Weathering with You
Weathering with You is a 2019 Japanese animated romance/fantasy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. Set in Japan during a period of exceptionally rainy weather, the film tells the story of a high-school boy who runs away from his rural home to Tokyo and befriends an orphan girl who has the ability to manipulate the weather. The film was produced by Genki Kawamura, and the music was composed by Radwimps.
The film was released in Japan on July 19, 2019; the previous day, a novel adaptation written by Shinkai—one of his original works—was published. A manga adaptation illustrated by Watari Kubota was first serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon on July 25 the same year. It was released in 140 countries throughout the world, earning over worldwide and in Japan. The film was selected as the Japanese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. It also received four Annie Award nominations including Best Independent Animated Feature.
The film received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 91% rating, with the critics' consensus saying; it is beautifully animated and narratively engaged. On Metacritic, the film also got generally favorable reactions. Individual reviewers have also praised the film for its animation, plot, music, visuals, and use of weather to convey the story's metaphor. Some compared the film with Shinkai's previous work, Your Name, criticizing it for its lack of clarity of vision and unresolved plot threads.
Plot
In June 2021, first year high schooler Hodaka Morishima runs away from Kōzu-shima to move to Tokyo. When his ferry to the city is hit by a freak rainstorm, he is saved by Keisuke Suga, who gives Hodaka his business card. As Hodaka becomes broke and struggles to find work, he meets Hina Amano, an employee of McDonald's restaurant. She takes pity on him and gives him food. Later on, Hodaka finds an abandoned handgun in a trashcan he fell onto. After tracking down Suga's business location, he meets him there and his niece, Natsumi. Suga hires him as his assistant at a small occult magazine publishing company, where they investigate urban legends related to the unusually rainy weather in Tokyo. From a psychic, they hear the legend of a "sunshine girl" who can control the weather.Hodaka sees Hina being intimidated into working at a back-alley club. He scares off the club owners by firing his gun into the air, thinking it was a toy. He and Hina escape; she takes him to Yoyogi Kaikan, an abandoned building with a shrine on its roof, where he throws the gun away. Hina astonishes Hodaka by demonstrating her ability to clear the sky by praying. Hodaka finds out that Hina lives alone with her brother Nagi, and they have no adult guardian. Seeing how they are in a financial trouble, Hodaka proposes to start a business with Hina with the ability of sunshine girl: a job to clear the weather for events such as weddings and parties. They create a website to accept orders and their business quickly becomes a success. However, when clearing the sky for the Jingu Fireworks Festival, Hina is shown on television and their site gets flooded with requests, so they decide to close their business.
A detective with the police search for Hodaka, as his family filed a search request. They find out that Hodaka was caught on a security camera threatening the club owners with a handgun. Officers arrive at the apartment where Hina lives with Nagi and interrogate her; Hina realizes that because they have no legal guardians, with their mother having died recently, social services are going to take them into custody. Hodaka visits Suga, who has also been visited by the police. Suga fires him and gives him a retirement allowance, explaining that the police suspect him of kidnapping Hodaka. Hodaka, Hina and Nagi try to run away, but they are halted by a heavy rainstorm and snowfall. They take shelter in a love hotel, and spend the night with instant food and doing karaoke. Hina reveals that her body is slowly turning into water. She explains that she is the cause of the abnormal weather and is intended to be a human sacrifice; her disappearance will return the weather to normal. Hodaka promises to protect her, but the next morning, Hina has vanished into the sky and the rain has stopped.
The police steps into the hotel room, sending Nagi to the children's counseling center and taking Hodaka to the police station. Having already fallen in love with Hina, Hodaka decides to bring her back to Earth and escapes from the police custody with the help of Natsumi and her Honda Super Cub. After her motorcycle is immobilized, Hodaka resumes on-foot to Yoyogi Kaikan building to reach the shrine. Inside, he encounters Suga, who attempts to stop him. The police surround Hodaka, but Suga, now inspired by Hodaka's desperation to see Hina, helps him escape. At the roof-top shrine, Hodaka jumps through the shrine gate and is transported into the sky, where he finds Hina and asks her to leave with him, insisting that Hina let go of her worries about the weather and start living for herself. As soon as they come back to the rooftop shrine, Hina, Hodaka, Natsumi, Nagi, and Suga are all arrested, and the heavy rains resume. Hodaka is sentenced to a three year probation and sent back to his home Kōzu-shima.
Three years later, the rain has been falling without end in Tokyo, submerging much of the city. In the spring of 2024, having finished his probation, Hodaka graduates from high school and returns to Tokyo to join the university. He meets with Suga, who has expanded his business. After Suga encourages him to find Hina, Hodaka finds her praying on a street overlooking the drowned city. They reunite, with Hodaka promising her that they will be alright.
