Other films may have made more money but “Your Name” was the undisputed cinematic sensation of 2016. The story of a teenage boy and girl living in Japan who discover they can magically swap bodies was Makoto Shinkai’s fifth feature as a director, and was anticipated with the same hype as any non-Ghibli anime movie: those who were fans of Shinkai’s work were looking forward to the latest colorful and heartbreaking slice of life from CoMix Wave Films and, to everyone else, this was just another story of emotionally charged Japanese schoolchildren.

And then the film grossed 335 million US dollars worldwide, of which 190 million US dollars were earned at the Japanese box office, becoming the fourth most successful film in the territory’s history behind Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away”, “Titanic” and “Frozen” and remained at the top of the box office for twelve weeks before losing its spot to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. 

This led to the film being released in other territories where it continued to break foreign and animated movie records, most notably in China where it tapped into the country’s booming market for anime and made over 81 million US dollars, becoming both the most successful 2D animated movie and most successful Japanese movie in Chinese film history.

Following this wild success and high acclaim – seemingly the only person who dislikes it is Shinkai himself, who told The Japan Times that the film is “incomplete, unbalanced” – it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would get involved and on September 27 it was announced that Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot would co-produce a live-action version of the movie in association with Toho Ltd, the distributor of the anime, written by Eric Heisserer and produced by J J Abrams.

It’s Abrams involvement that sets this project apart from other western adaptations and remakes, as his history as a producer and director has skewed towards the cult and the geeky, peaking with his involvement in Disney’s continuation of the Star Wars franchise.

Not only will this assure fans that his version of “Your Name” will be given the big budget needed to recreate some of the film’s more spectacular moments, but Abrams slavish devotion to the sci-fi world created by George Lucas also suggests that he will be doing everything he can to respect Makoto Shinkai’s vision.

Genki Kawamura, a producer on the anime, released a statement praising the decision, saying "Just like in the film it feels like a dream. Mr Abrams and his team have captivated audiences in their masterful reinvention of known properties. And Mitsuha and Taki have found a perfect narrator, Mr Heisserer, to tell their sci-fi infused love story, which gave the film such drive." Makoto Shinkai has yet to comment.

However, news of this adaptation comes on the heels of the live-action American versions of “Ghost in the Shell” and “Death Note”, both of which did poorly and were slammed by critics. The live-action “Ghost in the Shell”, like the 1995 animated movie and 2002 animated series before it, was set in Tokyo yet featured only one Japanese actor – the legendary “Beat” Takeshi Kitano – among an international cast that was led by Scarlett Johansson, who played the role of Major Motoko Kusanagi, prompting accusations of whitewashing.

The Netflix “Death Note” also faced similar accusations. Even though the story’s location was changed from Tokyo to Seattle, the movie still drew criticism for its casting, particularly the arbitrary decision to turn Asian Light Yagami into Caucasian Light Turner.

Currently, there is no release date for the "Your Name" remake.