Episode 687 - Weathering With You (2019)

One Movie Punch

Hi everyone!

It’s a big day here at One Movie Punch! Today we’re welcoming Christina Eldridge to the podcast, with a review for WEATHERING WITH YOU, our first GKIDS distribution review, but certainly not our last. Christina’s a huge fan of Japanese animation, and will be lending her expertise and opinions for monthly reviews here, along with the occasional review in one of her favorite genres, the post-apocalyptic. Look for #DuraraReviews and be sure to follow her on Twitter @durarareviews. We’re excited to have her on board!

We’re also excited to feature a promo from the Cinema Recall podcast. Every episode, The Vern takes a look at iconic scenes in classic movies. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram @cinema_recall, and also subscribe to their podcast at anchor.fm/cinemarecall. Don’t miss a single episode!

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Here we go!

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Hello, everyone!

This is Christina Eldridge with Durara Reviews (a part of One Movie Punch). I’ll be covering mostly anime, some animated films and will backfill other genres as needed for the team. I’ve enjoyed anime since my childhood and I’m hoping that if you’re not a huge fan, maybe my excitement can pull you in. If you already like anime, I look forward to you trying out my reviews!

Today’s movie is WEATHERING WITH YOU (2019), or by its original Japanese title, TENKO NO KO. This breathtaking romantic fantasy anime was written and directed by Makoto Shinkai and distributed to the United States by GKIDS. WEATHERING WITH YOU centers around Hodaka Morishima (Kotaro Daigo), who has run away from his small island town to go to Tokyo. He arrives during a very peculiar two-month long rain storm that produces a cloud burst, nearly sliding him off the ferry boat, but is saved by a man named Keisuke Suga (Shun Ogari), who gives him his card and starts him off on his adventure.

This review is spoiler free.

Hodaka tries his hardest to make it on his own in Tokyo but he can’t find a job being underaged. The money he saved for the trip starts to dwindle and he can barely afford to eat. One night, he meets a girl at a restaurant who gives him a free burger. After finding himself sleeping in entranceways, he finally admits defeat, and seeks out Kei, who offers him a job at his gossip rag that specializes in supernatural phenomena. Kei is currently hot on a story about the Sunshine Girl. Hodaka and Kei’s assistant, Natsumi Suga (Tsubasa Honda), team up to gather information on this rumored girl. As fate would have it, Hodaka later sees the free hamburger girl, whose name is Hina Amano (Nana Mori), being harassed on the street near Kei’s office. He decides to save her from the club owning thugs and, in the process, she reveals that she is, you guessed it, the Sunshine Girl Kei’s been after.

WEATHERING WITH YOU was an original novel written by Shinkai that wasn’t released until a day before the movie was released in Japan. A manga adaptation, illustrated by Watari Kubota, was first serialized in Kodansha’s Afternoon on July 25th of 2019.

Even though Sunshine Girls are a part of Shinto folklore, I don’t feel it’s so overwhelming that American audiences can’t enjoy the movie with no prior knowledge. There’s a scene where Hodaka and Natsumi visit a psychic who explains these concepts so the viewer doesn’t feel lost. A few other Japanese items, such as teru teru bozu (the little rain warding ghost charms), are insignificant enough that it shouldn’t make or break the average American viewer.

The overall theme of chosen family is especially heartwarming. Kei sees himself in Hodaka as a previous runaway, and in turn, helps him as much as possible. This really hits home to the audience, that blood isn’t always thicker than water, or in this case, rain. Why the Oscars snubbed WEATHERING WITH YOU as an animated nominee is beyond me, especially since it received 4 Annie Award nominations, including Best Independent Animated Feature, which makes it only the 3rdanime film, along with SPIRITED AWAY and MILLENNIUM ACTRESS, to do so. The juxtaposition of the drab colors during the rain with the bright, beautiful visuals of sunshine are intensely jaw dropping and worthy of an Oscar statuette itself.

WEATHERING WITH YOU is a heartwarming meditation on families, especially the families we choose for ourselves. It made me laugh, made me cry, and by some Sunshine Girl magic, touched my dark heart. Like Hodaka-san said: “I realized how much the human heart was connected to the sky.”

This is an absolute must for anime fans!

Rotten Tomatoes: 97%

Metacritic: 71

One Movie Punch: 10/10 Teru Teru Bozu!

WEATHERING WITH YOU (2019) is rated PG-13 and will be playing in select theaters.

Minasan, domo arigatou! Until next time!