My Thoughts on Weathering With You – Makoto Shinkai 2020 Film

So many ani bloggers are writing about this movie so I thought I should join in on the fun. The director is Makoto Shinkai, who also directed Your Name/Kimi no Na Wa. I watched Weathering With You today in the theatres. Tickets sell out really fast, which speaks a little to how popular Shinkai’s movies are. I’ll try not to spoil plot points.

There was an interview with Makoto Shinkai after the credits, which was extremely cool. Some things made more sense and I appreciated other things more after learning about the development of the movie.

I don’t like comparing works but I feel like it is inevitable to compare Weathering With You with Your Name. Most people I know liked Your Name better, but I actually liked this one more. I think it is an unpopular opinion but these are my reasons:

1) The side characters have a bigger presence. In Your Name, the memorable characters are Mitsuha and Taki. I barely remember anyone else. In Weathering With You, my favourite characters are two of the side characters.

2) I really, really appreciate all the rain scenes. Shinkai talked about the challenges of animating rain but the team went above and beyond. There are so many rain scenes.

3) I like the take on nature. Shinkai talked about this but in his previous films, nature was something celebratory. In this one, he takes on a darker turn with nature. I think that this is especially relevant with climate change. It motivates me to do more for the environment. This might be the pessimistic side of me coming out, but I really liked how things ended.

I am so happy that RADWIMPS’s songs are in this movie. I do think that the songs were catchier in Your Name, but I am not sure if catchy songs would suit Weathering With You. I think the songs were appropriate to the film. Another thing I liked more in Your Name was the cultural piece. Culture was a significant theme in Your Name, which made it really unique.

I think the ending could have been a little longer. It did feel a little unsatisfactory. They could have given us something while the credits were rolling but it’s a minor thing.

The movie had a lot of funny moments and emotional moments as well. I definitely recommend this movie. You will like it if you enjoyed Your Name. It is my favourite Shinkai film so far and I feel very happy to have seen it. ^_^ Go watch it in theatres!

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