Tenki no Ko

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.

After having just watched Tenki no Ko in Koufu, I have decided I'll make this my first review, which I'll make spoiler free and using the categorisation format. I am currently stuck between whether I'd call this movie a 9 or a 10, so as I've only seen it once and don't want to over analyse, enjoyment comes first after all, I've put the lower to account for that hype we all feel when we first watch an anticipated release.

Story-8: The synopsis provided on the site is ample, so you can read that yourself and I'll cover my personal takes. While many ... will foremost associate Shinkai with Kimi no na wa and will expect connection to it, this takes on an approach far more grounded in realism and it's the characters constant interaction and chemistry which draws people in. More like say, Kotonoha no niwa, but still very different. There's no anime movie out there the same as this, it feels fresh and individual. Without giving any spoilers, it takes the very simple concept of a girl who can make the rain disappear by praying and really makes strong use of it, with a well paced and natural progression but also realistic, yet interesting issues which arise from having this power. There were one or two slight loose ends though, and I would have liked a slightly further drawn out ending. overall very well written and interesting.

Art-10: This will have instantly gripped many people as early as the trailers to how well it was done. The character designs are simple and effective, continuing this realistic feel and there was nothing crazy. Underrated aspects even like the rain animation, or the more physical character interactions in the crumbled building with the police at the end are very well done to go with the realistic backgrounds. Of the many places in Toukyou referenced, anyone who has spent time in Shinjuku in particular will really feel a level of satisfaction watching this due to the well illustrated background references. These small details really help bring the movie to life and help create a connection with the audience. My one small complaint being the product placement early on wasn't overly discrete. In the grand scheme that's nothing though as this movie is truly visually stunning.

Sound-10: Not a lot to say other than that it really brings a lot to the movie. RADWIMPS have really brung their A game again, as they did in Kimi no na wa. While theres no chart destroying song like Zenzenzense, the soundtrack perfectly adds to the emotions specific scenes try to convey. The falling scene with Grand Escape will sending shivers down near any viewer's back, but also more subtle ones like the more electro/beat backing in the chase scene adding a greater sense of urgency. Voice acting also can't really be flawed as they really brought the characters to life, with a personal special mention to Daigo Kotarou, the voice of Hodaka. There was nothing that sounded forced or out of place, really deserves huge credit.

Characters-9: The characters are really refreshing and there is nothing stupid, over the top about them. Thankfully no annoying anime tropes. Two teenagers with their own struggles, one trying to make himself at home in a vastly new environment while the other tries to make ends meet supporting herself and her brother. To be safe incase some see it as a spoiler, the detail with Hina's age was a very good touch, anyone who's shared her struggle has been there. The interactions between the two main characters too are very refreshing and again realistic, with small details making all the difference and driving the story. I really found myself caring about the two main characters which is something I really highly value, watching the two of them get closer while their personalities compliment each other and actions perfectly reflect their ages. My one slight complaint being that while I loved watching Hodaka's relationship with Hina grow, I didn't really feel that he had personally grown outside this as much as I'd have liked by the end. The supporting characters too also all bring something to the table and are equally consistently written. Nagi, Keisuke and Natsumi really provide a likable bunch of different supporting characters, and seeing their efforts, or in Keisuke's case, conflicted effort, to support Hodaka towards the end was really beautiful. Seeing Keisuke make the necessary clutch decision really made me smile. They all bring important aspects which add to the story, while letting the main two characters shine. Finally shoutout the Taki and Mitsuha references!

Enjoyment-10: I was hyped for this movie and it payed off, I really enjoyed it. While the story was great, the character in particular really resonated with me and I left that cinema thoroughly satisfied. One scene in particular, which you'll know if you've seen the movie really gave me goosebumps, and I'm a very emotionally monotone person, so that takes a lot of doing.

Overall-9: To be precise I'd call this a 9.5 out of 10 for me. I don't believe it's perfect, but I very thoroughly enjoyed it and believe it could have been a 10 with a slightly more drawn out ending and one or two threads smoothed. To the international audience, be patient, you'll really enjoy this one. It's not Kimi no na wa, so don't go in expecting it to be. It's very different in how it carries itself, so please, judge it on it's own merit and don't go in expecting too much. A very strong showing from Shinkai as expected and I'll continue to look forward to his future projects.

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

First of all let me say this

「This is a Spoiler Free review」

Kimi no na wa/Your Name is my most favorite anime movie of all time and my favorite from Shinkai Makoto. That movie is my inspiration and the reason why I currently live in work/study here Tokyo. I watched 天気の子/Tenki no Ko/Weathering With You Twice yesterday at theater near place I live, Theater is pack full of people only fews seat left. And please bear with my bad english

Tenki no ko/Weathering With You is a story about love of two peoples which is the favorite style of Shinkai Makoto and also have Shinto belief just ... like his famous previous film, But if Kimi no na wa is for all age all gender everyone can watch kind of movie, I would say that Tenki no Ko is probably for people from age of 10+ . But I won't say that people who's not above 10 shouldn't watch it but in my oppinion people who's younger maybe will have a time understanding the message of a movie.

Because story of Tenki no Ko this time around deal with much more heavier theme and topic than Kimi no na wa that you can just enjoy the journey of the main character. its deal with the topic of responsibilities of growing up to be an adult, to take responsibilities of your action and movie bring out much more bad side of human that people does in real life in general.

Movie itself done a good job bringing the people along with the show and I can say that I enjoy the ride of the movie as much as Kimi no na wa if not more. Movie length is about 110 ish minutes but I don't felt like it that long at all, even though I watch it 2 times back to back it just felt like I breeze through it a great kind of breeze through enjoyable and fun.

If I have to describe this film genre from what I've experienced myself I would tag it as: Romance, Drama, Super Natural.

I can say that one of the few things that this film does it better than Kimi no na wa is Side Character. Tenki no Ko give a lot more time to side character and it show. They have much more depth and the motive and character action in general are much more believable this time, Also especially the love story between the main characters it have far more dept and much more believable. I think it maybe because this film are dealing with more realistic and heavier theme. So if you are the one of the many who criticized this aspect in Kimi no na wa I hope you are looking forward to see this by yourself.

