213. Weathering With You (Tenki no ko); movie review

 

WEATHERING WITH YOU

Cert 12A

112 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat, sex references

Often, when I see a re-release, I simply re-submit a previous review. 

However,  my previous assessment of Weathering With You was unnecessarily harsh.

Surprisingly, we gleaned much more from the peace of our living room than we did at the cinema three years ago.

And, interestingly, we were more engaged by the dubbed version because it didn't prompt either of us to fall asleep as the original did in 2020.

Evidently, Makoto Shinkai's anime made so little impact on us three years ago, we could barely remember it.

Brandon Engman voices the central character, Hodaka, a 16-year-old high school student who runs away from home to Tokyo just as it is being hit with its worst rains ever. 

Initially, he lives in isolation but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. And then he meets Hina (Ashley Boettcher) - a charismatic girl with the incredible ability to stop the rain and bring rays of sunshine. 

Slowly, an innocent love embraces the two young people as they try to lighten up the days of others. 

Why she has developed this propensity is never discussed but after an initial blitz as a sunshine girl, the mental and physical effects take their toll. 

Weathering With You has a global warming message with a charming coming-of-age love story.

In common with most Japanese animes, it is attractive and detailed but maybe Shinkai's movie is a little too surreal.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed it much more the second time around.

Reasons to watch: It looks damned good
Reasons to avoid: Its storyline is quite surreal

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? For the Japanese version, more than 2,000 people auditioned for the roles of Weathering With You's two protagonists. Kotaro Daigo and Nana Mori were chosen.

The final word. Makoto Shinkai: 'I wanted young people to find it accessible and easy to go and see as a piece of entertainment. But it’s true it was inspired by climate change and I did want to have different views of the weather and climate in the film." The Hollywood News

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