Characters
;Hodaka Morishima;Hina Amano
;Keisuke Suga
;Natsumi Suga
;Nagisa Amano
;Yasui
;Takai
;Fumi Tachibana
Related characters from ''Your Name''
In Your Name, Taki and Mitsuha reunited in 2022, but in this film, the continuous rainfall in Tokyo didn't start until the early summer of 2021. Therefore, the fact that the sky was clear in the scene where Taki and Mitsuha met again in Your Name, is inconsistent with the world line of this film. In addition, Sayaka, Tessie and Mitsuha's sister Yotsuha from Your Name also appear in Weathering with You for a short period of time, but even in this case, the settings of the two films are contradictory. When asked for the reason of including the characters from the previous film, Shinkai said, "Personally, I wanted to see Taki and Mitsuha again before they met.";Mitsuha Miyamizu
;Taki Tachibana
Production
On August 2, 2018, Makoto Shinkai announced that he was making a new feature film that would be released the following year. The film staff included Masayoshi Tanaka as character designer, Atsushi Tamura as animation director and Hiroshi Takiguchi as art director. Shinkai tweeted about his admiration for Shikao Suga, and that he "borrowed" the last name for the character Keisuke Suga.In February 2017, plot development of Weathering with You began, and in April, character design and development started. In July, Shinkai began writing the script of the film. In August, setting development, location scouting and collecting information started. Storyboarding began in October. In May 2018, animation work began, while the development of the rain material in the film started in July. In August, cast audition was held, and art background work started in September. In October, the cast of two protagonists of the film was decided. On December 13, 2018, a press conference was held to reveal the film's first key visual and to announce that it would be released on July 19, 2019. Photoshooting for the film started in January 2019. The first trailer debuted on April 10, exactly 100 days before the premiere. Additional posters of the film and the second trailer was released on May 28. All work was completed by July 7, and the film was ready to be released.
In an interview, Shinkai said, “I thought, ‘Should I make my next film so that I don’t anger more people, or should I make a movie that angers them further?’ And I chose the latter.” He also added that he was inspired by the recent impact of climate change on Japan, which has seen an increasing number of water-related hazards, including more rainfall each summer. He revealed that he used both CG and hand drawn animation to depict the rain in the film. The writing process of the story includes getting feedback from the production team, he revealed that he took around six months to write his previous film, Your Name, and another six months for Weathering With You. Shinkai chose a more supernatural approach on this film, as opposed to the science-fiction angle he used for Your Name.
Casting
More than 2,000 people auditioned for the roles of the film's two protagonists with Kotaro Daigo and Nana Mori being chosen. Other key roles were filled with returning crew members of Your Name. Daigo and Mori began recording their parts on April 27, 2019.On May 29, 2019, additional cast was announced: Shun Oguri, Tsubasa Honda, Chieko Baisho, Sakura Kiryuu, Sei Hiraizumi, and Yuki Kaji.
Music
Like Shinkai's Your Name, Japanese rock band Radwimps wrote and composed the soundtrack and score for the film. It was released worldwide on July 19, 2019, the day of the film's release. "Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?" is the film's theme song. It become the top-selling song in the weekly digital single chart of July 15–21. Another song, "Grand Escape feat. Touko Miura" from the film ranked second with over 41,000 downloads. The film's soundtrack album won multiple awards, including the Japan Gold Disc Award and the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize.Marketing
Producer Genki Kawamura presented a work in process screening on June 14, 2019, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France that was open to industry professionals and students but not the general public. TV Asahi aired footage from the film's opening scene during a reshowing of Shinkai's previous film Your Name on June 30. Before its screening in Japan, Uniqlo launched special t-shirts with designs inspired by Weathering with You and Shinkai's previous anime films. Weathering With You reportedly promoted multiple products and companies including SoftBank Group, Suntory and Baitoru, in television advertisements. During its screening in Japan, many convenience stores such as Lawson, launched food products inspired by the film. Lawson also created a new beverage called Ameiro Jelly Tea, a herbal tea infused with blue flower petals.Release
Weathering with You was released in Japan on July 19, 2019, at 9 a.m. by its distributor Toho on 448 screens in 359 theaters across the country. Theaters in Tokyo's Shinjuku and Osaka's Umeda districts, however, premiered the film at midnight, July 18. Weathering with You official website announced on September 20 that the film would be shown in the popular 4DX and MX4D formats throughout Japan from September 27. The film was produced by Genki Kawamura with the production company CoMix Wave Films and Story Inc.. On July 16, it was announced that the film would be released worldwide; releases had already been decided for 140 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, exceeding the 135 for Your Name.In Asia, EDKO Films released the film in Hong Kong on August 8, Encore Films streamed a Malay, Chinese, and English-subtitled trailer and announced and released the film in few Southeast Asia countries including; Indonesia on August 21, Vietnam on August 30, Malaysia & Brunei on September 5 and Singapore on September 12. Pioneer Films announced and released the movie in the Philippines on August 28. Producer Genki Kawamura said they want to release it in India because 53,000 people signed a petition requesting its release there. On August 10, director Makoto Shinkai and the official page of Weathering with You announced through Twitter the film would be screened in 20 Indian cities including Mumbai and Delhi from October 11, 2019. PVR Pictures and Bookmyshow-backed theater-on-demand platform Vkaao distributed the film. It was the first mature Japanese animated film to be screened theatrically in India. CJ CGV premiered in South Korea on October 30. Volga Film Company has confirmed it would release the film in Russia on October 31. Thai film distributor Major Group announced the film would open in Thailand on November 7, 2019, but was changed to September 5, 2019. The film has been approved by Beijing's censors and hit Chinese theaters on November 1.