Maybe this is just my opinion and I am the only one who think this, But after I watched this film and I've living here in Japan for quite some time. I can relate and understand the character so much. The movie is not just about love and responsibility, Its a clash of ideal and way to live of younger generation and older generation of people over here in Japan. A younger generation who chase their dream with all their might/ a young adult who have to abandon their dream to face cruel of reality/ an older generation head strong and don't accept anything new or change/ an older generation who accept change and how things are. This film have a lot of message and what you can takeaway from it. I can say this with confident because I've met all these type of people over here in Japan.

The Animation quality is just as you guys know, whole movie is nothing but 5 wallpapers per second. Beautiful cinematography, creative camera angle even the CGI is breath taking. There is a lot of shot that they blend CGI in but it so good you won't be able to tell the differences and one more thing that I think this movie have better than your name is Character animation, the movement and sakuga scene are top notch. even though it style is a different from Kotonoha no niwa but I would say that it on the same league. (not to mention female character design of Hina and Natsumi plus the animation quality fluidity woo bois that's some top tier waifu material right there)

The Music and soundtrack by Radwimps are fantastic the track that they insert in the film gonna stuck in mind of the people who watched it for sure. Lyric and meaning of the song that go along with the important scene in the movie it build the feels that made me tears up 3 4 times while watching it for sure. And for sure it not only just me who only shed tears because when the movie end I saw a lot of people who wipe there tears and their eye red because of crying lol.

One of my favorite song of this movie is 'Ai ni dekiru koto wa mada arukai' which translate to 'Is there still anything thing that love can do?' The melody and meaning of this song just so good it resonate with the plot of the film just like song in Kimi no na wa. After I watched it I found myself humming and sing it catch phrase of this song a lot and I say this as someone who at first feel indifferent about the song when watching this movie Trailer.

Easter egg/Fanservice/Comedy are also great its not too much not too little and that's perfect in movie like this. And yes especially the Easter Egg+Fanservice part, The people who love and have watched previous Shinkai film gonna be rejoice for sure. From my experienced who watched it movie theater in Japan which Japanese people have so much manner that they always quiet and silent no matter how much hype or funny the scene are you won't here a single laugh or scream, and I can still heard a little bit scream of joy and happy when Easter Egg and Fanservice scene happened.

Due to time constraint nature of a anime movie length some people maybe will have a problem with some part of the movie, for example some question won't get an answer but I don' think it's important to the film or necessary to explain it because the message of the film has already been delivered so, After I watch it I can understand if people going to want more out of it because I too want more out it but just like I said it's not necessary it just about closure thing.

Lastly what I want to say is that even you are the people who don't like or don't really enjoy the style of Shinkai Makoto at least you should watch it once. The Animation the beautifulness and eye candy aspect of it already worth your time and your ticket price. And even though I compared Tenki no Ko and Kimi no na wa a a lot but, my advice is don't go in expect it to be next 'Your Name'. Expect it to be different than what Your Name is and then see what's different between these two. Expect it to be it own thing. What differences that are good/great. See it for what it is and I think you going to have a great time and meaningful message that this movie try to give.


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So this is my verdict and summary of Tenki no ko.

If Kimi no na wa/Your Name is a perfect 10/10 for me

Tenki no Ko/Weathering With You is a 9-9.5/10 for sure.

Its a another really great film from Shinkai Makoto if you really enjoy his work I wholeheartedly recommend you to watch this movie for sure. It's a very enjoyable experienced and another feels trip from Shinkai what not to like?

And I can easily see some people who going to like this movie even more than Kimi no na wa or Other Shinkai films and I'm not going to be surprised if someone say this is his/her favorite Shinkai film because a lot of aspect in this Movie is really that good.

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PS.After I watched this film the second times I can already see the real life place that inspire scene in the film that gonna be famous spot in the future already just like famous 'Kimi no na wa' Suga shrine stair for example. I also definitely would like to go visit it too but before that I have to know the location first so.

That's it guys, Thank you for reading my thought and review and yeah thank you for bearing with my bad english. I hope you guy in the west doesn't have to wait too long like Kimi no na wa because even in my birth country it already schedule to air on November so good luck everyone.

When the trailer for Tenki no Ko first released, I think I wasn't the only one who leapt out of my seat and screamed for joy, sharing it on all the social media platforms. The staff lineup was looking quite similar to Kimi no Na wa (Your Name), meaning it could possibly reach the same heights as the film which brought Makoto Shinkai to the spotlight of anime media. I was very hyped for it, and finally got to watch it this weekend, when it released. So how was it?

Overview:
Directing, visuals, audio were superb. Story was alright except the main "complication" was just filler. Characters ... were a disappointment.

STORY: 6/10
The pacing is quite good throughout the entire film. The premise is set up, there are many areas to expand upon to increase the depth of the story, the main characters discover a problem with these weather powers, they do something about it. It was easy to follow what was happening. However, there were two main areas in the story which drew back the quality of the film. First, what seemed like important parts of the film were never expanded upon. The skies or clouds and what goes on aside from the ordinary human world isn't explained other than a very brief folktale an old guy mentions. The "fish" keep appearing and being mentioned throughout the film but it never really amounts to anything. Makoto had so much he could draw on, but he didn't. Secondly, the "bad guys" of the film are useless wastes of screen time. They contribute nothing to the story, they can't do the simplest of tasks for which they're employed. They're a major complication in the film, but when the film came to a close, I sat there looking at the credits and thinking this anime was ruined by their existence. There wasn't really anything which made the story stand out either.

ART: 10/10
Beautiful art all around. Characters, backgrounds, visual effects, all of them were comparable to Your Name. Just from the credits, you can see they took pride in this. About 75% of staff were on illustration, painting, or animation.

SOUND: 10/10
RADWIMPS provides many insert songs and the ending soundtrack. They're filled with energy and lightheartedness, again similar to Your Name. Mokoto manages to keep music or audio effects going throughout the film, leaving absence in some short moments to take in the tranquility of the situation. He plays with your emotions through the audio components of the film.

CHARACTERS: 5/10
As mentioned in the character section, the antagonist(s) aren't really anything. You could get rid of them and the movie would still go on and finish with the same ending. Some minor characters who help Hodaka, the protagonist, are integral in the story, but also do some silly things, almost as if they have no common sense. They don't get much development either, such as just finding out about their family situation. Hodaka seems quite linear and reminds me of Eren from Attack on Titan. His actions follow a simple rule - run away from home, and help Hina, the heroine. Everything he does is rash and unrealistic/unfeasible except that it magically works out thanks to main character protection. He doesn't change much. Also we don't get to learn about why he hates home, and his excuse for being led to Tokyo by rays of sunlight is ridiculous. The only character who changes a fair bit and we find out more about their situation and thought pattern is Hina. She goes from being in the dumps emotionally, to finding reason to live, and some love thrown in there. She wants to help everyone but chooses not to, for the sake of being with Hodaka some time in the future.

