A boy runs away to Tokyo and befriends a girl who appears to be able to manipulate the weather.
Here it is, Makoto Shinkai's latest release, Weathering With You. After the incredibly popular Your Name was released in 2017, there was a lot of hype about his latest work, in which Shinkai was again the writer, producer, and director. In all honesty, it's impossible to speak about this film without comparing it to Shinkai's prior release. Not only due to similarities, but also because the film confirms that both stories happen in the same film thanks to cameo appearances from both Taki and Mitsuha (the main protagonists of Your Name). Perhaps this is the start of a Shinkai Cinematic Universe?
As is expected of a modern Shinkai project, the animation in Weathering With You is top-notch. The visual style is very similar to Your Name though there is less variation in environment types due to the story content, with the whole film taking place in the city of Tokyo. While being set solely in a city landscape does place limitations on scene variations, there is still a great number of design details keep the scenes visually interesting. There has also been a transition from a focus on artistic camera angles, towards more dynamic tracking and sweeping aerial shots to keep the pace of the film moving along.
The narrative and story are where Weathering With You starts to deviate more from its predecessor. While in Your Name the body-swapping premise was an integral part of the romantic arc, Weathering With You takes a much more traditional approach and, therefore, has a much stronger love story (even if simply because our two main characters actually spend a lot of time together). While the love story has better strength, the narrative is much more straight forward and simplified (which may actually help the film reach a more mainstream audience). The simplicity does create a problem, however, where it becomes rather predictable once all of the elements have been introduced. This predictability means, as a member of the audience, you are waiting for the predicted events to transpire rather than being fully engaged by the emotional story that comes along with the plot.
There is also a curiously darker tone to the film. With a city among constant poor weather patterns, the overall aesthetic is oftentimes much gloomier, but thematically speaking, the content is much more mature. The premise itself puts the protagonists in the awkward positions where they must come across more mature than they are to survive. Without IDs, parental guidance, and thanks to a compulsory schooling rule, our main characters are instantly thrown into a morally and ethically grey area that pushes them further from "good" behaviour. Guns, gangs, love hotels, and adult entertainment are all a part of living in Tokyo.
This is no Your Name. If you go into this film expecting another story that catches you off-guard, you will leave the theatre disappointed, so manage your expectations. Weathering With You is a much more straightforward story. While the general look of the animation is similar, the tone is more mature, and there is a greater focus on the emotional development of the characters and their relationships. There is great chemistry between our core duo, Hina and Hodaka, and the supporting characters of Kei, Natsumi, and Nagi each bring surprisingly well-rounded personalities (with good backstory) to the table.
Every element of the anime is great, but not exemplary. It's as if there was more effort into replicating the success of Your Name than trying to make Weathering With You stand on its own two feet. The soundtrack is fine but isn't as evocative or specific. The story is easy to follow, but predictable. There is elements of the story that are revealed as the story progresses, but nothing that is as jarring and unexpected as what you got in Your Name. The love story is stronger but is less emotionally engaging.
By all means, Weathering With You is a satisfactory story that is visually gorgeous. There are, unfortunately, no elements that make the story memorable. While you will certainly enjoy it, it is not something that has the layers needed to keep it satisfying after several viewings.