In North America, GKIDS announced that it had acquired the rights of the film and screened an awards-qualifying run in 2019, followed by a theatrical release with Japanese and English-language options on January 17, 2020. The 44th Toronto International Film Festival, which was held from September 5 to 15 in 2019, hosted the North American premiere of the film. As part of the "Special Presentation" category, it is eligible to compete for the People's Choice award. Reportedly Fathom Events released the film in theaters in the United States on January 15 and 16 as a "Special Fan Preview" with exclusive bonus content. GKIDS screened the film in the US at Animation Is Film Festival on October 18, 2019, with Makoto Shinkai in attendance, and it additionally received a one-day IMAX showing.
In Europe, the 67th San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain hosted the European premiere of the film from September 20 to 28 2019. Anime Limited acquired the UK and Ireland rights of the film, premiering the film at Scotland Loves Anime on October 12, 2019, with a theatrical run in Japanese and English-language options from January 17, 2020. In Italy, Dynit and Nexo Digital released the film theatrically on October 14, 2019. Selecta Visión has licensed it in Spain and screened the film on November 29, 2019. In France, the film was released on January 8, 2020 by Anime Limited and BAC Films. In Germany, the film was released on January 16, 2020 by Universum Film. In Portugal, the film was released on February 20, 2020 by Big Picture Films.
In Australia and New Zealand, Madman Entertainment acquired the rights of the film and began screening it theatrically from August 22, 2019, with encore screenings of the English dub from February 13, 2020.
In the Middle East, Front Row Filmed Entertainment announced that the film will be released on August 13, 2020.
Home media
The movie released on Blu-ray in Japan on May 27, 2020. A collectors edition included a 4K UHD Disc. English and Chinese subtitles were included. The film is also scheduled for a Blu-ray/DVD home media release on September 15, 2020 in North America, with a limited edition 4K UHD set for a November 2020 release. A digital release is planned for August 4, 2020.Reception
Box office
During its initial screening in 359 theaters and 448 screens in Japan, Weathering with You sold 1,159,020 tickets to earn 1,643,809,400 in its first three days. It was reported that Weathering with You surpassed Shinkai's previous film, Your Name, which earned 1,277,960,000 in its first three days of screening, earning 28.6% more. By August 25, 2019, it had sold eight million tickets and earned 10.73 billion. By September 9, 2019, it had earned 12 billion and became the highest grossing film of 2019 in Japan. By October 2, 2019, the film had sold over tickets in Japan, after 75 days on the market. By October 20, 2019, it had sold tickets and grossed in Japan., the film has grossed in Japan, and became the twelfth highest grossing film of all times in Japan.In China, the film had sold 8,985,208 tickets and grossed in its first 17 days on the market, by November 19, 2019. By the end of November 2019, the film had grossed in China. In Singapore, it grossed and became the highest-grossing anime film in Singapore. In the United States and Canada, the film has grossed $7,798,743, as of 2020. As of July 2020, the film grossed over worldwide.
Critical response
Critics have given Weathering with You a generally positive response. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 91% based on reviews from 85 critics, with an average rating of 7.38/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Beautifully animated and narratively engaging, Weathering with You further establishes writer-director Makoto Shinkai as a singularly talented filmmaker." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku praised the film, saying; "parts of the movie are incredibly moving and for interweaving Shinto beliefs with contemporary Japanese lifelike praying and performing rituals to god for getting clear weather", but later wrote "the biggest problem that Weathering With You has is this: it’s the follow up to Your Name". Daryl Harding, writing for Crunchyroll News, praised the world-building aspect of the film, stating that Shinkai has his finger on the pulse of modern Tokyo's atmosphere, but criticized the similarity between Weathering with You and Your Name. Kim Morrissy of Anime News Network also gave the film a generally positive review, praising its visuals and use of weather to convey the story's metaphor, but criticizing the execution in the second half of the film; she wrote that "Shinkai was evidently constrained by the need to fit his story into a particular template, one that didn't seem to fit the plot this time around". Twwk, reviewing the film for Beneath the Tangles, was mostly positive as well, writing; "The movie isn’t as emotionally powerful as Your Name due to a screenplay that plays too loose to earn its huge moments, but it’s still heartfelt."