OVERALL: 7/10
If you add up the numbers, it would be closer to an 8, but the imbalance between production media and quality of the story and characters reduces the enjoyability after reaching the end of the film. Great art can only carry a story so far.

FINAL NOTES:
Watching the movie is enjoyable because the story progresses, it's cute seeing the protagonist and heroine interact, the art, animation and music is amazing. It's only after finishing the movie that you realise the problems, reflecting upon what they could've done instead to make good use of screen time.
In particular, I enjoyed the Easter eggs paying tribute to Your Name. Some of the stupid things the minor characters did were funny because they were just so ridiculously unbelievable. Did he really just do that?!

Regarding low score of story and characters, I consider a basic story that makes sense a pass mark 5/10. It's not necessarily bad, but there was so much room to work with, and Makoto didn't take advantage of any of that.

"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.

Another beautiful masterpiece created by CoMix Wave Films, a studio that made Kimi no Nawa. and Kotonoha no Niwa. as well as other amazing movies and shows such as Everything Flows and 5 Centimeter.

Why you should watch this movie ( Also the reason why I enjoyed watching this movie )
1 ) You get to see the two characters from Kimi no Nawa. again.
2 ) The visuals are great.
3 ) The songs are good.
4 ) There’s romance

Tenki no Ko was just great. For a movie that could be called a rip-off of Kimi no Nawa. or one that is very much ... alike. I’d say that I enjoyed this a lot and probably loved it even more than Kimi no Nawa. Tenki no Ko shows the aspects of the difficulty for being underaged - the disability to get jobs, easily accused, and so forth. It’s a great movie that represents how cruel one’s life can be as an underage within the society.

P.S. The ending also reminds me of the Fate series. I won’t spoil anything, but if you get what I mean then you’ll understand.

This is Shinkai’s worst film yet. He had a mixed record in the past, from the quality entertainment of Your Name to the embarrassing Studio Ghibli “homage” Children who Chase Lost Voices. But Weathering with You somehow sets the bar even lower. Its unoriginality is pathetic and its self-indulgence repulsive.

No emotion is real, nothing is there to think about, everything is a glossy facade of high resolution backgrounds and J-Pop to pull you into this man’s fantasy land of childish romance, where every bad thing is always resolved and no uncomfortable question ever asked. How can Shinkai write the same weepy love story so ... many times? How can he pretend this grandness, and yet I feel nothing?

People accuse Shinkai of being style over substance, but he is less than that, he is production value over style and substance. His photo-realistic backgrounds may be difficult to produce on a technical level, but so what? This is yet another sterile portrayal of Tokyo, lacking any atmosphere or grit. Compare this to some of the all time great animes, Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor 2, and their breathtaking rendering of the mega-city. It’s not even close. There is no artistry to be found, and no real style to speak of, just money and raw technical skill, a technocrat’s dream.
As is tradition, Shinkai’s use of music is incessant and terrible, every opportunity to cram in another J-Pop song is shamelessly taken, no moment is allowed to speak for itself, no emotion allowed to be felt on its own.

There is nothing of substance, but this is very much by design for the people this appeals to. The only interesting question posed at the end of the film gets resolved in one of the most laughable and dishonest ways I have ever seen, all in service of this film’s real function, a warm blanket of cheap pathos. Forget the real world, and forget that it’s going to hell, here is a cute anime girl that loves an insecure teenager just like you. And this whole climate change thing is not gonna be so bad after all, it’s just the way of nature bro.
I have no problem with escapism, I mean what else can you really do, but escapism into a world that is so obviously made to pander is impossible. It is a world of plastic. Even the tears of the characters are fake and over the top, big and bubbly, not the thin streaks of reality.

It’s incredible how this movie fails completely at its goal. It wants to cause the big emotions, all of Shinkai’s movies want that, but it just doesn’t. It’s bland, the characters are bland, the love story is bland, the directing is bland, so the solution is to bombard the film more viciously than Yemen with 4k backgrounds, lense flares, tracking shots, grand statements and characters crying and running determined to their goal.

It is striking how uninspired it all feels. It is seriously beat for beat the same story and tropes as Your Name, just with a different fantasy element( and much worse). Shinkai cannot help himself, it has to be a romance between a teenage boy, possibly a self insert, and a strong but perfect looking cute girl. Sometimes it may end in sadness, and sometimes happy, but it is the same story every fucking movie. I thought that was kind of endearing at first, but I’m sick of it, the kind of sickness you get after eating too much cheap candy.
Directors like Miyazaki may have universal themes that reappear in all of their works, but Princess Mononoke certainly has a very different story from The Wind Rises. This here is just an amalgamation of hypercharged Shinkaiisms. Whole scenes in this film feel like stock “Anime great emotion” set pieces, the entire final sequence of the characters falling through the sky has been done uncountable times.

There is an attempt to link the plot to Shinto religion to have some pretension of depth, but nothing in this film feels even remotely spiritual, just a bunch of platitudes about nature working in mysterious ways. Seriously, never compare this dude to Miyazaki again. The movie also has tonal issues, there is a stupid subplot about a gun and criminals for no reason expect that Shinkai really still is a teenage boy in his heart.

One of the most embarrassing moments is the masturbatory Your Name cameo, where the main character from Your Name just shows up as if we all know him. There was absolutely no point to it, except that Your Name was a mega hit.
There is also a shameless amount of product placement, including a scene that might as well have been a McDonald's commercial. Every character uses a MacBook and the film makes damn sure that you know it, and social networks like Twitter also make an appearance. It’s honestly depressing that a movie that advertises some of the world’s largest cooperations then tries to tell you some absolute bullshit dressed up in Shinto aesthetic about nature just doing its thing. Capitalism coopts everything I guess.

