms (of animation, Japanese cinema, etc.). I also appreciated the excellent incorporation of culture into the plot. It wasn’t just there an element apart from the plot. Japanese culture drove this plot.

It was reported in September that JJ Abrams will remake the film for American audiences, in live actions. It will be interesting to see how his remake compensates for parts of the original that were tailormade for animation and Japanese culture. I look forward to it.