Three years after Makoto Shinkai’s hit anime film Your Name took the world by storm, that touching ending where main protagonists Taki and Mitsuha felt compelled to seek out each other as soulmates after all the body-swapping and time-travelling remains strong in the hearts of fans.
In fact, it is so strong that a man felt the same urge earlier this month on June 16 to call out to a Japanese high school girl walking down a street in Ise, Mie Prefecture. Surprised by the smiling young man dressed in a T-shirt and blue trousers, it must have taken the girl a few moments before she realized what was said to her:
“It’s been a while. I was your husband in your past life.”
It is not known whether the man truly believed he’d found his lost love or was simply spouting the same pickup line he uses on every girl he spots, but harassment is still harassment, and the student reported the matter to the local police station without hesitation. As a result, his actions are now officially listed with the Japan Suspicious Persons Information Center.
It didn’t take long before Japanese netizens weighed in on the incident:
“He’s new to this.”
“That reeks of Your Name right there.”
“Isn’t that wonderful. /sarcasm”
“He’s actually rather brave to say that.”
“Is this an advertisement for Your Name 2?”
The good news is that all schools in the vicinity will likely have been warned of this suspicious person by now, after the authorities put up information regarding the incident. Regardless of what this odd fellow believes, randomly approaching minors and pulling off a stunt like that is just asking for trouble. Real life doesn’t (and in this case, shouldn’t) imitate art.
Speaking of Makoto Shinkai, his latest movie Weathering With You (Tenki no Ko) is arriving in cinemas in Japan on July 19 (that’s next month!). You can check out the other articles we’ve written covering all we know about the film too.