There was one running gag about the main girl’s boobs in Your Name, which was admittedly funny and at least had a purpose in the story. Here, the pervy humor is back with a vengeance, and more overt and tasteless. The jokes are of incredible versatility, for example, the main character looks at a girl's breasts, and she says, “Are you looking at my breasts??” Or, in another example, the main character looks at an underaged girl's breasts, and she says, “Are you looking at my breasts??” These are truly new heights of comedy, never explored in Anime before.
I saw this in a cinema filled mostly with much bigger weebs than myself who genuinely laugh at this stuff, but I sat next to a Japanese mother with her two little kids. I guess she had mistakenly thought that a movie with an extremely childish story must also be for children. That stuff is just weird, and I don’t really get why it’s there, except that Shinkai is very horny on main.

There was also a stupid pet cat which is only there for kawaiiness, and the cinema erupted into laughter and “awws” whenever it was on screen, at that point I really wanted to sink deep into the cushions of my seat.
This is a movie made by an algorithm to maximize cuteness and “the Feels”, its only contribution to the world is to provide more background footage for lofi hip hop compilation videos. Truly a product of late capitalism.

While Kimi no Na Wa. felt like Makoto Shinkai proving himself to the world, Tenki no Ko feels like the auteur simply being himself-- because it's time for the world to get to know him.

Tenki no Ko, in its essence, is an urban story. Here we have two teenagers (and one precocious tween) trying to navigate the cold and damp everyday life that is Tokyo by literally sweeping off the cold and the damp. Blessed with the ability to control weather, Hina (the heroine) believes that she can catch two birds with one stone and as her loyal friend/quasi-business manager, Hodaka (the hero) only wishes ... for just enough money and reason for the two of them to stay together no matter what kind of storm that awaits. Predictably, not everything will go along smoothly and the storm in question may not be as on-the-nose as anyone (even the audience) can predict. However, it seems like that is exactly the narrative and the style that suit Makoto Shinkai the most.

His prior work --the forever celebrated Kimi no Na Wa.-- was a spectacular gem. However, what made that work spectacular was the fact of which it stayed true to its identity which was an anime. One couldn't help but notice the whole execution of Kimi no Na Wa. still revolved around that one-century-old formula. For Tenki no Ko, though, there is always this nuance of which the audience is missing something that may be of miniscule, but just as important. Using the layman term, for the first time ever, with this work Makoto Shinkai asks the audience to think-- especially how the overall narrative finally ends. No more blatant showstoppers and no more straightforward life lessons, either. While Kimi no Na Wa is about finding each other, these kids in Tenki No Ko are a bit smarter than that. It is not about seeking something new as it is more about protecting what is already here-- and the latter is always a more engrossing drama.

Ultimately, most otaku would definitely find Tenki No Ko as quote-en-quote 'divisive' but that may not be the case for the rest of (normie) audience. This is a work of a confident artist who had reached the top of the mountain and with Tenki no Ko, we got the answer whether he spent his time on the top by dancing and taking chances or simply putting up fences and playing it safe. Also, it is still too soon to judge either Kimi no Na Wa. or Tenki no Ko as Shinkai's magnum opus. After all, he's just getting started. We are still in the calm before the perfect storm, as it turns out.

#felixlovesanime

This film is masterful.

I begin by saying that it was introduced to me as "Your Name 2" but I can assure you that this is not the case at all. This is better.
the plot is perfect and revolves on very solid foundations, nothing makes you skeptical, everything is perfect. The characters are very well written and all have a very well characterized, unique and realistic character. The "fantasy" component is credible and well done. The OsT is very good even if it does not stand out too much .. but still does its duty perfectly. The drawing is practically incredible, they almost look like live ... shots. The animations are perfect and the film runs almost all the time at 10 frames. The ending is beautiful and is a lesson in what an ending should be like.

I personally found the film beautiful and exciting. I recommend it to everybody.

Overall I would say:

Animations: 10

Ost: 7

Drawings: 9

Visual Effects: 9

Characters: 8.5

Plot: 9

Enjoiment: 10

Overall: 9.5

:)

Hello, this is my first time writing a review on something, I don't know why but I feel the need to write this after watching and reading the review below 7, but don't worry, I'm not here to ignite any argument with you, this is just an opinion from the prespective of a 19 years old.

Story : 8

So as everyone's been thinking for a while, Makoto Shinkai's story this time is having a direct approach, without needing us to think more deeper than usual, or should I say the word, "simple".
But that simple is simply enjoyable, two adolescent enjoying the joy of world, the idea ... of changing the shape of the world, how is that not fun ? Having that kind of mindset is bringing me to understand that Makoto Shinkai is not trying to ponder with our mind this time, it's just the story he want to tell, well maybe the history behind the movie is amazing, but I'm not that smart so I'm sorry I can't bring that up without much proof.

Art : 10

Do I still need to explain this one ? I'm bringing my expectation through the roof for the art, and yes Makoto-san still delivers. Truth to be told, I lowkey hoping it's not as good as "Your Name" or at the very least just as good. But nope, the art slap you in the face

Sound : 10

Sound ? Character sound ? Song ? All of it is extremely well done. I've been listening to the OST since it came out, finding the english lyric, and try remembering it. I really love the "We'll be Alright" one especially, it depicts everything I want to say after watching the movie. Is this a spoiler ? And it's still a movie edit one, I can't imagine the full one

Character : 10

Now, this is the interesting part, everyone seems to disappointed in the character, especially background, development, waste of screen time character, etc.
Personally, for me

Hina is a 15-years old girl. Are we gonna just dish on her like that ? Is her action wrong ? not really, Can she do better ? yes but what do you expect from a 15 year old girl ? She's living her life hard enough as is from my prespective,the world is carried on her little shoulder, and she's the one asking people "Are you alright?", I just can't take it man (Is this spoiler ?)

Hodaka, 16 years old boy running away from his home. Is his action wrong ? Truth to be told, yes, he's a representation of what we will do if we didn't have any guide in life, he's struggling but he can do much more than me though ahaha... But funny thing is, he's a contrast to our side character Suga-san, where Suga-san is an adult with much more consideration.

Antagonist ? Mmmm... this time I must agree partially to most of the comments regarding this one, it's a bit lacking, but does it job.

Support/ Side Character ? They depict something that play with my young adult mind, I mean, I can't agree with their action, but I can understand why.

Enjoyment : 10

I have a blast watching this I literally just bought one more VIP seat for self-watch, so I might be biased but I tried my best, sounds so defending, eh ?

