"With You and the Rain" is a 2025 series based on a manga of the same name by the author Kou Nikaidou. It follows the life of Fuji, a novelist who meets a curious critter on the street and decides to take it home. The series follows Fuji as she faces creative struggles and explores her relationships with other people.

The series starts off by introducing Fuji as a character and showcases her hardships that come with with owning a pet. That serves as a good foundation for further exploration of who she is in my opinion. During these episodes I also found Kimi (as the unnamed cat/dog is often called) very endearing. The decision to humanise it with its frequent use of cue cards and the ability to draw and write goes a long way in making it an active participant in the events that unfold. It also serves in making its and Fuji's bond more genuine beyond just the cute moments and vibes as Kimi often asks her questions and is generally curious about her life. As for Fuji, she's presented as a complicated person with a relatively simple life. When we first see it her flat is empty aside from the bare essentials and books. It's later that we learn that she has a deeply developed inner world, which naturally makes it hard for her to forge relationships as she has a hard time reading people. She and Kimi forge a bond over their shared uniqueness. I found Fuji and the bond she shares with Kimi to be written very well. So well in fact that viewers might find it easy to immerse themselves into the series, seeing as they can empathise themselves with the main character from the beginning.

Later episodes focus on Fuji's relationships with her family and friends. It's at this point that the narrative starts feeling a bit disjointed, in a way that makes the message that the author was going for elusive, at least in my opinion. I'm not sure if it's the pace that doesn't allow the message to fully resonate, or it's just me not getting it. For example, we learn that Fuji prefers to enjoy the beach alone rather than with her friends. Furthermore, her idea of a day at the beach clashes with Kimi's, who naturally wants to run around and play. She still finds a way to compromise for them, but it turns out she doesn't spend her beach day any different from how it usually goes according to her friends, except that Kimi is there. I'm just not sure what the viewer is supposed to get from that. I enjoyed these episodes regardless, even if just for the simple fact that I got to see Fuji and Kimi interacting with themselves and other people. The highlight of these episodes for me was when Fuji lost Kimi during a summer festival. Seeing her distressed for the first time made my pulse quicken for some reason. I suppose that is a statement to how attached to these characters I've grown over the span of just four episodes.

I suppose this would be a good time to touch on some of the side characters that stood out to me. Over a vast array of characters for Kimi to interact with, I enjoyed her close friends, Ren and Mimi the most. Ren is a person with a bubbly personality, while Ren is more straightforward and down to earth. Their personalities work well with Fuji's in a way that makes watching them talk or hang out fun. Just like Fuji's relationship with Kimi, their interactions feel grounded in a way how real long time friends act with each other.

The last portion of the episodes focuses on Fuji's struggles as a creative. Unfortunately these also can be hit or miss with their message. I liked them for the most part, like when Fuji questions why she's a writer in the first place or when the show explored the anxiety that comes with sharing your work with those close to you as well as the pressure of your work meeting expectations. I found that for the most part these topics were explored well. However, where the show stumbled again was when the topic of inspiration came up. When Fuji has a writer's block she ends up doing a lot of things but none of them seem to resolve the issue, and at the end she gives up on writing for the day, leaving the topic unresolved in my opinion. Even then, I enjoyed this part the most out of the whole show. To my mind stories where the author touches on the topic of the creative process are deeply personal and reveal a lot of who said author is and how they view their work.

In conclusion, I enjoyed my time watching "With You and the Rain" despite its flaws. I admit, this may be due to my weak heart being swayed by touching scenes and music as I come from a Shōnen and comedy background. Still, I believe that this is the kind of series that everyone experiences differently. As such It's worth anyone's time, even if just to see how they interpret it on their own.