Tenki no Ko

Tokyo is currently experiencing rain showers that seem to disrupt the usual pace of everyone living there to no end. Amidst this seemingly eternal downpour arrives the runaway high school student Hodaka Morishima, who struggles to financially support himself—ending up with a job at a small-time publisher. At the same time, the orphaned Hina Amano also strives to find work to sustain herself and her younger brother.

Both fates intertwine when Hodaka attempts to rescue Hina from shady men, deciding to run away together. Subsequently, Hodaka discovers that Hina has a strange yet astounding power: the ability to call out the sun whenever she prays for it. With Tokyo's unusual weather in mind, Hodaka sees the potential of this ability. He suggests that Hina should become a "sunshine girl"—someone who will clear the sky for people when they need it the most.

Things begin looking up for them at first. However, it is common knowledge that power always comes with a hefty price...

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Amano, Hina Main

Mori, Nana Japanese

Morishima, Hodaka Main

Daigo, Kotarou Japanese

Suga, Natsumi Supporting

Honda, Tsubasa Japanese

Suga, Keisuke Supporting

Oguri, Shun Japanese

Amano, Nagi Supporting

Kiryuu, Sakura Japanese

Sakura, Kana Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Hanazawa, Ayane Supporting

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Takai Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Yasui Supporting

Hiraizumi, Sei Japanese

Kimura Supporting

Kimura, Ryouhei Japanese

Sinterniklaas, Michael Producer, ADR Director

Okamura, Wakana Producer

Shinkai, Makoto Director, Script, Director of Photography, Original Creator, Editing, Color Design

Yamada, Haru Sound Director

Reviews

Jul 19, 2019

Marinate1016

Recommended

Looks like i'm one of the first reviews here, I'll go in the history books, lol! Well, let me start by saying Tenki no Ko is a great continuation of the form that Shinkai's been in for the past decade starting with Garden of Words. The character designs, story, pacing, art, animation and sound are all top notch as to be expected.

I, however do encourage you to lower your expectations. Not that the film isn't good, it is. Great even and really enjoyable for me. It's just not Kimi No Na Wa 2, which I feel many people will be expecting going in and be ... disappointed. This is a different type of story and film that in my opinion feels closer to 5CM per second and Garden of Words than to Kimi No Na Wa. Keep that in mind going in. That doesn't spoil anything, the endings are different, before anyone(mod) complains. I'm just referring to the storytelling method and type of story being told. It's much more grounded and is its own unique thing involving a much more realistic narrative and a fresh MC backstory/internal struggle.

What do I mean by that? I don't think I'm spoiling anything here by saying that the plot while being fantastical, is very grounded in nature. A huge part of Kimi No Na Wa was the magical aspect, here you've got that, but the story is much more rooted in the characters, their interactions and relationships. The whole "weathering with you" is more secondary to the actual inner struggle that the MC is going through and the hardships he's been through which will resonate with many.

Art was top notch as I said before, usual Shinkai style with amazing detailed environments and amazingly detailed character designs. Sound was also really good, soundtrack was great and definitely set the tone for several scenes during the climax. Can't wait for it to be released. Additionally the sound design with rain, weather and other day to day things sounded extremely lifelike and added to the immersion of several scenes. Animation was mainly stellar, but there were a few choppy scenes that I noticed when the characters were running or moving rapidly and I found it a bit jarring, not the biggest deal, but it was there. Mainly, the way the characters' necks and legs moved.

Pacing was good in my opinion, I didn't ever feel overwhelmed by the story, confused or lost. I felt that the script took me from A to Z properly and characters were given their time to shine. Main story and subplots progress smoothly.

Now for the negatives. The CGI was, in my opinion, kinda iffy at times and was a bit subpar in general. I personally think that if I can tell there's CGI being used, it's bad. That could just be me, but there's several scenes where the CGI is really noticeable and so I have to dock points for that. That's my personal definition. I also saw very little actual growth out of the MC from start to end. I know it's a film and not a series, but I wish I would have seen more of his development. I like to see Protags grow and evolve over the course of a film and learn new things. I did not get that in this film.

Additionally, By the end of the film, there are still some unresolved questions and plot threads that I really wish would have been answered during the film, but I do have the Light Novel and am hoping that we will get more answers in that. I also found the ending to be really abrupt and not well led into. Again, think 5CM per Second and Garden of Words type endings. I reiterate, that's not spoiling anything, I'm just comparing it to comparable works and types of stories. The ending is its own thing and completely unrelated. I just dislike how it was abrupt and left more to be desired. I like to see endings eased into. Hopefully the LN will tie up what the film couldn't.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and while it won't break records like Kimi No Na Wa did due to its more grounded nature, it is a really solid film with a unique story, beautiful character designs, great soundtrack and amazing art that I definitely recommend checking out if you can. I imagine there won't be many people reviewing it on here for a year or so, so if you have any questions regarding the film or Light Novel, feel free to hit me up/add me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 5, 2019

wittisy

Mixed Feelings

"Weathering with you" is a plate of spaghetti with very questionable ingredients that seems to be there for the sake of looking good, and despite it's grand presentation complete with truffles and gold plate, you can tell that the presentation is only there to hide it's many flaws, the half-cooked linguine, the hastily cooked sauce and the utter arrogance you can sense from the kitchen, expecting you to forgive all those flaws because of the restaurant's prestige.

I gave the film a rating of 6 despite my many complaints with it, and it is only because anything lower than that would be a disservice to everything ... that the film does right: The art, the voice acting, the sound and most of the story.