Overall : 10

I have fun watching it, everyone's inside is having fun, some cry, some sing, some smile, what I love most is everyone seems to appreciate every seconds of it. But I might be biased, once again.

Well, here goes my first review. I know I really lack explanation, but I can ensure you this one's worth the watch. So, despite many 1-star review ? You can still go and see it for yourself

Bonus one for especially patient with my review,
for the ending, I personally feel like it's rushed a bit ? Maybe Makoto-san doesn't have enough time ? or maybe that's what he want ? I like the ending, but it can be better

Shinkai's worst movie. I haven't seen them all, but I'm calling it anyway. Not a single aspect of his style works with this.

Shinkai's fantastical externalization of the internal here slips into total solipsism; emotions are of such paramount importance that they are worth destroying a city and likely killing untold thousands over. That is, unless those people are part of one's found family, apparently the one class of humans deemed worthy of salvation from an apocalypse which is, as with everything, made as clean and naturalistic as possible; all its serious real-world issues sterilized and made into inoffensively beautiful wallpaper. It's genuinely misanthropic, and, even ... worse, seems to have no idea that's what it is!

This is such a staggering misfire that I seriously wonder if Shinkai made this as an act of deliberate self-sabotage meant to destroy his own career, because I don't think it's possible to make a more scathing parody of the Shinkai style than this.

[No spoilers included]



Makoto Shinkai has done it again.

Not only he keep his magic of giving feels to everyone, he even improved on his story writing and this is by far the most well-scripted one he has directed. It might not have the extraordinary hit-you-in-the-guts feel of 5 Centimeters Per Second, the poetic atmosphere of The Garden Of Words or the glamorous starry vibes of Your Name, but in their places lies a sweet story of first love, having someone that cares for you and how the skies reflect our emotions.

To put it bluntly, it has the smell of fresh air under sunny blue skies just ... after raining. With Shinkai and his team's signature artwork supporting the atmosphere.

There are some parts of the story that will probably surprise you as not quite something you would expect his stories' main characters would do, but it's definitely on the good side.

It's yet another of his 10/10 work for me. If you liked any of Shinkai's works, you will love this one. Even if you don't like Your Name or 5 Centimeters Per Second or felt The Garden Of Words boring, give this one a try when you can. This is Shinkai's most "easy going" work so far and there's every single chance that you will actually like it.

P.S. Hina Amano is Best Girl of Summer 2019. 😎

Time to flood this review section with my showering praises! Bad joke sorry. Being serious though, if I want to summarize Tenki no Ko with one phrase, that will be, lacking of confidence to make bold moves. Yes, I actually said that on a film that our best boy, Makoto Shinkai made. He has always made really bold moves on his movie with no drawbacks at all. However, Tenki no Ko felt different. It felt as if he was being nervous when he was producing this film, there was that sense of nervousness inside the story. Not a smart play there, my friend, many people ... will prefer bold moves compared to what you did here for this movie. However, I will give props to many things that this movie has done right, in this review. In the most spoiler-free way that you've ever seen in your life! >.>

Story wise, no matter how much I love Shinkai films, I'll have to say it in the most un-biased way possible. If you love a bold, powerful story, whether if it's sad or not. As long as it's bold. I will not recommend you to watch this film. Tenki no Ko was definitely an emotional one in a certain type of way, but at the same time, due to it not being daring enough to push it further. I felt that it was not strong enough to create a real powerful heart breaker that will literally make half of the people in the theaters go, " Somebody is cutting onions here ". The story felt wacky, literally. The scenes felt amusing to me rather than what they wanted me to feel sometimes. I don't know if it's just me, or everybody else too. The story just feels off the mark compared to other movies that I've thought were great. Such as 'Your Name.' , 'A Silent Voice' etc. This movie still hits objective of it being a romance movie with the feels rolling like the wheels of a train. (If you got that you are the 1% that can understand my genuine jokes)

Speaking of trains, let's look at RADWIMPS. (Reference to their MV for 'Is there still anything that love can do', an OST used for Tenki no Ko) | They have once again outdone themselves with the music, especially 'Is there still anything that love can do?' , which plays as the camera flows through the soundscapes like a typical Shinkai film. I also felt the real push when they used the OST 'Grand Escape' in the film, at the best time as well. It was placed in so well that it contributed a lot to the emotions that you were supposed to feel during that scene. Want to know which scene? Well, too bad it's a spoiler-free review or I would have showered spoilers on you all! (sorry.) As for voice actors go, I really love how instead of choosing crazy popular voice actors such as HanaKana, they chose voice actors who basically never had a role ever as the main character of the movie. Even if that was their first time playing the movie, they sounded beautiful. I highly respect that point. "That scores high points!" , is what Komachi will say. (Reference to anime Oregairu) The foley sounds were incredibly well made, the raindrops sounded pretty legit, the walking felt really in sync with the character too. Okay that's really all I have to say for that LOL.

CoMix Wave Films never ever disappoint me when it comes to visuals. Be it 'Your Name.' , 'The Garden of Words' , '5 Centimetres per Second' or other films, the shadow, the lighting & even the raindrops look incredibly well drawn. They really spent a lot of effort & budget into this movie, and I really appreciate it. The way the water moves upwards into the sky truly look beautiful, as if I'm literally in heaven. The way Hina was designed was really cute and meaningful. The water pendant on her made her feel more like a sunshine girl than just having a title. The jacket kind of top was also trying to signify a similar thing as well. Hodoka's design was pretty plain and normal, but that actually was probably done on purpose. In contrast to the sunshine girl who could control weather, Hodoka was just a normal boy who has ran away from his home, unemployed and has no money. Honestly no words to say for such amazing visuals other than amazing job team.

To keep a spoiler-free review, I'll only talk about Hina and Hodaka. Hina is a sweet, carefree girl that is able to control weather. Hodoka is a daring, brave young soul that is willing to do anything for save a person that he loves. The comedy that they build together is pretty enjoyable and the other emotions that they create together is really really adorable. I really cannot elaborate because I got to keep it as spoiler-free as possible so yeah.

I honestly really enjoyed the film, it was a bunch of mixed emotions entering me and it felt like my feelings were getting blended during the time I was watching the movie. Joy, happiness, sorrow, proud, admiration & many more. This movie honestly has a lot to offer itself if you just take out its few flaws that it holds. I will recommend this film to anybody that is a real big fan of Makoto Shinkai because this is definitely something more different compared to his other films that he made. Other people who aren't fans of Makoto Shinkai are also recommended as well as long as you don't hate Slice of Life mixed with Drama. It creates an effect that may seem undesirable to some people. Good movie.

