After I finished reading this final volume of your name., I looked at the clock and said to myself, “Didn’t I just start this about 15 minutes ago?” The page count clocks in at 156, which is about average, but honestly, it feels much shorter, and not in the good way.
As I mentioned in your name. Volume 2‘s review, I didn’t feel like there was so much left to take up an entire volume. Really, though, this is the key moment: the comet is about ready to fall, and it’s up to Taki (as Mitsuha) and their friends to try to prevent a deadly disaster. That’s a big order even considering Mitsuha, Tesshi, and Saya’s talents and connections. Even after the comet falls, we have to check in on the survivors and see what happened to everyone.
Perhaps the best way I can put this is that this feels more like a junior picture book adaptation than a full manga volume. The dialogue is straightforward, the panels are large, and there’s not a lot of ways that the story is further enhanced over the movie. Plus, while it’s possible this could be a simple error, it’s hard to take your name. seriously when in the back of my mind I’m laughing at Taki-Mitsuha’s hand here. It appears to be just an erased spot on Mayor Miyamizu’s jacket:
Yes, your name. can be read in a flash, as there isn’t a lot to actually read. It’s always nice to sit back and enjoy the artwork, but every page is filled with huge panels. Plus, in critical moments such as the comet’s crash, the manga loses a lot of its impact when everything has been operating at the same pace. It isn’t, “Wow, Let’s stop and gaze at a determined Mitsuha, choosing to stand up and keep going.” It’s, “Oh, it’s just two panels here, preceded and followed by three panels.”
It’s really too bad, as the story comes full circle here. Taki’s longing to see Mitsuha has been replaced by a different type of desire, and it’s rewarding to see the two communicate through something other than cell phone entries. The title’s meaning gains deeper importance thanks to time travel shenanigans, and the ending provides enough closure without having to hold readers’ hands.
Again, though, it would have been so much better if more pages had added to the drama instead of auditioning to be your name. pin-up posters. Even the key scenes don’t really have more details to the drawings; the less-important images just have less. Mitsuha arrives at the town hall, and nobody has any eyes, and only Mitsuha and a random person have mouths. How am I supposed to enjoy the art when I’m looking at a bunch of faceless people? (See the above image.) And if distance shots were an issue for the artist, Kotone could have rearranged the page to have more than three panels. I must admit saving the color pages for the very end was a beautiful way to close out the series though.
your name. is probably going to remain an influential anime movie for years to come. Unfortunately, the manga’s presentation makes the climax and emotional highlights almost a short, rather forgettable experience. Well, maybe not so forgettable. I’ll be thinking of Mitsuha’s fingerless hands for quite a while after this.