Let me just briefly give a tl;dr version of this review:
This movie is excellent.
Also, in context, this is my third time watching this (my first two times were in Japan)
Main review (contains spoilers):
Many people have seemingly wanted to compare this with Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name), but have somehow forgotten that Shinkai has always known for creating stories about teenage drama that contains the theme of separation. Shinkai's works may contain similar themes, but it would be a great disservice to each work to compare the plot lines of Your Name and Weathering with You just by that alone. It would be
...
pointless for us to review any isekai anime then, wouldn't it?
Shinkai's film, especially in this case, can be seen as a prose, and one that asks audience questions. In fact, the theme itself also asks us questions. For example, "Is there anything love can do?" In fact, the movie addresses several points that is related to this specific question:
1. Can love save the world? The world (or just Tokyo) is sunken to the bottom.
2. Can love save the one you love? Yes
3. Can love change your view of the world? Yes, Hodaka in the end has resolved his differences with his past. As did Suga, when he opened his window that let the water wash away his regret and his past. His view is shifted from responsibility to his child, to actually loving his child.
But before actually giving us a clear answer, the movie gives us this song, with title as "We will be alright".
We will be alright, even Tokyo has sunken.
We will be alright, even we are technically responsible for the inconvenience we have caused.
We will be alright, even if we don't know what the right answer is.
Let's look at this in another way. If any of you have watched Shinkai's interview at the end, you will know that this movie's theme is climate change. But is it really just that? No, we know because he later stated that it's up to us teens, the future to build a new history, just as Hodaka and Hina did.
Now, some people may nitpick on some logical fallacies that were present in the story, such as the weather ecosystem, or how the supernatural plot that is central to this movie. Let me ask you this, does those points really matter in the end? Does it conflict with the core message or theme of this movie? I say no. The ecosystem is, in my opinion, more or less artistic liberty taken at how people view weather phenomenons. The dragon, the whale, the fish, those aren't integral to the plot. Just as ancient humans have viewed weather as the work of god, the people in Tokyo view the unnatural shapes of rain drops for example as something supernatural, but ultimately, this is not integral to what the core plot is about.
Some people still find the characters in this film to be lacking. This I heavily disagree. Isn't it sufficient enough to have simple characters that people can understand the motives, the emotions that they experience? Hina, Hodaka, Nagi, Suga are all memorable characters that had their own mini arcs and developments, even though they aren't exactly all fleshed out. The main focus was on the message that Shinkai wanted to present. It would have been something entirely if Shinkai paid more attention on the characters, and the message and theme would've lost their meanings.
Soundtrack is great, but it is absolutely fantastic at how well it matches the theme of this movie. Good soundtracks stand out when it is not only great to listen to, but make people remember the story that ties in with it. This, I can say, Shinkai has delivered yet again. There are many tracks that I've listened to since then that kept reminding me the exact scene where those tracks were played, and they have brought forth emotions that I experienced when watching (just as I did with Your Name). That kind of feeling is precious, is almost indescribable.
Now, it is without a doubt that the animation has definitely stood out in this film. Weather being the main theme in this movie, Shinkai has devoted most of the time in making the rain drops, notice I said "drops", look fantastic. Whilst many would've opted for 3D animation, Shinkai has shown that cell and line animation can still deliver, if not better.
At this point you may wonder, why I haven't scored the story, characters, and music individually. This is because this film is not meant to be scored this way. In fact, no Shinkai film (now that I think about it, any film ever), should be rated this way. Score for a movie should be rated based on how the experience was overall, when all the elements combined. You don't look at an artpiece and dissect it by elements just to see how well it did by its own. You don't watch a series with the sound off. This is the same. This movie is an experience, and to rate an experience by its element separately is a huge disservice to the movie itself.
Now, let me make this clear. This movie is by no means perfect. There are some points that I'd like to be explained, or shown a little better. But it is still an outstanding movie. It is a movie, like Shinkai's works in the past, that left an impression on me. Each movie left a different sort of impression on me, but it doesn't mean if that movie is good or bad. Weathering with you is such a case. Objectively it is not a perfect movie, but it does leave a deep impression on me, it made me think, it made me feel, it made me emotional. That to me, is an outstanding movie (in MAL standards, it is a 10/10).
So, if your take away from Weathering with You is that you were reminded of Your Name. Do yourself a favor, and rewatch it. This time, forget Your Name, and watch as an artpiece, then you may find a different enjoyment out of your experience.
Jan 16, 2020
Tenki no Ko
(Anime)
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Let me just briefly give a tl;dr version of this review:
This movie is excellent. Also, in context, this is my third time watching this (my first two times were in Japan) Main review (contains spoilers): Many people have seemingly wanted to compare this with Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name), but have somehow forgotten that Shinkai has always known for creating stories about teenage drama that contains the theme of separation. Shinkai's works may contain similar themes, but it would be a great disservice to each work to compare the plot lines of Your Name and Weathering with You just by that alone. It would be ... |
