Tenki no Ko (Weathering With You) Review

I finally got the chance to watch Tenki no Ko also known as Weathering With You so I will now review it. Weathering With You is a 112 minute, romance, drama, slice of life, fantasy anime film released in 2019 from CoMix Wave Films, Inc and directed by the great Makoto Shinkai. If he sounds familiar he's also known for directing other fantastic anime films like Voice of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimetres Per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, and Your Name. With Your Name being the highest grossing anime film. So I was pretty hyped for Weathering With You. Lets just say I was not disappointed with it.

Summary
Tokyo is experiencing rain showers that seem to disrupt the usual pace of everyone living there. Amidst this seemingly eternal downpour arrives Hodaka Morishima, a runaway high school student who struggles to support himself financially-ending up with a job at a small-time publisher. Meanwhile, the orphaned Hina Amano also strives to find work to support herself and her younger brother, Nagi.
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 gir"-someone who will clear the sky for people when they need it the most.
Things start looking up for them at first. However, it is a common knowledge that power always comes a hefty price...

My Thoughts
As you could tell I loved Weathering with You and thought it lived up to its hype. While it may look like a rip-off or copy of Your Name that is far from the truth. Besides there's no such thing as an original idea nowadays. It is yet another masterpiece from Makoto Shinkai. Being a 2019 anime the animation was terrific. This is probably the most I've enjoyed watching an anime movie from beginning to end. The story and plot is nothing but outstanding. It was executed and carried out extremely well. Now for where I disagree with most people. Most people say this is not as tearjerking or emotional as Your Name but I got the same amount of emotions out of Weathering With You as I did with Your Name. While I wouldn't say this is as emotional or tearjerking as Full Moon wo Sagashite, Kobato, Your Lie in April, or Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noburo Sora, it definitely has its feels. As you know the two things I look for in an anime are the romance and ending and I wasn't disappointed with either. The relationship between our two main characters Hina and Hodaka progresses and they become stronger together the more they spend time together. It goes to the point Hodaka goes out of his way for Hina. Because I didn't give a spoiler alert I will just say I liked the ending.

I also think I've found the perfect song for this film which is "Between the Raindrops" by Lifehouse. It is about having a relationship despite the chaos around and going through the good and bad things. Unsure of what to expect next you just have to experience life and go for it and hope for the best. To me it's kind of like being in the eye of a hurricane or this case a sunny spot in a rainstorm. The chorus describe the movie almost perfectly,

"Walking between the raindrops, Riding the aftershock beside you, Off into the sunset, Living like there's nothing left to lose, Chasing after gold mines, crossing the fine lines we knew, Hold and take a breath, I'll be here every step, Walking between the raindrops with you."

My Conclusion
I would give Weathering With You 5/5 stars or a 10/10 score. I thought it was just amazing. I would highly recommend Weathering With You if you enjoyed Makoto Shinkai's other movies like Voice of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimetres Per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, and Your Name and I think you'll love Weathering With You as well. I can't wait for Makoto Shinkai's next movie.