Makoto Shinkai’s novel ‘Your Name.’ sells over 1 million copies | Lifestyle.INQ

OCTOBER 27, 2022

Your Name  Kimi no Na wa
Your Name. is a love story that traverses time and space which is brought to life through referencing existing locales around Japan.  Image Funimation

“Kimi ni Na wa (Your Name.)” is currently one of the highest-grossing anime movies, and the inspiration novel, written by director Makoto Shinkai himself, seems to be not far behind on the charts.

To date, the book has sold over a million copies and has continued to rank first on the charts for the past eight weeks. The book is now ranked 8th on the overall Oricon bunko (trade paperback) book chart, reports Anime News Network.

Published on June 18, the book is now the 34th in the history of the bunko book chart to have sold more than 1 million copies.

A spinoff book, “Kimi no Na wa. AnotherSide: Earthbound,” focuses on the supporting characters from the film and is written by author Arata Kano. It sold 32,000 copies this week and a total of 207,000, which ranks it at #2 on the chart. Arata Kano is no stranger to Shinkai’s work as he has also written novelizations for the director’s other films, which includes “Voices of a Distant Star” and “The Place Promised in Our Early Days.” He also wrote a spinoff novel from “5 Centimeters Per Second.” Character designer Masayoshi Tanaka from the movie drew the cover art while Hiyori Asahikawa illustrated the novel.

There is also a children’s book tie-in for “Kimi no Na wa.” with illustration by Chiko, as well as “Shinkai Makoto Kantoku sakuhin Kimi no Na wa. Koushiki Visual Guide Book (Director Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name. Official Visual Guide Book) which have sold a total of 159,000 and 115,000 copies, respectively. The film has also been adapted into manga form by Ranmaru Kotone, which has sold a total of 160,000 copies.

“Kimi no Na wa.” had a world premiere on July 3 in the Los Angeles Anime Expo and will soon open in 85 countries and regions.

SM Cinemas may be expected to hold a local screening of “Kimi no Na wa.,” as their cinemas previously featured Japanese films such as the live action adaptations of “Rurouni Kenshin” and “Attack on Titan,” as well as anime movies such as “One Piece Film: Gold” and “Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare.”  Alfred Bayle

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