Weathering with You (Review)

Weathering with You is the Perfect Anime for a Rainy Day.

I finally got around to seeing the new hit anime film, Weathering with You. From my understanding, the biggest complaint about it is that it doesn’t quite live up to director Makoto Shinkai’s previous film, Your Name. Well, I haven’t seen Your Name yet, so I can speak about Weathering with You for what it is and not what it doesn’t quite live up to. It’s an absolutely dazzling anime that combines a variety of animation styles from painted backgrounds to traditionally drawn characters to even computer-generated buildings flawlessly to create an incredibly detailed world for the story to take place in. The tale itself is a heartwarming romance with just enough fantasy thrown in there to keep it from becoming too melodramatic while still packing an emotional punch. From what I’ve heard, the film might not be as good as Shinkai’s last, but it’s still a damn good one.

It’s been raining in Tokyo. A lot. That’s what teenage runaway Hodaka Morishima (Kotaro Daigo) quickly learns when he shows up hoping to start a better life in the bustling city. Luckily, he manages to find a job working for a local writing firm that sells fluff pieces to papers. His first story is investigating the mysterious sunshine girl that has the ability to stop the rain and allow the sun to come out for a few hours at a time. When he finally does meet Hina Amano (Nana Mori) she’s nothing like he expected. Only a little older than him the two quickly become fast friends and even go into business answering requests from people hoping for a little sunshine (in exchange for a few bucks). Hina’s ability to control the weather is certainly fantastic, but everything comes with a price. One that Hodaka and Hina will have to face together.

I cannot emphasize enough how stunning Weathering with You is. There aren’t too many flashy parts to it, but the sheer detail in every frame of the film is mind-boggling. From the individual tiles making up a floor to the rust on a staircase to the rain itself. 75% of the film is spent with rain falling from the sky and that means plenty of opportunities for rainbows and that special glow that lights have as they refract over the drops in the air. Personally, I love gloomy days, so Weathering for You was like watching a wonderous, wet world that I wish I could be a part of. The characters feel right at home in this beautiful world with each of them being just quirky enough to be memorable. It’s more than just their designs, there’s this grace to them even when they’re at their most chaotic or clumsy that makes it almost seem like they are flowing through the scenes they are in. Shinkai pushes the visuals just enough to make them enchanting without losing the overall grounded feeling to the story even when Weathering with You is at it’s most fantastic.

I have to give a few props to Radwimps. First, for the incredible music that they created for Weathering with You. Second, for their incredible name, which they claim has several meanings, including “excellent weakling” and “superlative coward.” There are a number of montages to show the passage of time in the film and they create some very catchy songs for them. Of course, they were all in Japanese, but I found myself subconsciously humming along with the upbeat pop sound. This is contrasted by an elegant piano theme that accompanies the more serious and heartfelt moments. Piano themes are a little cliche when it comes to anime or Japanese RPG games, but this theme stood out to me because it would play a melody at first and then quickly rewind it. Almost as though it was undoing the attempts before starting the next part. This little twist left me constantly waiting to hear it again because it was just such an interesting effect. Radwimps combines these two very different types of music in a way that perfectly accompanies the gorgeous animation of Weathering with You and really emphasizes the heart in the film

There are some parts of Weathering with You that are a little sappy at times, but I’m a bit of a sap in general so that’s perfectly alright. Fans of anime, in general, will appreciate all the tropes that are in there, most notably the “shouting someone’s name as you chase after them” (even if there is no way they could actually hear you). The romance between Hina and Hodaka has all the makings of young love in that they both believe that it’s the most important thing that will ever happen in their lives. Don’t get me wrong, I remember feeling that same way with my first girlfriend and while I might cringe thinking about it now, there’s something adorable and pure about that naivety. Shinkai manages to capture that feeling without being condescending or too aggrandizing with it. The real power of their love is that there is a consequence that they will both have to face and while the choice they have to make might seem impossible to them it’s never really a choice at all. It’s a little melodramatic, but I ate it up.

I’m a little perturbed that Weathering with You wasn’t offered a Best Animated Feature nomination this year, but the Academy never had much respect for anime. It was a lovely escapist film that I took a lot of pleasure from. The only downside is that the ending felt a little tacked on and never answers all of our questions. I was also unclear if there was any part of it that took a stand when it comes to climate change, as it seemed to consider both aspects of it being man-made and not. It certainly wasn’t obligated to address it, but since it’s such a serious issue that we’re all facing I thought it might at least have something to say. That didn’t stop me from enjoying Weathering with You and I earnestly encourage you, whether you’re an anime fan or not, to check it out.