In Makoto Shinkai’s latest YA romance, a young girl is imbued with powers that allow her to control the weather in a busy city. After meeting a runaway teen boy, the two of them team up and start a weather changing business together as Tokyo’s “100% Sunshine Girl”! Their premise is simple: need the weather changed for a wedding, sports day, or day in the park? Here’s our card. If they lived in London, they would do pretty well for themselves with those abilities. Or alternatively, they could easily ruin your commute to work and cause a meteorological migraine!
Shinkai – renowned for his smash hit success Your Name – has been hailed by many as “the new Miyazaki”. At its core, Weathering With You is an emotional journey that fuses YA romance with light fantasy elements and Japanese folklore, while taking full advantage of Shinkai’s signature visual style, and a soundtrack that helps drive the emotional capacity of his movie. Question is weather or not it lives up to the lofty expectations of Your Name…?
You just need to see the sun shining in the morning to feel energised. A blue sky makes you feel happy you’re alive
During Tokyo’s wettest season on record, we are introduced to Hodaka, a 16-year-old runaway who arrives at the bustling metropolis homeless and hungry. Not a great start to a new life in the big city. It’s not long before he encounters Kei, who not only saves his life but hires him, and most importantly Hina, who a little like Storm from the X-Men, has the power to control the weather, albeit through prayer. Hina, however, uses her powers to change the miserable, rainy weather plaguing the city to clear blue skies and sunlight, rather than to summon lightning strikes to fight mutants with freakish abilities…
While their story plays out in typical Shinkai fashion, developing the YA romance between Hodaka and Hina, the fantasy elements tying the “100% Sunshine Girl” and weather maiden mythology add that Miyazaki comparison to Shinkai’s narrative that has so often been commented on. Even Your Name had its fantasy elements with the body swapping mechanic between Taki and Mitsuha.
Just as Miyazaki often incorporated elements of Japanese folklore into his characters and stories, which can be seen in the likes of My Neighbour Totoro, Shinkai explores a cultural fascination surrounding the link between the sky and Earth, which are said to be connected by a maiden to create balance between the two. In the story a legend is revealed that the maiden who connects the two must ultimately sacrifice herself, adding a dramatic, tragic slant that recalls some of Miyazaki’s own twists. With Hina’s added supernatural abilities, the otherwise soppy narration is still engaging, if only for Shinkai’s portrayal of their relationship and the reflections of it seen through the supernatural phenomena.
You’re a real sunshine girl, aren’t you? You can clear up the sky just by praying
The weather themed powers also bring Shinkai’s trademark themes to the forefront, with his interest in young romance narrative and beautiful sky scenery, culminating in a surprisingly stormy climax. Whether or not this was intended to be a direct commentary on environmental issues – though Makoto Shinkai has confirmed as much during interviews – it serves as a convenient parallel to our protagonists relationship, embellishing the emotional integrity of their story. However he has also commented on how Tokyo has been experiencing heavy rain falls during recent summers, leading to flooding and damage during the worst of these storms, stating that some of the key motivators behind the drastic weather experienced in Weathering With You stemmed from current climate and political changes.
Most importantly however, the extraordinary freak weather experienced by Shinkai’s Tokyo denizens make for a great excuse to show off some dazzling weather animations, whether rain drops hit rough concrete floors, ethereal entities, or reverse their polarity as Hina summons the sun. If you’ve ever seen any of Shinkai’s other animated features, you’ll likely have justifiably high expectations for the visuals, where the intrinsic detail reflects Shinkai’s dedication and care to the visual design. The likes of Garden of Words comes to mind, which similarly took time to show off painstakingly detailed shots of rain ripples and light shimmering off wet surfaces. The backdrops – and especially the skylines – often take on a more significant visual role in his films and are part of his signature style, which, as you may have guessed from the title, is particularly true in Weathering With You. In this regard, the visuals certainly do not disappoint and will draw you into the world he has created. Though admittedly torrential rain in the real world is still conversely distressing and depressing…
But as beautiful as each scene is and as miraculous as Hina’s gift seems to be, despite her ability to brighten everyone’s day by literally brightening the day, there is a personal cost to exerting her powers. One of the strengths here is how Shinkai toys with our emotional connection to Hina and her companions, making the dawning realisation of what that means to Hodaka more impactful. This is certainly what made Shinkai’s other projects consistently poignant: Your Name struck a chord with its fans for its beautiful visuals and emotionally investing story, as did his relatable (yet underrated) coming-of-age romance, 5 Centimetres per Second.
Hina: I’ll be 18 next month
Hodaka: You don’t look it…
Hina: You should treat me with respect!
The cast helps balance humour and drama, creating an emotional connection between ourselves and the characters. Despite difficulties with his family and his struggle to see his own daughter, Keisuke takes on a more fatherly role by taking in Hodaka, while his niece Natsumi undoubtedly introduces a certain bubbly charm to the troupe! Naturally Hodaka’s life is transformed when he meets Keisuke and Natsumi, who give him a roof to live under as well as paid job (albeit significantly bellow minimum wage: Keisuke is a bit of cheapskate, to say the least!), but it is Hina who shines brightest in this regard. As a runaway, it is implied – though not made explicit – that he was a victim of child abuse and neglect, hence running to Tokyo. Hina’s simple acts of kindness show a great deal of her character, reflected in her ability to literally brighten the day.
While other films in the past have used the subject of extreme weather to instil a sense of relentless distress at the hands of unstoppable natural occurrences, dramatised by drastic climate change and pollution, Shinkai’s apocalyptic weather doesn’t diminish the hope and affection between the two lead characters, rather it heightens the drama and emotion of the story.
To accompany the spectacular visuals and dynamic weather is a soundtrack from J-Rock band RADWIMPS, spanning ambient piano swirls accented with reverse reverb effects – which at times may recall Akihito Toda’s Breath of the Wild score – as well as the occasional J-Pop karaoke anthem. These moments contrast against the emotional scores that accompany some of the more sombre or reflective moments, pairing well with the weather effects and animation style. The titular “Theme of ‘Weathering With You’” introduces a recurring reverse reverb piano motif that appears in later scores, setting the reflective ambient mood that compliments the weather and sky motif. Shinkai has explained in past interviews how the sky itself has an important presence in his films, linking it to his childhood memories of living in the idyllic Koumi surrounded by mountains, where he would often spend his time gazing up at the sky. Songs like “Celebration” meanwhile show how the younger characters and the big city life setting bring the subject of modern Japanese youth culture to the narrative.
I was chosen to be a human sacrifice. Natsumi told me about the sunshine girl’s fate. She gets sacrificed and disappears, then the weather goes back to normal
Originally released in Japan in 2019, with a novel and manga adaptation, Weathering With You is not only the first Japanese animation to make its way to India, it was also chosen as the Japanese entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards and joined Spirited Away and Millennium Actress in receiving four Annie nominations. Following the mass appeal and success of Your Name, this film does not disappoint and there is no doubt Shinkai fans will flock to screenings. Assuming, of course, the weather holds up: if not, you know who to call…!
