Your Name, or Kimi no Na wa, is a 2016 Japanese animated film by Makoto Shinkai about two teenagers who swap bodies, and the online fandom around it fills Tumblr, Reddit, and DeviantArt with GIFs and edits.

Where did Your Name come from?

The film was written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, based on his own novel, and released in Japan on August 26, 2016 after Toho greenlit his proposal in late 2014.

What does Your Name mean?

The title refers to the body-swap plot, where Taki and Mitsuha keep forgetting each other's names, and it also got picked up as a running Urban Dictionary joke about not knowing someone's name.

How do you use Your Name?

Fans typically share stills and GIFs of the comet, the twilight meeting, and Taki shouting Mitsuha's name, often as reaction images for dramatic or emotional moments.

Is Your Name still popular?

Yes, it is still treated as a classic of modern anime, with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score and an active fandom that stayed engaged through the 2017 announcement of a J.J. Abrams live-action remake.

Your Name

2016fandom / film referenceclassic

Published October 8, 2026

Your Name, known in Japan as Kimi no Na wa, is a 2016 Japanese animated film by Makoto Shinkai about a high school boy and girl who mysteriously swap bodies. It became the highest-grossing anime feature ever made, pulling in $303 million in Japan alone1, and sparked a sprawling online fandom that filled Tumblr, Reddit, and DeviantArt with edits, GIFs, and reaction posts.

anime manga fan art memes fandom hype memes otaku culture memes 2016 memes

Overview

Your Name, also known as Kimi no Na wa, follows two Japanese teenagers, Mitsuha and Taki, who wake up inhabiting each other's bodies with no explanation. Writer-director Makoto Shinkai adapted the story from his own novel of the same title3, and the film's dream-like structure, hand-painted backgrounds, and emotional ending drew near-universal praise, hitting a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes5.

The film's online footprint grew around that reaction. Fans on Tumblr circulated GIFs of the comet, the sunset meeting on the mountain, and the pair writing on each other's hands. DeviantArt filled with fanart under the #kimi no na wa tag, and Reddit built out a dedicated r/kiminonawa community4. The name itself leaked into general internet jokes about not knowing someone's name, including an Urban Dictionary gag entry about people confused by the title alone6.

Alongside the earnest fandom runs a steady stream of reaction material: screenshots of Taki shouting "TAKI" in the climax became a meme in their own right, often repurposed as a stand-in for over-the-top emotional outbursts6.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Theatrical release (Japan) / Tumblr and Reddit (fandom spread)

Creator

Makoto Shinkai

Date

2016

Your Name was written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, based on his own novel of the same name3. Shinkai pitched the project to Toho in September 2014, and after several working titles the film entered production as Kimi no Na wa4. The first trailer was uploaded to YouTube by TOKYOPOP TV on April 7, 2016, and racked up more than 4.7 million views4.

The film debuted internationally at Anime Expo 2016 in Los Angeles on July 3, 2016, then opened theatrically in Japan on August 26, 2016, with an English dub following in November4. It held the Japanese box office's top spot for twelve straight weeks and finished with roughly $303 million domestically, making it the highest-grossing anime film ever at the time1.

How It Spread

After its Japanese release in late August 2016, Your Name ran away with the box office. Variety reported it grossed $303 million in Japan and held number one for twelve weeks1, putting it ahead of every Studio Ghibli release except Spirited Away in local rankings6. The film's international rollout through late 2016 and early 2017 pushed the fandom beyond Japan, with English-speaking viewers flooding Tumblr and Twitter after the November 2016 dub screenings4.

Online, the film built a durable community. A dedicated subreddit, r/kiminonawa, collected over 2,600 members, a Facebook fan page passed 51,000 likes, and more than 2,200 pieces were posted under the #kimi no na wa tag on DeviantArt4. Critics kept fueling attention: Rotten Tomatoes consensus called it "as beautifully animated as it is emotionally satisfying"5, and Metacritic landed it at 79/1004.

The story spiked again on September 27, 2017, when Variety broke the news that J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot and Paramount had secured the rights for a live-action Hollywood adaptation, with Arrival's Eric Heisserer attached to write1. Kotaku captured the fan mood bluntly, citing recent misfires like Netflix's Death Note as the reason fans were "less than enthusiastic" about the remake2.

Timeline

2014-09-14

Makoto Shinkai sends his Your Name proposal to Toho, kicking off production under earlier working titles[4].

2016-04-07

TOKYOPOP TV uploads the first trailer to YouTube, which eventually passes 4.7 million views[4].

2016-07-03

The film premieres internationally at Anime Expo 2016 in Los Angeles[4].

2016-08-26

Your Name opens theatrically in Japan and begins a 12-week run at number one[1].

2016-11

English dub screenings begin, pulling Western fandom onto Tumblr, Reddit, and DeviantArt[4].

2017-09-27

Variety reports that J.J. Abrams, Paramount, and Bad Robot have won the rights to a live-action remake with Eric Heisserer writing[1].

2017-09-27

Kotaku covers the announcement and notes skeptical fan reaction based on past Hollywood anime adaptations[2].

How to Use This Meme

The Your Name fandom typically remixes the film's most iconic beats: the red thread, the twilight ("kataware-doki") meeting, the hand-writing scene, and Taki's final shouting of Mitsuha's name. Common conventions include pairing those stills with text about forgetting someone's name, mislabeling characters as "Taki/Mitsuha" in body-swap jokes, and using the comet shots as reaction GIFs for dramatic moments4.