Tenki no Ko or Weathering with You. A movie I was overhyped too much. A type of movie/anime that put all the effort on animation and none on the story. I am so glad I didn't watch it on cinema and waited for an online link. At least I didn't waste any money.

The first problem I had with this movie is that the supernatural and romantic concept of it does not blend. In Kimi no Nawa (made by the same author) even though the time travel, body switch shenanigans does not really make sense at least it blends in with the romance. The "marker" ... scene still hit me. In Tenki no Ko. NOPE! The build up between Hodaka and Hina was so weak and rushed that every "romance" scene in the movie was pure cringe. Hina doesn't even look in loved with Hodaka and Hodaka's feelings feel so forced. The sunshine girl parts should be the build up to that romance but it feels so disconnected to it. We also had this "cop and robbers" parts which to me is just a distraction and just plain unnecessary. It just gives the movie identity crisis.

Second problem is Hodaka. He is probably one of the worst MCs ever. Damn. That scene is where he saved Hina from the "upper world" (idk really) because she sacrificed herself to prevent the heavy rains. Guess what Hodaka does. He basically says "I don't care about Tokyo, you are more than enough." If I were to ask you a question, what would you pick? Save Tokyo from nonstop heavy rains that could result to it being submerged underwater or save ONE girl. Most people who choose the greater good (Save Tokyo) but this movie is so poorly written that they would choose the latter. "Fuck you all, my bitch is what is important"- Hodaka 2019. His build up with Hina was so weak and rushed making this scene more eyerolling. Also his motivation for leaving his province, his family is.............to follow the sun. A cliche dream is way better than that shit. Bruh I am done.

Third problem is that lack of character development. The "character" that had the most development is the cat named Rain/Ame. Hodaka, Hina, and others didn't freaking develop making this cast one of the most forgettable ever.

All in all, Tenki no Ko is one of the worst anime movies of all time. It is more lifeless than Fireworks/Uchiage Hanabi. At least that movie had life during the first 30 minutes. This movie is just dead from the start.


Story: 1/10
Characters: 1/10
Enjoyment: 1/10

Production: They just wasted money on a poorly written shit/10

This is my SPOILER FREE! review of weathering with you (Tenki no Ko)
Weathering with you is the latest film by Makoto Shinkai director of the likes of your name and the garden of words. Weathering with you will always be compared to your name and not just because it’s made by the same director, in many ways weathering with you feels like a spiritual successor to your name with them both being a fantastical story grounded in reality. Weathering with your excels with almost every aspect such as it’s story, characters and animation which makes it a must see for any fan of your ... name or other movies by Makoto Shinkai.
One of the strongest elements the characters and story. The characters were unsurprisingly extremely well written and developed which led to the emotional moments hitting harder as you felt more connected to the characters. The characters all have their own motivations, and all develop quite a bit throughout the course of the movie which helps in making the often-fantastical story feel more grounded in reality. The film also did a great job of developing side characters who normally would not see much screen time which helped the audience to connect and care about side characters the story was great with a good balance between sad and emotional moments and happy and heartfelt moments which greatly helped the pacing. That said the pacing did take awhile to pick up meaning the start felt like it could drag for a little while. Another issue some might have with the story is the ending as it feels that it could have ended sooner instead of dragging on for an extra 10 to 15 mins however the ending wouldn’t have been as deep and meaningful if it had ended earlier.
The Animation used in weathering with you made it instantly recognizable as a Makoto film and felt very similar to your name. The main difference was weathering with you had bigger more spectacular fantasy scenes which made fantastic use of the brilliant animation. Another fantastic use of the animation was in the quitter more imamate scenes with small details like the facial animation making a world of difference in showing the emotion of characters. The music was yet another thing this movie nailed with the film always seeming to have exactly the right song to fit the mood the director was going for. The voice acting (Subbed) was also amazing especially for the two main characters who always flawlessly pulled of the emotion they were going for without seeming to over the top.
Overall, I believe that this film is a modern masterpiece of anime and I highly recommend and encourage anyone who enjoyed your name to go see this film in cinema (if you can) to support Makoto Shinkai so he can continue making films like this one. Overall the film nailed nearly ever aspect with very few criticisms for the movie, the main ones being how similar it is to your name and some minor pacing issues. I personally think this movie is definitely an improvement over your name and score it a 9.7 out of ten.

Story: 9.4
Art: 10
Sound: 10
Character: 9.8
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 9.7

TLDR Review at the bottom. Hopefully, that helped, in advance.

Shinkai's movies are, as usual, quite manipulative with emotions through the use of basic storyline structure, sob stories, and great audiovisuals to account for those elements. This is no different from Weathering With You. Though this may seem monotonous, it wouldn't be fair to judge Weathering With You based on other anime. In its own respect, it is a very good anime standing on its own. With an extra theme of weather and hardships to go along with it, it is indeed a pleasant story with a new simple idea that Shinkai has brought us.


Story - ... 6
Again, with most Shinkai movies, there is no effort in trying to make a great story. Weathering With You features runaway, Hodaka Morishima, and his experience in Tokyo with 'sunshine girl' Hina Amano. A boy meets girl story. Whilst the idea seems pretty normal, there is an interesting idea added to spice up the story a little, though this idea, at least, in my opinion, backfires greatly, it is probably the story's weak point, and that is the introduction of a 'bad guy'. For a Shinkai movie, I could only say one of two things for this idea:
1. He had no ideas about trying to prevent a monotonous storyline from happening.
2. He felt the need to follow general movie antics.

Either way, both outcomes lead to an awkward aftertaste to remember. It just didn't seem fitting for bad guys to enter the story, in such a forced manner nonetheless. It was quite disappointing for the story to take this path. If it had just stayed within Shinaki's unvaried romance formulas, it probably would have been better by default. Saying this, however, I don't know of any other way the movie could have progressed without those bad guys at play. The matter simply comes down to the fact that Shinkai had just screwed himself over by having a story that needed some antagonist force.

Another thing I find interesting is that the story takes no means to expand, by this, I mean that the story just stays within its hole and throws random supernatural elements, answering vaguely, leaving a few questions behind, personally, this was distasteful to come across as I was quite interested in the world of Weathering With You as a whole.

