Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly one who fully enjoyed Kimi no Na wa. As much as I looked forward to it, it found it to be overrated and quite messy in certain aspects.
Of course, I didn’t exactly look forward to Tenki no Ko, for its ratings considerably lower than Kimi no Na wa. What I learned is that never rely on the average ratings. I have a controversial opinion as I prefer Tenki no Ko over Kimi no Na Wa.

Minor spoilers
I walked into Tenki no Ko blindly. I saw a trailer before, but I forgot nearly all of the details then. Firstly, I was bored out of my mind, as the first few minutes couldn’t exactly pull me in. Also known as few minutes of a boy suffering in Tokyo. However, I more or less made the right decision not to drop it then. The main character ran away from home and starts living in Tokyo but struggles. Eventually he finds a job. There were a few montages here and there and he met the plot.

There are these creatures called “Sunshine Girls”. Girls that can pray and the sun will appear. There’s also this legend that just so happens to foreshadow that Sunshine Girls will have to sacrifice themselves in order to create regular weather. Finally, I realized that it was raining nonstop.
The boy met a sunshine girl, and both struggled with a job. Now, they work together and helped people that needed sunshine. Here’s our first flaw. Sunshine girl helped a lot of people. To the point she was caught on camera. No one finds it weird that she has powers. Unless everyone thinks it’s a coincidence, that somehow happens multiple times in a row. Whilst it is a flaw I can look over, not everyone feels the same and may question the movie.

I think I explained enough, and I would like to avoid spoilers, so now I will be reviewing the aspects of the movie.

Story
As much as I found the overall concept of Tenki no Ko interesting, it wasn’t exactly well executed. And I say this due to the lack of background regarding Sunshine Girls. They did give one scene all for explaining the Sunshine Girls. And, I have to admit, they did a fine job with answering our questions. However, once they did answer our questions, later on, they would introduce extra things regarding them. They gave us a sufficient amount of information, yet they had to add more.

To be honest, I am quite new to Shinkai films, and gosh darn the execution of other aspects are way far better handled. For example, the emotional impact. Shinkai films are always known to tear you up. During my journey with Kimi no Na Wa, I found it unable to live up to its hype, yet it still managed to tear me up slightly whilst I was powered with disappointment.

Aside from it being cliché and all, I have to say, the romance was more or less better than Kimi no Na Wa. As much as the romance in said movie was unique and enjoyable, I found it to be quite problematic in certain aspects and being quite rushed. Tenki no Ko manages to have decent romance. The classic friend-becomes-lover type, while managing to keep a consistent pacing. As in, they skip over months to tighten their bond. It did seem quite far-fetched as who in their right mind would want to flood a city for a girl, especially when being apart for 3 years.

The pacing was somewhat consistent, but as a movie, you can tell in certain areas that it would lack enough screen-time and especially narrative. Making it feel fast and slow, when in fact, the pacing is decent.

Characters
The characters are somewhat fine but lack any unique traits. This is a problem with many movies, so you should look past them most of the time. The main character, as much as he is someone who you wouldn’t hate, he doesn’t exactly have anything to make him stand out. This also applies to the female lead, as she has powers… but that’s it. Certain moments had her contributing, yet some moments had her as a plot device. After all, she is a sunshine girl. And of course, you have side characters who either contribute to the story or don’t.

Art and Visuals
When it comes to Shinkai films, they can always manage to bring out the best visuals, and the best soundtrack. Particularly when the main character saves the girl from the sky, all managing to deliver an impact and even gave me chills. While the character designs itself aren’t exactly unique, they are very true to the real world, unlike most anime having all types of colour as hair. Perhaps it’s better once you realize most of the effort lies in the backgrounds.

At last, we can come to my favourite part of the review.

Enjoyment
I might’ve compared Kimi no Na Wa too much with Tenki no Ko, but in the end, they both have their own flaws. As I walked into it blindly, I didn’t really put any mind into it, even though my friends were always praising this movie. But I was wrong. While Tenki no Ko isn’t exactly the best movie I’ve seen, it’s definitely memorable for me, especially when the impactful moments are done right.
While we finally reach the closing, it’s definitely a recommend from me. You may want to turn your brain off a little bit and focus on the emotional aspects of the story. You should have a fun experience, and also perhaps apply this to Kimi no Na Wa. Both movies are good.