Weathering With You is a movie that had a massive feat to pull off: it had to follow near perfect masterpiece that was Your Name. Even sharing the same Writer and Director (Makoto Shinkai), music composers (RADWIMPS) and animation studio (CoMix Wave Films), whatever was done after Your Name was gonna have to prove that if it couldn’t surpass it, the movie could at least match Your Name’s level of quality. That’s a lofty weight and a lot of pressure, I’m not envious. Still, against all odds, despite some minor rough edges, Weathering With You is a sign that Makoto Shinkai isn’t just a one hit wonder. If he can keep pumping out emotional, feel good movies like this, Anime is gonna be something else in the next few years for sure.
To be honest, it’s hard to think about reviewing Weathing With You without stacking it up against Your Name. Both share the same plot elements, film structure and usage of fantastical elements. But Weathering is not the same film as Your Name and in spite of those familiar tropes, I never felt it ever tried to be. Much of this is thanks to the films two adorable leads: Hodoka and Hina. From the very first moment these two cross paths, I was instantly invested in whatever future awaited them. And they hit all the familiar beats: cute awkward first encounters, hilarious flirtatious while making day plans, and that all too familiar sense that something is going to go very wrong once the second half of the movie gets going. Still, I rooted for Hodoka and Hina all the way, the same way I did with Taki and Mitsuha with Your Name. Even if the story gets a little too ambitious, Shinkai knows how to write a love story you can get behind.
It should surprise no one that with the same animation powers as Shinkai’s last project backing it, Weathering With You is an absolute gem of an Anime to watch. You’ve gotta commend CoMix Wave Films for using a near Kyoto Animation qualities of realism when it comes to creating Tokyo and the life within it. Leave it Anime to continue making Tokyo one of the main places I wanna visit in my life time. However, there’s one particular element to Weathering that bears particular need of praise: the rain. Sure the sun comes out for various reasons throughout the film. But that pesky and loveable water falling from the sky plays such a huge role in the movie, it might as well be a character unto itself. The rain runs the gauntlet of emotions from calm steady downpour to torrential force of nature and then back to comforting again. Never thought I’d be watching any kind of movie where a weather element is one of the most positive aspects (M. Night Shamylan wishes this is how The Happening was received).
I feel like there’s a lot of moving parts to Weathering With You, making it feel slightly larger than any Shinkai project before it. Then again, after your last film becomes a mega hit, it kind of gives you carte blanche to do whatever you want to do. That said, I feel like there are a couple of plot points introduced early on their either don’t go anywhere or feel unresolved by the end of the movie. One of these spoiler heavy bits plays a minor role in the final act but is kind of forgotten before we get to it. Then there’s the finale itself, which I feel will be pretty divisive. Personally, I was still balling like a baby when the title card flash and the Radwimps song closed us out and think the finale is earned and full of hope. I don’t know though, I feel like a particular direction is taken that might not sit well with every viewer. Guess that will just depend.
Even if you weren’t trying your hardest to compare it to Your Name, Weathering With You is still an extremely worthy directorial follow up for Makoto Shinkai. All the magic, music, animation and powerful human bonds are there and kicked up a notch. Plus there might be a couple of surprises even you might not see coming. In the end, Weathering With You didn’t need to try to surpass it’s predecessor, it just needed to be its own fantasy filled romance with heart and soul and hope. And let me tell you, when the rain falls or the sun shines in any scene, I felt both. This is another reminder of why I love Anime as an entertainment medium. Cause when a movie like this makes me run the gauntlet of human emotions and I still come out the other side with a smile on my face…all I can say is, “Thanks movie, I cant wait to watch you again.”
9/10
Heh, go figure. It only took me 5 years but I finally found an Anniversary Title that wasn’t a terrible movie (then again Slayers: The Motion Picture wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as good as it could be either). Happy Birthday Gundam Anime Corner, hope you’re ready for Year 8 and I hope you readers are as well. Thanks for sticking around this long and come back tomorrow for the Season 8 Premiere of reviews as we kick off a year full of Gundam with Mobile Fighter G Gundam. See ya then everyone.
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