Though, with all this negative feedback I have said, Weathering With You best point in the story is right there. The weather. It is interesting to see pathetic fallacy used in this movie with the rain showing all the hardships the characters go through, whilst the sun shows all the pleasant joyous moments the characters experience. Although this is a natural response when creating a movie of its kind, it was still interesting to see how it all played out. It is a basic element to hold the story on, though it was presented in a simple way which made for a quite nice watch.

All in all, the story is has a basic foundation, with a few interesting elements that were ruined by the main storyline structure and events that had taken place.


Art/Visuals - 10:
Not surprisingly, the movie is filled with fantastic visuals throughout the entire duration, from shameless McDonald's product placement to city views from rooftops, Weathering With You's visuals was just flawless all around. Not much else to say other than this is a visual masterpiece, as expected from a Shinkai movie, even the animation was greatly detailed, the water drops had a nice fluid motion, individuals that appear for about 5 seconds had as much attention as the MCs, the list goes on. In a nutshell, this eye candy.


Sound/Audio - 9:
Again, with the audio, great sounds to remember from, the Fireworks Festival, in particular, was one of my favourites, the OP is very catchy too, a few of the soundtracks had vocals too which were pleasant to listen upon if I say so myself. VAs did a pretty good job with the characters as well giving them that human nature the characters are based upon.


Characters - 7:
The characters, although generic, were better than the story at hand because as mentioned before, they didn't run the risk of taking an unusual path. Despite this, the characters had some basic development but their ethics and ideal were as unembellished as so. There were just simple characters, not thinking over their actions half the time as an excuse to push the plot forward. It was quite disheartening with a story such as this since there was potential to make for a more interesting character considering their environment and preternatural nature at hand.

Starting with the MCs, Hodaka had run away from home looking for a job, you could already see how he would end up, and with this being a Shinkai movie, he was going to end up in the positive side of things. The same was with Hina, she had been in a problematic situation when Hodaka first properly encountered Hina. This situation had shown that Hodaka and Hina were both simple-minded teens with good intentions, but that is just it. There is nothing much to hold the boat of the two other than that.

Side characters... they weren't that bad, they had some importance such as Nagi Amano, Natsumi and Keisuke Suga, all the while, they felt like regular people of the regular world. Although they acted as plot devices from time to time, they did have their moments to develop themselves, saying this, this usually happens to Suga and Natsumi. Since Nagi was with the MCs, most of the time he didn't have much time to develop himself, though he did have an interesting personality being a ladies' man type character.

Familiar faces Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu from Shinkai's movie 'Your Name' made an appearance in the film as well, though, Taki was being used much more than Mitsuha which is slightly disappointing that there was no equal screen time shared between the two.


Enjoyment - 9:
Amazing audiovisuals was enough for me to enjoy the film a lot, but the story fell flat which is a shame. It was a nice drama romance, which didn't feel so melodramatic given the event that happened in the movie.


Overall - 8.2 (8)


TLDR Review:
Story - 6: Basic boy meets girl story with a cool theme of pathetic fallacy, but slightly awkward 'bad guys' appear
Art/Visuals - 10: A visual masterpiece, no less.
Sound/Audio - 9: Great catchy sounds, VAs did a good job.
Characters - 7: Generic character behaviour and ideals, but cool side characters.
Enjoyment - 9: The audiovisuals made it enjoyable, a regular drama romance with little melodrama.
Overall - 8.2 (8)


If you have enjoyed many Shinkai movies then this movie is certainly for you and to a general audience, I would recommend this movie anyways as it is one of the few visual masterpieces offered to anime viewers. Whilst this isn't special in the grand scheme of things, it is certainly a must-watch.

[Spoilers ahead]

The monumental success of Makoto Shinkai’s “Kimi no Na wa” is something that cannot be understated. It was a popcorn film that catapulted an already respected anime director to the superstar status often associated with the likes of Hayao Miyazaki. As such, all eyes were on him to make a follow-up to the 2016 juggernaut with another smash hit. As such, in 2019, Tenki no Ko hit theaters. It was not a particularly good movie, however, it is one that does show improvements over its predecessor despite some tremendous setbacks of its own.

At first glance, the visuals seem to be of similar quality to ... Kimi no Na wa. There are several shots of detailed landscapes and weather effects that look absolutely gorgeous. The almost photorealistic backgrounds have been stressed more than in Shinkai’s previous work. There are several well-animated cuts of characters running or of out of control nature wreaking havoc. The character designs also feel less plain than last time thanks to more casual wardrobe being worn instead of just school and work uniforms. However, looking more closely reveals some faults. I’ve never been a fan of the art style of Shinkai’s films, as they often felt bland and with awkward facial expressions. At times, the heads made it seem like a diet version of Dennou Coil’s art style. Even worse, the CGI in this film is far more rampant than last time. Ugly-looking vehicles, moving camera shots, and overhead shots of 3D buildings and people are a constant eyesore in an otherwise well-animated movie. The presentation of scenes can also feel a bit cheesy and heavyhanded, like when a character realizes he’s crying and we see streams of tears gushing one by one, or when sunshine cascades over windows and objects during a musical montage like in an anime OP.

Another aspect that’s worse than last time is the music. The actual background OST is fine, particularly the parts where a piece distorts itself whenever something strange happens in the movie. There aren’t any particularly memorable pieces, but that isn’t the problem here. The insert songs are the real issue, as we have several bland and overproduced “happy” and “emotional” songs by RADWIMPS and other artists. Every montage has to have one regardless of if it fits all that well, and every time the final act has a big emotional moment, one of these songs has to be there. The last 25 minutes have about 5 of these songs, including 2 EDs. They are all so overdone to the point where it either feels like they’re just trying too hard to force an emotion a scene or montage is meant to invoke, or like they’re emotionally manipulative. The insert songs in Kimi no Na wa weren’t very memorable either, but they never felt this overdone or like there were way too many of them. There is absolutely no restraint here whatsoever.

