One of the film’s most exciting scenes, taken from action movies, is Hodaka’s daredevil escape through the streets of Tokyo on the back of a motorcycle driven by Natsumi. Pursued by the police and the social services (shades of Shoplifters!), they flee across the city seeking shelter from the incessant rain and cold. With this threat hanging over their heads, Hodaka, Hina and Nagi find themselves in new trouble because they are living without an adult guardian. Part of her life force was used up every time she cleared the skies and let the sunshine in.

This fantasy of teenage omnipotence is countered by a warning, however: Hodaka learns that Hina’s powers are those of the mythical Japanese “Weather Maiden,” who was used in ancient times for similar purposes but who was actually a sacrificial victim. In every instance, the thunderstorm clears away and rays of bright sunlight break through. It keeps food on the table for herself and her cute little brother Nagi (Sakura Kiryu).Īstounding aerial views of Tokyo vie with huge cumulus cloud formations in the sky when Hina does her tricks. She soon becomes known as the Sunshine Girl and goes into business with Hodaka selling her power to people having weddings, family picnics or whatever else requires clear skies.

Eventually he tracks down the orphan Hina (Nana Mori), a girl his age with pigtails and a gentle personality - and an uncanny ability to make it stop raining by praying. Thus he meets Suga (Shun Oguri), the dashing, ironic editor of a magazine of weird tales who offers the penniless boy a job and a roof over his head.įollowing the lead of Suga’s young assistant and possible girlfriend, Natsumi (Tsubasa Honda), Hodaka races around the city doing interviews with people who have had strange experiences worth writing about. He is on a ship about to be swept overboard by the typhoon he foolishly braves when a hand reaches out to grab him. Hodaka (shrilly voiced by Kotaro Daigo) is an idealistic 16-year-old who runs away from his parents’ rural home and heads for Tokyo. All the pieces are in place for a charming tale of magical powers and the price of using them, and once again the ending revolves around an environmental disaster.Īdding it up, the film has the same charming characters and delightfully detailed pastel artwork of its predecessor, but in exchanging Your Name’s sci-fi component for a mythical-magical story, it loses a bit of quota. He works with many of the creators of Your Name, including producers Noritaka Kawaguchi and Genki Kawamura, animation director Masayoshi Tanaka who designed the characters in the earlier film and the Japanese rock band Radwimps for the bouncy, blasting score. Once again, Shinkai takes sure aim at the teenage market and its taste for romance and magical realism.

Weathering with you tenki no ko 2019