君の名は

I feel like I just read a really long and detailed spoiler for what’s probably a good movie, and I wish I’d just watched the movie instead in the first place.

My opinion is similar to cat’s. Since I haven’t seen the movie I didn’t come in with any attachment to the characters or story. The book never really pulled me in. It did get more interesting in the middle, but I still felt like I wanted to be reading something else.

It’s obvious that this is a story originally conceived as a movie. I’ve seen 天気の子 so I know Shinkai is excellent as a filmmaker, and I’m sure that the movie 君の名は is beautiful. (probably) But something about the book always felt flat to me, most likely because it doesn’t have the lush animation and soundtrack it was imagined for. I don’t think I will read another novelization.