That said, a film is more than just its audiovisuals, and Tenki no Ko has some promising improvements. There are actual characters in this film instead of just bland teenagers and adults with up to 2 personality traits and no chemistry to speak of. The adult side characters have some actual life to them, particularly Natsumi and Keisuke Suga. The former is a peppy girl often down on her luck and ready to tease others while the former is a sassy alcoholic with a scoundrel side to him. They write articles on the supernatural and bounce off our main characters nicely. However, with one step forward comes a concussion-inducing fall back. While the characters do have a bit more life in them and chemistry between each other this time around, the character arcs in this film are miserable. Keisuke Suga’s arc of trying to get over his smoking habit in order to be with his daughter with asthma gets introduced before the concept of him smoking or trying to quit gets shown. The only time he struggles with it is when he sees a cat and decides “no, kitty, you’re right” before crumpling his cigarette. His arc is then resolved offscreen and halfway through the movie, he tells the main characters/the audience that he got custody over her and now hangs out with her regularly. He then smokes and drinks ⅔ into the movie, only for that to never come up again as he no longer needs to overcome anything. He’s already won offscreen.

The main characters have it even worse. Hina is a typical altruistic teenage girl, so she’s about as uninteresting as Kimi no Na wa’s main duo. Then, there’s Kodaka, who is absolutely abysmal. Everything he does in this movie is solely born out of a refusal to accept reality. Why does he run away from home and move into Tokyo? He felt suffocated in a stagnant environment, and moving out officially would most likely be out of the question. I say that because the idea was never brought up in the film itself. Why does he decide to flood the city of Tokyo for 3 years? He wants to be with his the girl he fell in love with as they were doing their rain-reversal gig together, consequences and the world be damned. He made his parents (who we never see) worried sick by disappearing for at least a month, never once considering the idea staying in contact with them or trying to move out in order to start a new life in a way that doesn’t involve ghosting his family. Even knowing the eventual fate of Sunshine girls such as Hina, he never once tells her the potential risk of overusing her rain-reversal powers. He has no reason to not consider that the legends he researched regarding her and those like her might be true given that he found out firsthand that she has those mythical powers. He has no reason not to at least warn her. He certainly has no reason to not see this coming, and then he gets all desperate and crestfallen once it comes true. He then decides to bring her back, knowing that she had to be sacrificed to the clouds to restore balance to the weather so that it didn’t rain for 3 years in a row, nonstop. Imagine the thousands of people were displaced from their homes, the millions who have to learn to adjust to a world where everything is flooded 24/7. Imagine all the industries that cannot operate in such inclimate weather, leaving thousands without a job, and hundreds forced have to play indoors or just not have a sports career for several years. The film already showed us and the main characters how flea markets couldn’t operate in the rain. So much for any air travel in Japan for the next 3 years without there being absurd delays at best. Oh but it’s ok since this outstandingly inconsiderate decision was Kodaka’s idea and Tokyo was originally Umi bay until humanity and nature eventually made it not that so maybe it’s ok for it to return to that form even though he never actually cared about any of that in the slightest. The idea of him needing to grow up and face reality is reduced to a mere suggestion instead of a character arc since clearly the adults who don’t 100% support his reckless endeavors are wrong. Clearly the irresponsible and inconsiderate brat with absolutely no life experience beyond getting beat up a few times is right. Gotta appeal to the teenagers frustrated with adults and the world around them somehow, even if such excessive romanticization and bias gets in the way of all logic. Maturity and sensibility are overrated, anyway.

It’s rather difficult not to blow up at all this, as it’s easily the most outrageous part of the film, actively ruining what was an otherwise decent, if somewhat contrived and dubiously presented movie. The final act even outside of the abysmal ending relies on contrivances for characters to meet up at the most opportune and inopportune of times and for Hodaka to get thrown into and thrust out of sticky situations. This isn’t mentioning plotholes like how Hina learned to summon lightning in order for it to strike down so she can get everyone away from the police in a sequence that could’ve been better if they had just outran them as Hodaka did before, or why she never uses it again. The film had a few decent characters and ideas going for it in the first hour. However, cuz this popcorn blockbuster absolutely must have a hectic climax and a happy ending, it had to throw everything down the drain for a morally bankrupt and deeply inconsiderate main character whose antics only ever get a slap on the wrist at worst. He’s almost always in the right for his awful decisions in a film that already struggled at writing character arcs. It’s a shame the final act had to wash away an initially acceptable movie, even if it is still better than Kimi no Na wa.

At least the characters held hands in this one, so it did somewhat address Tomino’s complaints on Shinkai not letting its characters have any physicality in their relationship whatsoever. Maybe next time they’ll actually kiss or something. Hopefully, the girl is actually older than the guy this time so he doesn’t feel cucked out of that specific fetish. We all know Shinkai puts his kinks into these movies while his characters are constantly cheated out of them...right?

You'll be disappointed if you're expecting a tear-jerker anime like Kimi no Na Wa. However, if you drop all expectations that it will surpass its predecessor, it's quite the masterpiece on its own.

Art 10/10:
Director Shinkai seems to really love Shinjuku station. As someone who has been living at Shinjuku for years, I'd say he really brought out the feel of it - from the moody-looking South Exit to the South-East area where Hodaka camps out at night; to the Kabuki-cho Mcdonalds where he first meets Hina. There's no movie magic in it; the roads and pathways all exist in real life, and the distance ... was well respected. The fantastical art when the supernatural is involved was also as pleasing as it was in his previous works.

Sound 10/10:
I liked it so much I bought the soundtrack immediately after watching it. The insert songs are all great, and the BGM really brings out the mood in each scene.

Story/Character 10/10:
While cliche at parts, I found myself rooting for each of the characters when they were the focus. From the shady-at-first Suga-san to our unlucky Hodaka, to the mysterious Hina and the ambiguous relationship between Natsumi and Suga-san. Even the supporting characters are given personalities, such as the policemen who were worried at first, but became cautiously aggressive after they received a radio call. Every character was there for a reason.

Enjoyment 10/10:
I enjoyed the movie overall. The only qualm I had was that the time skip at the end was done before the credits - it would definitely be more natural if they were to do it after the credits. It wouldn't ruin your enjoyment though, so go out there and give it a chance!

overall, i really enjoy this movie, especially the art that makoto shinkai represent to us who watch it
not just an enjoyment that i get, but knowledge too, about weather, or about how a city can be there. makoto shinkai do a magic once again that make my eye not blink for 1 hour (i mean less blink)
even the hype is not like last series of shinkai movie, but i love this one. i think this movie recommend not only for kids, but to teenager or adult because shinkai gonna spoiled their eye to this movie.
1 think that i can to say is, LOVE ... IS BLIND