I went into Weathering with You with very high expectations. Makoto Shinkai's previous movie, Your Name is my favorite movie of all time and I had heard from friends that Weathering with You was also very good. After watching the movie, I have to say I agree with them. The movie managed to match my sky-high expectations. Let me explain why Weathering with You is a masterpiece.
Pros:
Weathering with You's main cast is very well fleshed out and each character has a lot of depth. I'll cover the main cast individually, starting with the male protagonist Hodaka Morishima. Hodaka's
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main personality trait is that he's rash, He acts first and thinks later. This explains a lot of his actions in the movie. When he saw Hina being taken led by two men looking uncomfortable, he didn't consider that she might be walking them out of her own volition, but immediately imagined that she was being forced into something and went into save her. He didn't about the future implications that pulling out a gun would have, but he did it to save Hina and pay her back for when she helped him at the McDonald's. That was him at his lowest point, he was nearly at his wits end, running out of money and unable to find a job. Hina reached out to him and gave him the courage to go to take take Keisuke up on his offer and visit him. Further examples of Hodaka's rash personality is that he assumed that Natsumi was Keisuke's mistress and adopting the cat, Ame. Even when though the latter was off-screen, it shows how he didn't spend any time considering whether it was a good idea or not. He just did it. The most impactful decision that Hodaka makes is that he proposes the sunshine girl job to Hina without considering how it would affect her. He merely saw it as a way to earn money, while also simultaneously making people happy. Despite Hodaka's rash personality resulting in a lot conflict and problems, it can also has its upsides. After realizing his mistake, Hodaka does everything he can to bring Hina back. In doing so he goes against the wills of the police, Keisuke, and nature itself. No matter the obstacles he's facing, he still tries his best to achieve his goal of saving Hina. This ties into the movie's main theme, which I'll elaborate on later. Now let's move to the next character, the female protagonist, Hina Amano.
Hina
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is a very kind and caring person, to a self-sacrificing degree. The most obvious example is that she accepts her sacrifice as the sunshine girl so that the weather returns to normal. She also kept helping people with her sunshine girl job despite the fact that she was slowly turning transparent. She put up a front that she was doing fine, which can also be seen when she lies to Hodaka that she's 2 years older than him. That way he'll worry less about how she's doing. All the while, she's carrying the burden of supporting her brother after their mother's death on her shoulders. Yet she still recognizes Hodaka's situation when she first meets him at the McDonald's and helps him out. Conversely it's Hodaka who sees Hina's value, which she can't see herself. This is why Hodaka's and Hina's romance works so well. They support and bring out the best in the each other. Hodaka's belief in Hina is also what convinces her to join him in defying her fate as a sacrifice. They'll struggle against whatever they face next, despite their fear, for the sake of their love for each other. I'll elaborate in the music segment how Grand Escape connects with this scene.
Speaking of the romance between Hodaka and Hina, one aspect that Weathering with You does better than Your Name is the development of the main romance. My one nitpick with that movie was that the movie could've spent a little more time establishing how Taki and Mitsuha grew to love each other, rather than leaving it implied via the Zenzenzense montage. Weathering with You, on the other hand, shows that Hodaka's and Hina's love originates from
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the scenes where they first showed their recognition of each others values.Moving back to the character discussion, next up is Hina's younger brother, Nagi Amano.
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Nagi appreciates what Hina does for him, but he knows the burden that she's under and wants to lighten that burden by helping her, any way he can. He mainly does this by helping with the sunshine girl job, he also supports Hodaka's relationship with her, which would result in Hodaka taking some of the burden himself as well. The last way that Nagi helsp out his sister is by stopping the police officer Yasui, which allows Hodaka to reach the torii gate at the top of the abandoned building.The last character I want to highlight is Keisuke Suga.
