Disclaimer: (I will be directly comparing this film to Your Name due to it being a 'sequel' of sorts, with homage to Your Name through the film with characters appearing briefly at times).

Weathering With You (Tenki no Ko / 天気の子) Review

Author: Demi (@Demiture)

However; this does not take away the fact that the story is lacking in similar vein, if not worse than Your Name.
This really is a shame because I liked the path the film takes initially more than Your Name, with the supernatural aspects having their explanations and being a less confusing and frustrating plot, and more of a genuine miracle for the characters through their troubles.
The depth of the film is made quite shallow though, with oversight of greater consequences for other characters, or the world as a whole (Which the film clearly tries to make a theme, through it's narrated monologues through the film) that are lightly brushed over after the peak of the film hits. The emotion is there, but briefly, and definitely scaled down significantly from what I expected.

The characters are good. The main characters of Hodaka and Hina are solid individuals that don't exaggerate any tropes or themes; the closest theme being Hodaka and his fear to face his emotions (This however this plays off well with other characters he grows closer too through the film, such as Suga and Nagi).

Soundtrack is solid, but it forced too many scenes to be empty with only the soundtrack playing, and while looking beautiful visually, it cut up the flow of the film and it's story after a few times of doing this.
But RADWIMPS (and co.) came through with some solid songs that support the emotions of the film through it's run-time.

Once again, visually stunning.
Some of the best art I've seen in animation, and it doesn't hold back.
Character designs are solid, and the characters important to the film are made clear, but not by exaggerating tropes of their background (e.g. the detectives are two separate personalities with the same goal and very different designs that show who they are and compliment their persona well).

I very much enjoyed this film.
But again, the story felt like it could have been more.
It's not bad, but it's not as great as it could be; with a great folk tale of sunshine girls and an interesting, engaging pair of characters we follow, it's a slight shame that the depth of the film takes a hit in the end.

Summary:
If you liked films such as Your Name. (Kimi no Na wa. / 君の名は。), The Garden of Words (Kotonoha no Niwa / 言の葉の庭), or even A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi / 聲の形); then this film might be ideal for you, just don't go in with overwhelming expectations, because the film doesn't deliver, at least not as much as it has the potential to.

Thank you for reading my review, please remember that everything here is my own opinion and interpretation of the media, and that everyone else can form their own opinion on something that can be different from your own or my own take. - Demi (@Demiture)