Title: Weathering with You
Writer/Director: Makoto Shinkai
Distributor: Toho
Production Companies: CoMix Wave Films & Story Inc.
Release Date: January 17, 2020 (U.S.)
Genre: Animated, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Format: Feature Film
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 1 hr 52 mins
Awards or Honors
Asia Pacific Screen Awards Winner: Best Best Animated Feature Film (2019)
Awards of the Japanese Academy Winner: Best Animation Film, Best Music Score (2020)
Faro Island Film Festival Winner: Best Visual And Sound Effects (2020)
New Mexico Film Critics Winner: Best Animated Film (2020)
Plot Summary
Teenage runaway Hodaka Morishima escapes his troubled home life to arrive in the big city of Tokyo, only to find they are in an unusual spell of non-stop rain. He finds work at a quirky newspaper publication that investigates myths, and quickly finds himself on the trail of the “sunshine girl,” a young woman who can control the weather. When he happens to run into this elusive sunshine girl, Hina Amano, they make an agreement to turn her ability to banish the rain into a lucrative business opportunity.
Hodaka and Hina create a website offering blue skies services for people who need clear weather for special events or occasions, traveling all over Tokyo to help their clients and becoming closer as they do so. Nevertheless, the rainy weather persists and they must uncover the intricacies of the sunshine girl’s powers and what that could mean for their futures.
Director/Writer Background
Makoto Shinkai is a man of many talents: “director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist, and former graphic designer” (IMDB, n.d.), he does it all. A graduate of Chuo University, Shinkai made his debut with a short animated film in 1999, titled She and Her Cat. From there, he went on to create many successful films with the company Comix Wave Films, including The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, The Garden of Words, and Your Name. A fun fact about Shinkai is that he loves cats and features one in all of his films (IMDB, n.d.).
Critical Evaluation
This movie absolutely blew me away with every second that passed. The animation is stunning and unlike anything I’ve ever seen: crisp and detailed, it is so artistic and beautiful that it appears as watercolor in motion. The score is perfectly paired with each scene and the voiceover work is seamless as well. I did watch the English dub (I know, diehard anime fans are cringing at me), so I can’t comment on the original voice work but the English cast did an excellent job at capturing each character.
With two teens as the protagonists, this film is the perfect movie for a teen audience. It deals with issues such as troubles at home, contending with dangerous adults, young love, and finding your way in the world - not to mention the fantasy aspect of the sunshine girl thrown in on top of all that! Weathering with You is also a deceptively sad film, with lots of dark moments of Hodaka dealing with his situation and the lengths he will go to to protect himself and his friends.
The only criticism I really have for this movie is that the plotline was a bit confusing to follow at times. There was a lot going on in terms of the progression of the story, the lore of the sunshine girl, and the goals of the characters.
Creative Use for a Library Program
Embrace your inner sunshine girl/boy/non-binary person and join the library for a craft day of making your own suncatchers to banish away bad weather.
Speed-Round Book Talk
You certainly don’t have to be an anime buff to love Weathering with You. Hayao Miyazaki meets Garden State, this film combines impeccable animation with the tragedy of being a teenager. Be transported to modern-day Tokyo with a sprinkle of fantasy, where one girl can make the rain go away. The question is: will she?
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation
While there are no challenges to this film, Weathering with You contains many dark situations such as violence, implied sex work, gun use, attempted suicide, and unsafe home environments that could be triggering to teens and problematic to the eyes of parents. In defense of this work, the format of animation makes it a little easier to separate fantasy from reality, but at the same time these are real-life situations that teens face every day, and it is imperative that they receive recognition for that.
Reason for Inclusion
I was initially drawn to this movie because I loved the film Your Name, which shares the same writer/director and production companies as Weathering with You. Once I saw the film, I knew it was the perfect fit for a teen audience. With beautiful animation, lovable characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and devastating plot turns, this film is a true work of art that audiences of all ages will adore. The representation of life on the run for this group of teenagers really sheds light on the fact that not all teens have support at home, and sometimes the best family you can have is the one you create for yourself.
References
Anniesology. (2020, January 17). I’ve fallen in love [Image]. Tumblr. https://anniesology.tumblr.com/post/190313038178/ive-fallen-in-love-with-this-sunshine-girl-job
IMDB. (n.d.). Makoto Shinkai. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396121/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
IMDB. (2019). Weathering with you [Poster Image]. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9426210/
Iubris. (2019, October 15). God, I beg you [Image]. Tumblr. https://iubris.tumblr.com/post/188360665093/god-i-beg-you-we-dont-want-anything
KinoCheck.com. (2020, January 7). Weathering with you trailer (2020) English dub [Video]. Youtube.
Rake00sword. (n.d.). Weathering with you [Image]. Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/15199717480641010/
Wallpaper Flare. (n.d.). Anime, Weathering With You, Hina Amano, Tenki no ko, HD wallpaper [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.wallpaperflare.com/anime-weathering-with-you-hina-amano-tenki-no-ko-wallpaper-giljf
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