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He takes in and hires Hodaka because he reminds him of his past self. Keisuke went through similar struggles himself. But when confronted by the police, he takes the safe route and fires Hodaka, to sever the connection between them. The reason why is because he wants to stay in good standing with the law, so he retains a chance of regaining custody of his daughter, Moka. At the abandoned building Keisuke even urges Hodaka to return to the police station and not escalate the situation any further. He knows what type of consequences skirting the edge of society's accepted norms can have, it's how he lost custody of Moka to begin with. But as I already mentioned in Hodaka's section, he puts his all into saving Hina and refuses to conform society's will. What convinces Keisuke to join Hodaka's side is that he yells that he just wants to see Hina again. This resonates with Keisuke, because he also knows very well what it's like to want to see someone you're close to, but unable to see. This is not only because of his daughter but also because of his wife who died in an accident. He doesn't want to put Hodaka in a similar situation with Hina, so he gives Hodaka a chance and helps him out.What connects all these characters is that they're all
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outcasts of society. Hodaka is a runaway, Hina and Nagi don't have a guardian after their mother's death, and Keisuke is a smoker who doesn't have custody of his daughter. This strengthens Weathering with You's core message, which is to always do your best. To do whatever you can and to not give up or lose hope in whatever you're trying to achieve. No matter how insurmountable the hurdles may seem. The movie illustrates this message by showing
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how Hodaka manages to surmount nature and society to achieve his goal of saving Hina. The reason why the main cast
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being outcasts makes this stronger is because, if
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people in their positions can do such things, what's preventing you from achieving your own goals? The movie's title also reinforces its core message through a dual meaning. The more obvious interpretation of "weathering" is in relation to the movie's nature focus. But it can also refer to making it through tough circumstances. In the movie you see the cast overcome their obstacles, which are
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the police and nature, in order to achieve their goals.
Weathering with You utilizes mysteries excellently throughout to keep the watcher invested in the story. This is especially important in the beginning, which is why the movie sets up a mystery in its very first scene. You see
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Hina pray at a torii gate which is when the rain stops and she starts flying the sky. At that moment the viewer is thinking, "What is happening?". Other mysteries that the movie introduces are
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why Hodaka ran away from his home and how the fated sacrifice of the sunshine girl is going to happen. Another aspect that Weathering with You does well is its foreshadowing. It allows for specific plot points and twists to not completely blindside the viewer, but make them go, "Oh, of course!". I'll list some of the best examples I noticed. The first is
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the narration in the movie's opening scene. The viewer is made to believe that the change in nature refers to the scene of Hina gaining her sunshine girl powers. In actuality it's referring to the scene at the end of the movie where Hodaka saves Hina and the never-ending rain starts, which is the change in nature. Hina's true age is foreshadowed by her slightly delayed and hesitant reaction when she tells Hodaka her age. Hodaka abandons the gun he found in the abandoned building after he uses it to save Hina. The viewer doesn't expect the gun to return after that, but at the movie's climax, Hodaka returns to the abandoned building and uses the gun to convince Keisuke to help him. It doesn't come off as a deus ex machina, because it's completely logical for the gun to still be laying where Hodaka left it. The last example of foreshadowing I want to bring up are Nagi's girlfriends. Nagi is portrayed as a playboy with a girlfriend and ex-girlfriend, which is how he's first shown in the movie. Even then, the viewer doesn't expect that part of his character to be important to the plot. But he executes a plot with them to escape from child custody by swapping clothes with one of them. This is what allows him to help Hodaka at the abandoned building. Foreshadowing also has the added benefit of increasing the rewatchability of the movie, as the viewer can spot the foreshadowing better on a rewatch.
The mysteries and foreshadowing are also aspects that Makoto Shinkai did very well in Your Name.