Story: 3/10

Like many of other Shinkai's works, I felt that he has done superbly to set up the loose ends, the questions to be answered, but once again he never really tied them up. Watching the movie, I was anticipating a resolution to many of the character's difficulties and reasoning.

At the end of the film, I walked out with a lot of questions, and the only answer that I could come up with is that Shinkai never really cared about resolving the side plots, as long as the main plot could have an ending then there would be no reason to complain. But that is not, or should not be the case, and as a result this heavily compromised the characters too, which I would talk about later.

Another thing is that the story didn't deviate much from Shinkai's other works. Any more details would be spoilers so I'll leave it at that.

Art: 10/10

As expected from a Shinkai film, even if everything else falls apart, at least your eyes would still bleed rainbows. There's not much else to say about it, it's just brilliant as always.

Sound: 8/10

The soundtrack was rather bland save for a few scenes. RADWIMPS had a far more memorable soundtrack for Kimi no Na wa, as this one had many samesies songs that feels like it's reused, but it actually isn't. However on my second rewatch I came to appreciate the BGM a lot more. The non-vocalized music fits every scene perfectly.

Sound effects were on point. Find a good theater to watch this as a public premiere would not do it justice.

Voice acting was very well done, no corners were cut. Not much else to say about it apart from that it's good.

Character: 3/10

I get that the show had a very limited runtime to it, and therefore a full exposition isn't really possible. However, the film packed so much into the characters but yet completely fail to flesh them out. Much of the backstories were nothing more than a single sentence, the rationale behind each character's actions depends so much on a shallow motive that makes it very hard to empathize with them. A lot of the character's difficulties turned out to be not much of one at all since the convenience factor kicks in, and the characters never really seemed to be bothered by their many limitations, very little of their actions were done to circumvent them.

The message that the romance at the end of the film sends is very dangerous. Again, any details would be spoilers, so I'll use this quote from another show I watched that I fully agree with after watching the ending:

"The kind of thinking that as long you and your own are happy then you don't care about other people is...horrifying...it was like the movie was jam-packed with people's egoism."

The characters are a model of the good old "as long as we are in love the world can go to hell" trope towards the end to an extreme level. And if people feel "inspired" by the message in the end, I think we are doomed as a society.

The last but definitely the least point of the characters to me is probably personal, but it feels like the romance is utterly shallow. The budding romance felt premature and the lengths that our MC goes for it feels extreme for how short this relationship lasted, it just feels unreal. But of course, it's the "power of love", which is a trope I can never sympathize with.

The film would've been an easy 8/10 if not for the last act putting a really bitter taste in my mouth, but the ending doesn't bring everything else down to an unwatchable level, hence the generous 6/10 despite the many complaints I've had.

Should you watch it? Yes, absolutely. Bring your whole family, your new date, your children along. It's fantastically friendly for all situations and ages, and a complete film if you don't mind the details. But if you really think about the film in a more in depth level, you will be bugged by it's many shortcomings.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 11, 2019

Clueby

Not Recommended

Despite the overwhelming reviews saying that this is a masterpiece, nobody I personally know actually enjoyed this film... We were all disappointed. That's what this movie is major disappointment.

Let's start with the strongest points
Art and Sound - Goes without saying it's amazing, the soundtrack in particular is very catchy and fits well. The art is good but I would say Your Name had better art, in this movie things may look wonky sometimes.

Characters - Here's where everything about this movie fall apart, the main character is just unlikable and static. It was nice to see him change in the climax but he almost immediately ... reverted. His reasons for motivation are left empty so it's very hard to sympathetise with him. As for the female lead I can't think of anything interesting to describe her. She's just like that. The best characters are from the supporting cast but even then they can be quite inconsistent at times so I don't know if I really like them.

While I'm at this, the romance is bad. I can see what the writers were going for but it just doesn't work. I do not see why male lead loves female lead so much in particular. There's nothing special in their dynamic and I think the female lead's younger brother probably cares about her more than male lead.

Story - The premises is alright but the pacing and how exposition is given is well, bad. Scenes are badly stitched together and you're left thinking "Wait is this the same movie?" There's entire plot about WHOA GUN but that doesn't go anywhere.

Overall there isn't anything special with this movie, it's hard to sympathetise with the characters. It's ambitious but with no payoff. Scenes are disjointed.

//Here's some spoiler nitpicks:
-Main protagonists never tell each other "I love you"
-Male protagonist seems to love rain in opening scene but then that's dropped.
-Male protagonist supposed to love female protagonist so much but then still get flustered as he think some other random is going to confess to him.
-Male protagonist acts as if going home is hell but then spends another 3 years at home just fine.
-Flood Tokyo for cardboard cutout girl.
-Borger scene for no reason.
-Gun for no reason.
-Female protagonist runs out of mum's hospital room for God knows what reason it's never said. I know it's said so she can pray but why that particular spot why without umbrella.
-Everything happens because movie

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Tenki no Ko Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) -Stray - Jul 18, 2019	389 replies	by MugiwaraCR »» Sep 30, 8:07 AM
	What did you guys think of weathering with you? cauthecow793 - Sep 9, 2020	22 replies	by removed-user »» May 11, 7:30 AM
	Am I wrong here? I loved it Hrusi - Mar 16, 2020	32 replies	by DFrench125 »» Oct 21, 2023 8:23 AM
	kimi no na wa and tenki no ko is connected ?! nanatshi - May 28, 2020	12 replies	by elGatoGordo06 »» Apr 11, 2023 11:45 PM
	Everything wrong with Tenki no Ko Atsunome - Mar 17, 2023	26 replies	by Steph »» Mar 18, 2023 5:22 AM

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