Weathering With You

"This is the story of the world's secret that only she and I know."

- Hodaka Morishima; Tagline

Tenki no Ko (天気の子) is a 2019 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film was produced by CoMix Wave Films, Wakana Okamura, Kinue Itō, and Story Inc., and the music was composed by Radwimps. Weathering with You was released in Japan on July 19, 2019, one day after the publication of the light novel. A manga adaptation illustrated by Watari Kubota was first serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon on July 25 the same year. The film was selected as the Japanese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. It also received four Annie Award nominations including Best Independent Animated Feature, which makes it the third anime film tying with Spirited Away and Millennium Actress to have four nominations; the highest for an anime film at the Annies.

Plot
The story is set in 2021 and on an era where the balance of the weather is irregular.

High schooler Hodaka Morishima runs away from his island home to move to Tokyo. When his ferry to the city is hit by a freak rainstorm, he is saved by Keisuke Suga, who gives Hodaka his business card. As Hodaka struggles to find work, a teenage McDonald's employee, Hina, takes pity on him and gives him food. Later on, Hodaka finds an abandoned gun in a trashcan he fell onto. After tracking down Suga's business location, he meets Suga's niece Natsumi. Suga hires him as his assistant at a small publishing company, where they investigate urban legends relating to the unusually rainy weather in Tokyo. From a psychic, they hear the legend of a "weather maiden" who can control the weather.

Hodaka sees Hina being intimidated into working at a back-alley club. Thinking it was a toy, he scares off its owners by firing his gun into the air, and he and Hina escape. She takes him to an abandoned warehouse with a shrine on its roof, where he throws the gun away. Hina astonishes Hodaka by demonstrating her ability to clear the sky by praying. Inspired by the legend of the weather maiden, Hodaka proposes that they start a business: Hina will clear the weather for events such as weddings and parties. Their business quickly becomes a success.

The police search for Hodaka, who was caught on a security camera threatening the club owners. Officers arrive at the apartment where Hina lives with her younger brother Nagi and interrogate her; Hina realizes that because they have no legal guardians, with their mother having died recently, social services are going to take them into custody. Hodaka visits Suga, who has also been visited by the police. Suga fires him, explaining that the police suspect him of kidnapping Hodaka. Hodaka, Hina and Nagi try to run away, but they are halted by a heavy rainstorm and falling snows. Sheltering in a hotel, Hina reveals that she is slowly turning into water. She explains that she is the cause of the abnormal weather and is intended to be a human sacrifice; her disappearance will return the weather to normal. Hodaka promises to protect her, but the next morning, Hina has vanished into the sky and the rains have stopped.

Hodaka and Nagi are arrested. Having already fallen in love with Hina, Hodaka decides to bring her back to Earth and escapes from the police with the help of Natsumi and her Honda Super Cub. After her Super Cub is immobilized, Hodaka resumes on-foot to the warehouse to reach the shrine. Inside, he encounters Suga, who attempts to stop him. The police surround Hodaka, but Suga, now inspired by Hodaka's desperation to see Hina, helps him escape. On the roof, Hodaka jumps through the shrine gate and is transported into the sky, where he finds Hina and asks her to leave with him, insisting that Hina let go of her worries about the weather and start living for herself. Upon descending to the rooftop shrine, Hina, Hodaka, Natsumi, Nagi, and Suga are all arrested, and the heavy rains resume.

Three years later, the rain has fallen without end in Tokyo, submerging much of the city. Having finished his probation, Hodaka graduates from high school and returns to Tokyo. He meets with Suga, who has expanded his business. After Suga encourages him to find Hina, Hodaka finds her praying on a street overlooking the drowned city. They reunite, with Hodaka promising her that they will be alright.

Characters
Hodaka Morishima (森嶋 帆高, Morishima Hodaka)

Voiced by: Kotaro Daigo (Japanese); Brandon Engman (English)

A high school student who leaves his isolated island home for Tokyo, where he finds a job as a writer.

Hina Amano (天野 陽菜, Amano Hina)

Voiced by: Nana Mori (Japanese); Ashley Boettcher (English)

A cheerful and sturdy girl living with her brother. She has the ability to change the weather.

Keisuke Suga (須賀 圭介, Suga Keisuke)

Voiced by: Shun Oguri (Japanese); Lee Pace (English)

A writer who hires Hodaka.