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Speaking of which, Weathering with You has multiple cameos from Your Name characters. I knew that there were cameos in the movie beforehand, but they were far more extensive than I was expecting. I went into the movie with the expectation that the cameos would akin to the The Garden of Words cameos in Your Name, which were short scenes with one of the main characters from that movie and also quite easy to miss. This does apply to Sayaka's, Teshigawara's, and Yotsuha's cameos in Weathering with You, but the same can't be said for Mitsuha's or especially Taki's. They are not only much more obvious, but also more extensive, which results in them having a decent role in the narrative. The way they're more obvious is that even if you didn't instantly recognize them, their last names are displayed, to really drive it home. Mitsuha's cameo is as a jewelry saleswoman. She reassures Hodaka in his selection of ring for Hina. Taki's cameo is the one that makes Hodaka buy the ring in the first place. He gives Hodaka advice to buy Hina a present for her birthday. Hodaka wouldn't have come up with it himself due to his rash personality, so it makes sense that someone else would have to help him out. Both cameos also have some nice tension before the reveal of who the character is to give the viewer a couple seconds of where they're unsure of whether it's actually a cameo. A moment where they go, "Wait a second...".
Another similarity that Weathering with You has with Your Name is that its music was created by RADWIMPS and I have to say that they knocked it out of the park a second time in a row. They wrote 5 vocal songs for the movie, which are all bangers and I also found more of the non-vocal tracks to be memorable compared to Your Name. I'll go over my favorites in order of best to worst and why each works so well. My favorite song in the movie is Grand Escape. It plays during the scene
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where Hodaka rescues Hina from the cloud and falls down with her. It has wonderful buildup that matches the scene perfectly. It starts with a more melancholy tone, but starts ramping up a bit when
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Hodaka appeals to Hina to grab his hand. When they leave the cloud and he gives his final reasoning, a second singer joins in on the song. When
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Hina decides to join Hodaka and grabs his hand, both singers start singing in tandem, they're supposed to represent Hodaka and Hina. With that in mind we can look to the song's lyrics, which also match the scene. They clearly spell out
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Hodaka's and Hina's resolve to face whatever awaits them, no matter how tough it will be, which are points that aren't directly stated via dialogue. Grand Escape thus also represents and clarifies the movie's core message. My second favorite song is Celebration, which plays
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after the first sunshine girl job. It just has a great triumphant vibe, which fits the montage it plays over. My third favourite song is We'll Be Alright, which plays over the last scene and the first part of the credits. The song's lyrics represent Hodaka's and Hina's relationship.
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How he notices Hina's burden and wants to help alleviate it, but that she puts up a front and still does as much as she can herself. It also reiterates the core message of the movie, that they can get through anything,
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now that they're together and supporting each other. My fourth favorite song is Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do, which plays during
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the climactic scene in the abandoned building. Its lyrics clarify Hodaka's will to save Hina, because of everything she did for him and that to do so, he'll have to go against nature and society. This includes Keisuke, because he doesn't believe in Hodaka's will or that the torii gate at the top of building will help him save Hina. It also has a great beat drop when
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Hodaka starts climbing up the staircase. The vocal song I have ranked at 5th is Voice of Wind, which plays during the first montage after Hodaka is hired by Keisuke. Its lyrics highlight the new found freedom that Hodaka has after being hired, but how he doesn't yet know what he should with it. It's currently aimless. That's all for the vocal tracks, but I also want to rapid-fire mention 3 of my favourite non-vocal tracks, which are First Part Time Job As Sunshine Girl, City Crisis, and K&A Welcoming Ceremony. First Part Time Job As Sunshine Girl is great because it utilizes a motif from Is There Still Anything Love Can Do. City Crisis is an action track that uses very unique instruments, which makes it stand out. Lastly, there's K&A Welcoming Ceremony, which is simply a good vibe.
Neutral:
The only nitpick I could come up with for Weathering with You is that it would've been nice to get some additional backstory on
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Hodaka's life on his island, which could've made it clear why he found the island suffocatingly boring. Even without it however, what we got was already sufficient, due to being able to justify Hodaka's reason for leaving it from his rash personality.Overall:
Despite not getting as much critical acclaim, Weathering with You stands head and shoulders with Your Name and even surpasses it in some aspects. If you've only seen Your Name, I would highly recommend watching Weathering with You as well. The movie has solidified Makoto Shinkai as one of my favorite directors and I'm excited to go through the rest of his filmography.
