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Shinkai's 'your name.' Novel Sells Over 1 Million Copies, Ranks #1 for 8th Week

Kimi no Na wa. (your name.), Makoto Shinkai's original novel that inspired the film of the same name, has sold 1,009,000 copies as of October 16. The novel also ranked #1 on Oricon's bunko (trade paperback) book chart for the October 10-16 week — keeping its top position for the eighth week in a row. The book ranked #8 on the overall book chart. Shinkai published the book on June 18.

The book is the 34th book in the history of the bunko book chart that has sold more than 1 million copies.

Kimi no Na wa. AnotherSide: Earthbound, a spinoff novel focusing on supporting characters from the film, sold 32,000 copies for the week, and has sold a total 207,000 copies, ranking #2 on the paperback book chart. Arata Kanō wrote the novel; he has also written novelizations for Shinkai's Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days films, as well as a spinoff novel for 5 Centimeters Per Second. The film's character designer Masayoshi Tanaka drew the cover art, and Hiyori Asahikawa illustrated the novel.

A different your name. children's book tie-in with illustrations by Chiko sold 18,000 copies for the week, and has sold a total of 159,000 copies. The Shinkai Makoto Kantoku Sakuhin Kimi no Na wa. Kōshiki Visual Guide Book (Director Makoto Shinkai's your name. Official Visual Guide Book) sold 8,000 copies for the week, and has sold a total of 115,000 copies. The first volume of Ranmaru Kotone's manga adaptation of the film sold 21,000 copies for the week, and has sold a total of 160,000 copies.

The film itself earned 468 million yen (about US$4.5 million) and sold 347,000 tickets over the October 15-16 weekend. The film has earned 15,414,488,300 yen (about US$148 million) as of October 16, after 52 days at the Japanese box office. The film has sold a total of 11,842,864 tickets.

The film held its world premiere on July 3 in Los Angeles during Anime Expo, and it is slated to open in 85 countries and regions.

Shinkai also wrote the script for the film. Masashi Ando (Spirited Away, When Marnie Was There, Paprika) served as the animation director and Masayoshi Tanaka (anohana, The Anthem of the Heart, Toradora!) designed the characters. CoMix Wave Inc. animated the film.

Source: Narinari.com via Otakomu