SPOILERS INCOMING!!!
I began my start for anime back in high school, and if there was one director back then who would ultimately shape what beautiful animation was, that would be Makoto Shinkai. From the worlds he created since Voices of a Distant Star to Your Name, Shinkai-sensei never fails to create new fables that really bring out a fresh new start for each of his movies.
I saw Weathering with You one Wednesday night with a couple of friends, and suffice to say, it was indeed a beautiful movie. From the masterful Radwimps music to every last raindrop that was animated in the movie, it definitely felt like I was in the movie myself. It almost felt like the rain was touchable, a very immersive experience.
As we discover, both Hina and Hodaka are fairly similar people who find each other and fight against society together. In the few scenarios that they interact from the beginning, the film takes them to their advantage and actually gets referenced later on in the movie. Shinkai-sensei didn’t give Hodaka a gun for no reason. Now adding on to Hokada’s already long rap sheet, he better be damn lucky he only got probation and not prison time. One of the familiar tropes that Shinkai-sensei likes to do is have a boy-girl duo lead every one of his films, and I’m honestly surprised that none of them manage to be carbon copies of one another. Speaking of which, both Taki and Mitsuha do cameo in the movie, contributing a little bit to Hodaka’s developing relationship with Hina. Taki suggests getting a gift, and Hodaka so happens to have gotten that gift from Mitsuha’s shop.
Without any of the side characters that appear in the film, it wouldn’t really get anywhere. From the beginning, Hodaka runs away from home and meets Keisuke Suga, a writer who takes him in as his protege. Also working there was Keisuke’s niece (a fact not revealed at first for comedic purposes lmao), who encourages him to chase down Hina, the “rumored sunshine girl.” Hina’s younger brother Nagi is somewhat of a ladies’ man, but he’s unexpectedly kind and acts as the “senpai” to Hodaka, despite their somewhat rocky first meeting on the bus. You can’t deny the newfound respect that we have for him after he literally tackles a police officer for Hodaka.
Hina and Hodaka are by far the most selfless human beings I have ever seen in a Makoto Shinkai film. Hina knows she will die faster the more she uses her powers, yet she keeps this fact away from Hodaka and continues using it until the day she died. No wonder Hodaka fell for her. I would say that my feelings for the ending is somewhat conflicted. While I like the ending and how it gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling that a ship has sailed, it was the decisions that Hodaka made to get there. In exchange to have the entirely of Tokyo stay underwater, Hodaka got Hina back. That’s all there is to it. Sure what Hodaka did was selfish and did reduce housing a lot, but considering all that he had suffered so far, he definitely made the right damn choice and deserved every single moment of it.
VERDICT: 9/10
Definitely one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen in a long while. Animation and music were both so beautiful I felt I could actually feel it from my theater seat. Unfortunately Shinkai reused a plot formula from Your Name, which basically had the boy/girl duo fight for their romance, with an entire city at stake, so that was one point from me. Despite so, it was still well used and created a stunning masterpiece that I think anyone who was a fan of Your Name should go watch.
This is NOT AN ANIME 