Why was this so highly regarded? It's extremely cheesy

>>158862103
It's precisely because it's extremely cheesy that it become one of the most commercially successful anime movies of all time.

>>158862103
Freaky Friday: Anime Edition

>>158862103
Cheesy is okay if it's done well, and this was fine. Interesting premise (at least for normies who aren't frequently confronted with body-switch storylines), nice twist and resulting drama/suspense (unlike the neverending "misunderstanding" trope in Hollywood romances), good art and cute characters. It was extremely likeable and I liked it as well, despite not being one for romance usually.

>>158862103
Because muh fetish

because they thought this is a Shinkai masterpiece. No.

>>158862103
I was thinking about it recently, why it stuck with the variety of demographics in Japan. On one hand it is just a fun romantic body swap story with comedy and all the normalfag pandering like great but safe animation with average art style, pop songs that are catchy, emotional rollercoaster. But that's not it, that can't be it. To really understand the appeal of the movie, you have to look at it through Japanese social perspective.
Your Name is very much an apocalyptic tale that's anchored in reality, much like the past stuff that's come from Japan in form of Godzilla, Akira, Neon Genesis. Godzilla was a response to Hiroshima and criticism of American militarization in post war Japan, Akira was a response to the late 70s and early 80s delinquent culture and Japan's over reliance on mechanization and atomic power, Evangelion was a response to 95s financial bubble burst, earthquake and growing religious fanaticism. So your name becomes a response to the social concerns that are prevailing the society of contemporary Japan, concerns arose in post Tsunami and Fukushima reactor crisis.
All these tales use the Apocalyptic settings to comment on the society of the era, they reaffirm the fears of the citizens yet at the same time manage to be cathartic enough to show some optimism. That's why they connect with the way they do.
I think looking at Your Name from non Japanese perspective we only see the story about people and the crisis they are in takes a back seat. It's the same way people outside of US see post 9/11 fiction or stories about people's growing concerns about privacy. We see it as something that's a story with these concerns as the backdrop but the actual intention of the story is to address these concerns, it's not really at the backdrop but at the forefront.
I'm not going to say movie is great only because it's an art piece of pure cinema anime, it's really staying with Japanese people because it's a enjoying piece which has a lot to say.

This movie really was average at best. I felt like the characters spent to much time just running from place to place. Was incredibly boring.

>>158862358
This

>>158862103
The only thing that really irritated me was the boob gag. Otherwise it was good. I don't know if deserving of the sales it got, but definitely good.