Pros: Incredibly beautiful and detailed picture; anime guide and declaration of love for Tokyo; cute characters; Touching story; absence of negative characters; soundtrack Cons: In many ways, the story told in Tenki no Ko / Weathering with You / “Weather Child” is reminiscent of the plot of Makoto Shinkai’s previous film, Kimi no na wa / Your Name / “Your Name” Tenki no Ko / Weathering with You / “ Child of the weather”
Genre fantasy, drama
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Starring Hodaka Morishima (Kotaro Daigo), Hina Amano (Nana Mori), Keisuke Suga (Shun Oguri), Natsumi (Tsubasa Honda), Nagi Amano (Sakura Kiryu), etc.
Studios CoMix Wave Films, Story Inc.
Year of release 2019
IMDb website
Weather Child tells the story of sixteen-year-old Hodaka Morishima, who runs away from home. We are not told directly why the boy left the remote island for Tokyo, although several minor details in the early scenes of the film provide clues as to what may have led to his escape. In any case, Hodaka ends up in Tokyo with a minimum of things, a small amount of money in his pocket, no connections and no way to get any work. In the end, the guy has to live on the street and starve, but by luck he meets a strange man named Keisuke Suga and his companion Natsumi, and gets a roof over his head and even some kind of job. He also meets Hina Amano, a girl who can control the weather.
Like many of Makoto Shinkai’s previous works, Weather Child is a teenage love story. Piercing, pure and dangerous. The obstacle standing between Hodaka and Hina is not the age difference, which can be ignored. The problem is in the rules by which the adult world lives, and in that very fantastic element, without which the works of Makoto Shinkai cannot do. However, knowing the author’s previous films, you can guess what the ending of this story will be.
Unlike The End of the F***ing World and Wayne, also dedicated to teenage love, in the works of Makoto Shinkai you will not find disgusting adults or generally negative characters. No, there are a couple of dubious characters here, there are also civil servants who simply follow the rules and the letter of the law, but it’s difficult to call them negative, rather they are just… adults.
Like all of Makoto Shinkai’s films, Weather Child is a true feast for the eyes. Even in “Your Name” and “The Garden of Fine Words” it was clear that the animator adores rain in all its forms. Well, “Child of the Weather” is a hymn to rain and water; no one has ever depicted bad weather so beautifully. Drizzling rain, downpour, storm, drops on glass, splashes on puddles, drops dancing in the air – somehow this obsession is reminiscent of how water is present in almost all frames of The Shape of Water.
However, not by water alone, “Child of the Weather” is also a very touching and colorful declaration of love for Tokyo, and at the same time a kind of guide to the back streets of the Japanese capital. Every frame of the city, every picture, sometimes flashed for a split second, tells more about the city and its inhabitants than hours-long documentaries for virtual travelers. Completely banal, everyday scenes become works of art, something like the paintings of Edward Hopper for Japan. A taxi driver waiting for a client and leaning against the foggy window of the car; a policeman directing traffic in the rain; workers repairing railroad tracks; people returning home on the subway; people crossing the road, the patter of raindrops on puddles – literally everything in this film is beautiful.
The soundtrack is also wonderful, which, like in “Your Name,” was recorded by the Japanese indie rock band RADWIMPS.
Yes, by and large, Tenki no Ko / Weathering with You / “Weather Child” is a retelling of the story of Kimi no na wa / Your Name / “Your Name” in a different way, but the lyrics inherent in Makoto Shinkai’s films, touching characters who want empathy, and the stunningly beautiful picture do not allow us to scold this film. On the contrary, immediately after the final credits you want to watch it again, with the opportunity to pause the playback and enjoy all the details of each frame. Yes, there is still some kind of magic in the works of Makoto Shinkai.
Conclusion:
Incredibly beautiful, very touching and kind anime about the love of two teenagers
