Weathering with you japanese name1/10/2024 ![]() ![]() Both of Shinkai’s features had their soundtracks scored by Nippon band Radwimps, and were planned and storyboarded in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. For now, we'll have to be content with this sweet, if not entirely satisfying, introduction to anime for the wider Indian audiences.Weathering With You is the spiritual successor to the 2016 body-swapping blockbuster Your Name, which became the highest-grossing anime and Japanese film ever until Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away got a 2019 (re)release in China. I hope, for his next, he can shrug this off and do something unexpected and daringly original that will thrill us in a way this film isn't able to. That Shinkai himself was aware of this is evident from the shout-outs to his previous film in the form of those aforementioned cameos and in a general sense of familiarity that pervades the story here. But that's the curse of a filmmaker who has to follow up a hugely successful, nearly perfect movie. Perhaps a lot of my disappointment is because of my high expectations going in. If only it had all been tied together with a plot with a bit more heft! The music by Japanese rock band Radwimps, who also provided the soundtrack for Your Name and got loud cheers from my audience during the end credits of this film, is quite lovely and fitting. The way the city initially intimidates and overwhelms Hokado, who by and by comes to appreciate it more, rings quite true - most cities have this effect one someone who is from the country perhaps, but Tokyo is a special beast among cities and that comes through in the initial portions. Tokyo too really comes alive in Weathering With You. The film is filled with rain scenes and they are all astounding. And as mentioned before, the animation is top shelf. The voice performances are all good and the supporting cast of characters are quite memorable - special shout out to the little sensei. ![]() There's a sense of missed opportunity and unrealised potential throughout.īut that said, there's still much to like here. The denouement is not entirely satisfactory, even as certain story beats and dialogues really work (the audience at my screening went wild at one significant line by Hodaka at a critical juncture). There's a price to pay, naturally, one that threatens to tear them apart. The duo go into business where Hino - the 'Sunshine Girl' - prays for clear sky for a fee. Much of Japan is experiencing unprecedented rainfall and Hino is able to bring little pockets of sunshine by just praying for it. Weathering With You is the story of a young runaway named Hodaka (Kotaro Daigo) who comes to Tokyo and meets Hina (Nana Mori), a girl who appears to be able to manipulate the weather. ![]() And this, for me, lets the rest of it down because it all feels very cursory. Weathering With You has a lot of the same elements, but it lacks the solid story of Your Name. That film had everything - lovely animation, science fiction/fantasy, romance, comedy, all tied together with a brilliant story that was emotionally gratifying. ![]() And the emotional beats do work, yet it somehow feels a bit hollow, especially when compared to Your Name. And I must admit to feeling a bit let down.ĭon't get me wrong, it's still a nice film with some incredible animation. It was this that made me really keen to catch Weathering With You. I'd even go so far as to put it near the top of a best of the decade list, if I were to make one. I can't claim much more than a passing familiarity with the genre, but I am a fan of Shinkai's previous film, Your Name. One that was clearly familiar with the director's previous work (a couple of cameos from Your Name got the loudest cheers I've heard in a movie in recent memory, louder even than those some of our real life stars get!) as well as knowledgeable about anime in general. The film ran to a full house of extremely enthusiastic fans. And if the show I went to today in Chennai is any indication, this may not be the last anime to hit screens here. The release happened thanks to an online petitionwhich garnered over 50,000 signatures. Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You is the first Japanese animation (aka anime) film to get a wide release in India. ![]()
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