Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name is one of the most popular anime films of all time, and fans fell in love with its romance wrapped within a unique science fiction premise. It would be tough for any film to match its presence, but one upcoming film is gaining buzz from Your Name fans.
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From Genki Kawamura, who produced Your Name, is Fireworks, a film about two students who fall in love with the same girl as one manipulates time to win her over.
GKIDS licensed the film for a United States release, and are bringing the film to theaters as part of a special collaboration with Fathom Events. Starting with a premiere event July 3, 5, and 7, the film will soon get a limited release in theaters on July 4 as well. You can see which theaters the film is coming to and buy your tickets here at this link.
GKIDS recently released the official subtitled trailer for the film, and describes Fireworks as such:
“Producer Genki Kawamura follows up his mega-hit Your Name with another tale of star-crossed teenage lovers with a sci-fi fantasy twist. Shy Norimichi and fast-talking Yusuke, are goo-goo-eyed over the same elusive classmate, Nazuna. But Nazuna, unhappy over her mother’s decision to remarry and leave their countryside town, plans to run away and has secretly chosen Norimichi to accompany her. When things don’t go as planned, Norimichi discovers that a glowing multi-color ball found in the sea has the power to reset the clock and give them a second chance to be together. But each reset adds new complications and takes them farther and farther away from the real world – until they risk losing sight of reality altogether.
Fireworks tells a simple story of adolescent longing that taps deep wells of emotion. It is tale of youthful wistfulness, missed opportunities and long-ago dreams, of the urgency of young lovers, and the desire to create a separate universe, a magic place outside of time, where they can be together.”
Although fans have made comparisons to Your Name due to its producer and similar blend of time travel, anime, and love, the trailer for Fireworks paints it as a completely different kind of film. It will be interesting to see this dynamic play out in the full film, and even more interesting to see how it will eventually be compared to Your Name in the end.
If you aren’t familiar with Your Name, you should know that the film is the most successful anime feature of all-time. The film debuted in Japan in 2016 and quickly earned more money than any of Studio Ghibli’s iconic films, beating out Spirited Away to become the highest-grossing anime feature in the global market.
The film is so popular, in fact, it is set to get a Hollywood live-action version. It was announced last fall that Star Wars director J.J. Abrams is making a live-action version of Your Name, news that revived concerns about whitewashing when it comes to Hollywood’s track record with anime, particularly with the less-than-positive reactions to Scarlett Johansson’s turn as cyborg heroine Major in Ghost in the Shell and the complete transplant of Death Note from Tokyo to Seattle complete with a nearly all-white cast.
For those who plan to stream Your Name (which is now available on Google Play), prepare to have your heart broken. Your Name is a beautiful, nostalgic love story between two star-crossed lovers. It follows two high school students after they discover they spontaneously switch bodies. Rather than panic, the pair find a way to work out their supernatural exchanges and begin to fall for one another. But, when the phenomena comes to an abrupt halt, the would-be lovers learn how cruel both fate and time can truly be.
