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.