Ollie Barder, writing for Forbes, described the animation of Weathering with You as "incredible" and recognized its ability to bring "Tokyo to life in a uniquely palpable way". Later, he praised Shinkai for his way of depicting "wildlife and naturalistic vistas". James Marsh from South China Morning Post praised the film for its animation, but criticized it for its lack of "clarity of vision seen in Your Name". He described the plot as more straightforward than that of Your Name, but said it has some unanswered and "dangling" plot threads. A review by Alicia Haddick for Otaquest praised the film's attempts to differentiate itself from Makoto Shinkai's past work and praised its animation, story and music, but said that its reliance on the structure of his last film hurt the movie overall, stating that "it's impossible to discuss this film without the specter of Your Name hanging over your shoulder". Andrew Paredes, writing for ANC X, praised the film's characters, story, themes, and Makoto Shinkai's directing, saying; "The effusive emotion and Shinto mysticism rubbing up nicely against real-world concerns. And then there’s the animation: Shinkai has outdone himself with this follow-up, presenting Tokyo not just with detailed fidelity, but also with a glow that suggests a lush, lambert inner life." Terence Toh, writing for The Star, praised the film's characters and story, saying; "Weathering With You boasts of wonderful visual and likeable characters. The story is also right as rain."
Awards and nominations
The film was selected Japan's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it failed to make the shortlist. It also received four Annie Award nominations including Best Independent Animated Feature, which makes it the third anime film tying with Spirited Away and Millennium Actress to have four nominations; the highest for an anime film at the Annies. The film won the Best Animated Feature Film award at the 13th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane, Australia. It received Audience Award along with Zabou Breitman and Elea Gobbe-Mevellec's The Swallows of Kabul film at the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles.| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | |
| 2019 | 13th Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Animated Feature Film | Weathering with You | rowspan=5 | |
| 2019 | Animation is Film Festival 2019 | Audience Award | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2019 | Scotland Loves Anime 2019 | Audience Award | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2019 | Utopiales 2019 | Audience Award | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2019 | 44th Hochi Film Award | Best Animated Picture | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2019 | 44th Hochi Film Award | Best Director | Makoto Shinkai | rowspan=2 | |
| 2019 | 74th Mainichi Film Awards | Best Animation Film | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2019 | 74th Mainichi Film Awards | Best Music | Radwimps | ||
| 2019 | Florida Film Critics Awards | Best Animated Film | Weathering with You | rowspan=8 | |
| 2019 | 24th Satellite Awards | Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2020 | 47th Annie Awards | Best Animated Feature — Independent | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2020 | 47th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production | Hidetsugu Ito, Yuko Nakajima, Jumi Lee, Ryosuke Tsuda | - | |
| 2020 | 47th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Makoto Shinkai | - | |
| 2020 | 47th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Makoto Shinkai | - | |
| 2020 | 62nd Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Film | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2020 | 62nd Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Director | Makoto Shinkai | - | |
| 2020 | 6th Anime Trending Awards | Anime Movie of the Year | Weathering with You | rowspan=6 | |
| 2020 | Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2020 | Anime of the Year Grand Prize | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2020 | Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2020 | Best Director | Makoto Shinkai | - | |
| 2020 | 23rd Japan Media Arts Festival Awards | Social Impact Award | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2020 | 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize | Animation of the Year | Weathering with You | - | |
| 2020 | 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize | Outstanding Achievement in Music | Radwimps | - |
Adaptations
A novel adaption, with the same name, was written concurrently with production of the film by the director, Makoto Shinkai. On April 30, 2019, he announced through Twitter that he had finished writing it. It was released in print and in digital format by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko on July 18, 2019. More than 99,000 copies were sold in the first week and it took first place in the Oricon weekly library ranking on July 29. By August 16, 318,000 copies were sold, making it the first novel in the library this year to exceed 300,000 sales. By September 10, it sold over 650,000 copies in successive editions. On October 24, 2019, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the novel for North American release, in print and in digital format, on December 17.In addition, a children's book adaptation for children, elementary school and junior high school students, was released on August 9, 2019. It sold 13,000 copies in the first week and took first place in the "Children's Books" genre in Oricon weekly library ranking.
A manga adaptation drawn by Watari Kubota began serialization on July 25, 2019, in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine. It was announced that the manga would have a colored opening page.