Back to ArcturusMi's Profile ArcturusMi's Profile

"Beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young."

"Beware of a best-selling series that lacks fanservice in a genre where fanservice is rampant"

The anime adaptation of Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai shows how a romcom without any fanservice to the level of its competitors managed to become a best-selling hit.

The skits are funny and creative, and the great performance of the characters' voice boosted the already-great skits and other skits who are not-so-well received because it was cringeworthy (according to some) was even improved by their performance.
The show can get serious too, as evidenced by the Ishigami Arc where it's more of a ... drama (not without its share of comedy too). Overall this part REALLY reminds me of Gintama a riot comedy show that can also touch on some more dramatic points.

I'm not someone who deeply judge an anime's art, animation nor its soundbytes, but this anime adaptation managed to not disappoint. The OP sung by Masayuki Suzuki is as jazzy as the previous season's OP, the general soundtracks are OK not outstanding enough for me to pick up/notice them (which is often the case in animes where their soundtrack is renowned), the art is not something i can judge.... I can't draw nor tell what's a good character design, but i can vouch that they're not overdesigned to say the least and are pleasing in the eyes.

10/10 put this in your bucket list, peeps.

I'll start off by saying that i'll compare Weathering With You relative to other Shinkai works, especially Your Name.


[STORY]
First off, the story. Shinkai approach a magical theme like he did with Your Name, but the plot itself isn't really bombastic in comparison to Your Name. For me, i don't really feel the theme, Weather, works. Most of the time the MCs are helping other people to get their clear sky... And that's it. Even the entire story is about the duo's hardships that they overcome as the movie goes on. It's pretty simple.... and that's it.

This is my first experience with Shinkai trying to give ... life to the side characters. Characters associated with the MC now have their own short stories.... But i feel those stories aren't conveyed really well, even certain character suddenly changing his mind near the end of the movie still felt unnatural to me. And the consequence of splitting the focus? The love story.

The MCs romantic progression doesn't feel natural at all, that i wonder whether i'm supposed to cry when there's a sad scene involving the couple..... "Why, why are you crying..? You're not THAT close..." rings in my head every scenes, where i'd be tearing my hearts out in 5cm per second even though i never experienced a heartbreak by LDR, those characters' actions and emotions are natural. If you think Garden of Words romance is lacking, then you will have a field day chewing that aspect here. Compare it to Your Name which depicts a pretty common relationship between two friends that ends up being lovers, playful fighting and all.

But on side note, there's a not-so-subtle symbolism between two characters, which i believe (considering many people are confused on what message wants to be delivered here) is about "adulthood".

There are some plot points that was mentioned but leads nowhere, (i'll keep it as vague as possible) such as "multiple weather girls" or "their job is to convey prayers, not to pray by themselves".... Heck, even the main magical power is unexplained and left vague, unlike Your Name where it's more or less the action of Itomori God intertwining Miyamizu Priestess and an outsider, in order to warn the Itomori people of Tiamat.

That being said, i enjoy the comedy here. Where in Your Name it's just Taki being pervert or just classic body swapping shenanigans, here all characters commit. Hodoka has a perverted streak (that Shinkai managed turn into a dramatic sequence later on), a certain underage playboy, a father and his niece, all contributes to the comedy.

To end the story review, i'll compare it to Your Name in two aspect, fun and relateability.
Your Name is REALLY fun, even without that twist and ending, body swap is fun, slice of life is fun, combine the two, add contrasting locations, and you end up with a fun story.
Weathering With You starts off rough. And its first half is about improving their lives, which, in my opinion, isn't very fun and the way they do it is also predictable.

Your Name's Taki and Mitsuha are pretty relateable. Taki is an urban highschooler, whose activities are pretty interesting for a foreigner like me, as it delves on what being a HS student in Tokyo feels like (or at least, ideal live as HS student in Tokyo), the fancy school, hanging out at cafe, and part time job at an Italian Restaurant. While Mitsuha is about the emerging trend of Japanese teenagers, where they're sick of living in the sticks, which is also pretty common in other places as well.

Tenki No Ko, however.... Hodoka isn't relateable at all, especially when his reason for going to Tokyo doesn't make sense at all (even i have to wonder when he shows THAT MUCH resistance against the idea of him returning to his home). Hina is pretty decent, however, making the ends meet... And yeah that's it.


[Sound]
It's RADWIMPS, whaddya expect? Though, their songs aren't that memorable compared to Dream Lantern, Zenzenzense, Sparkle, and Nandemonaiya (because the montages they play on is also really memorable, tbh). Great Escape is banger!


[Art]
It's Makoto Shinkai, whaddya expect? Other people mentioned a bad CGI, but i just don't see it. Maybe it's because of my shit sight? Should i change my lenses? Idk.


Bottom line, it's a good movie. The story is notably weaker than other Shinkai works. But it's still a good movie nonetheless.