[Goth’s Pick]

Here we are, at the final rewatch in my Makoto Shinkai series! When I first saw Weathering With You in 2019, it had a significant impact on me. I remember being in such awe of Hina’s attitude, of her ability to find and share joy during tough times. At that point in my life, she was a huge inspiration to me. I also distinctly remember Weathering With You being the first time “anime food” had really moved me, and the scene where she cooks ramen reminded me of the joy of slowing down, cooking with intent, and taking the time to enjoy your meal.

This time around, I got to take a new look at Weathering With You. This film is so visually stunning, and I could spend hours just watching the rain in this movie. One thing I find myself really appreciating about Weathering With You is this subtle undercurrent of sadness throughout. There are moments of bliss and love, but our main cast is undeniably living in difficulty. Our two leads first meet when Hina offers Hodaka, a homeless teen runaway a free meal at her workplace. She, herself, is living alone and supporting her younger brother, even as a teenager. There’s something comforting about that feeling of being with someone you love and taking the time to find joy when most of the rest of your life is heavy and unpleasant. It’s a feeling that I am very familiar with, and in 2019, that was my reality, as well.

Weathering With You is a visually beautiful and deeply emotional journey about love and sacrifice. I’m aware that a lot of people are upset with the climax of the movie and how it ended, but I, personally, was impressed. It was such a refreshing outcome for a story like this that you just don’t get to see often. Everyone always makes the “right choice,” but we also automatically assume certain things are the “right choice,” and don’t usually stop to consider how we would react in that situation ourselves. It pulls at you emotionally to see these impossible choices, and it breaks your heart. But people are human; they have human feelings and they make human choices. I really appreciated seeing viscerally human characters in a film.

This movie still really speaks to my heart, and the bittersweet tone of it is like a hug to me. Weathering With You has stunning animation, interesting characters, and a captivating storyline that should not be missed!

And, finally, my ranking of the Shinkai films that I’ve seen:

1. Your Name: while I adore all the movies, as far as rankings go, it’s not even close. Your Name is now one of my favorite movies of all time, and I’m so glad I watched it again.
2. Weathering With You: such a moving emotional tale with the most beautiful rain ever.
3. Suzume: a very fantastical, tear-jerking adventure. Just buckets of fun!

Rating: 📀 I loved this movie.

My best friends and I (known affectionately as Goblin House) have a regular movie night where we all sit down together and watch a movie one of us has chosen. Most of these reviews will come from a Goblin Movie Night, so they will be tagged with the nickname of the Goblin who picked the movie.