Weathering with You
2019 · Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Original language: Japanese
- animation
- drama
- fantasy
- romance
The story
The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if taking its cue from his life. After many days of solitude, he finally finds work as a freelance writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then, one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.
What it’s like
Rain-soaked Tokyo rendered in luminous, saturated animation: wet asphalt reflecting neon and shop signs, skies that swing from bruised grey to sudden blue, and crisp cloud forms painted with near-photographic detail. Shinkai's camera moves through the city in sweeping aerial glides and close, lingering frames of puddles, train platforms and rain-streaked windows, while the score (piano and sweeping orchestral strings) swells and drops away into the patter of rain. The mood is wistful and bittersweet, a dreamy blend of cozy melancholy and quiet wonder, with bursts of exhilaration when the sky clears. It suits a rainy Sunday, a late-night solo watch, or a moment when you want something beautiful that still aches. The pace is steady and emotionally open, following two young people who find each other at a time when the world feels heavy, and their bond grows through small kindnesses and shared risk. Intensity is low: there is no gore or graphic violence, with peril limited to storms, a few tense chase beats and some sad loss, and romance kept gentle and non-explicit. It is well suited to viewers who love atmospheric animation and emotionally sincere, slightly magical stories.
More films like Weathering with You
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Weathering with Youand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
