But initially, one thing was going to be very different about the relationship between female lead Mitsuha and male lead Taki, as revealed in an interview with Shinkai and Genki Kawamura, one of Your Name’s producers.
Makoto Shinkai’s initial concept for female lead Mitsuha would have rubbed audiences the wrong way, producer cautioned.
What with the tremendous critical and commercial success of anime film Your Name, one could argue that director and scriptwriter Makoto Shinkai got the film’s mix of elements just right.
It’s impossible to calculate what difference, if any, the change to Mitsuha’s character made in how Your Name has been received by audiences.