Natsumi Suga (須賀 夏美, Suga Natsumi)

Voiced by: Tsubasa Honda (Japanese); Alison Brie (English)

A college student working at the same company as Hodaka and Keisuke. Hodaka at first thinks she is Keisuke's mistress only to figure out they are actually related.

Fumi Tachibana (立花 冨美, Tachibana Fumi)

Voiced by: Chieko Baisho (Japanese); Barbara Goodson (English)

Taki's grandmother.

Nagisa Amano (天野 凪, Amano Nagisa)

Voiced by: Sakura Kiryu (Japanese); Emeka Guindo (English)

Hina's younger brother.

Yasui (安井, Yasui)

Voiced by Voiced by: Sei Hiraizumi (Japanese); Mike Pollock (English)

An old, experienced police officer.

Takai (高井, Takai)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (Japanese); Riz Ahmed (English)

Yasui's partner.

Ayane (アヤネ, Ayane)

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese); Emma DePalma (English)

One of Nagi's girlfriends.

Kana (カナ, Kana)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Echo Picone (English)

One of Nagi's girlfriends.

Mitsuha Miyamizu (宮水 三葉, Miyamizu Mitsuha)

Voiced by: Mone Kamishiraishi (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh (English)

A jewelry saleswoman in the store LUMINE who helps Hodaka figure whether the ring for Hina is suitable. Mitsuha previously appeared in Shinkai's previous film Your Name.

Taki Tachibana (立花 瀧, Tachibana Taki)

Voiced by: Ryunosuke Kamiki (Japanese); Michael Sinterniklaas (English)

Fumi's grandson. He holds the Obon ceremony for his late grandfather. Taki previously appeared in Shinkai's previous film Your Name.

Inspirations
Makoto Shinkai was inspired by the art of weather of this film, since it is a familiar topic for everybody. Shinkai states that he has been working on creating "a very real entertainment piece that will make you laugh, cry and say". He also says "It’s so thrilling, as well as arouse your intellectual curiosity".

Production
On August 2, 2018, Makoto Shinkai revealed that he has a new feature film in production and would be released the following year. Weathering with You was planned using the storyboarding and pre-production software Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. The film will be produced by Genki Kawamura and Story inc with the production company CoMix Wave Films. It will be distributed by Toho. Weathering with You released after the arson incident in Kyoto Animation (KyoAni)'s first studio at Uji in the Kyoto Prefecture.

Shinkai tweeted about his admiration for Shikao Suga, and that he "borrowed" the last name for the character Keisuke Suga.

Animation staffs
Masayoshi Tanaka, previous character designer for Kimi no Na wa., will illustrate the characters and dresses. Atsushi Tamura (The Cat Returns, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin) is the animation director and Hiroshi Takiguchi (The Garden of Words) is the art director. Yojiro Noda is the animation storyboard script and lyrics checker. Other key roles are filled by returning crew members from Your Name.

Casting
More than 2,000 Japanese voices actors auditioned for the film's two protagonists, from which Kotaro Daigo (Sakamichi Onoda in the Yowamushi Pedal stage play) and Nana Mori (Hell Girl and Last Letter) were eventually the chosen ones. Other key roles were filled with returning crew members of Your Name. On May 29, 2019, additional cast was announced: Shun Oguri (Keisuke Suga), Tsubasa Honda (Natsumi), Chieko Baisho (Fumi), Sakura Kiryuu (Nagisa Amano), Sei Hiraizumi (Yasui), and Yuki Kaji (Takai).

Recording
The film's voice recording sessions began on April 27, 2019.

Music
Like Shinkai's Your Name, Radwimps wrote and composed the soundtrack and score for the film. There are two J-Pop songs, "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie" by AKB48 and "Koi" by Gen Hoshino, used as karaoke songs in the film.

Marketing
On December 13, 2018, a press conference was held to reveal the film and announce it would be released on July 19, 2019. The first teaser trailer debuted on April 10, exactly 100 days before the premiere. The second trailer was released on May 28. Producer Genki Kawamura presented a work in process screening on June 14, 2019, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France that was open to industry professionals and students but not the general public. TV Asahi aired footage from the film's opening scene during a reshowing of Shinkai's previous film Your Name on June 30. Before its screening in Japan, Uniqlo launched special t-shirts with designs inspired by Weathering with You and Shinkai's previous anime films. Weathering with You reportedly promoted multiple products and companies including SoftBank Group, Suntory and Baitoru, in television advertisements. During its screening in Japan, many convenience stores such as Lawson launched food products inspired by the film. Weathering with You screenings in 4DX and MX4D begins from September 27 onwards.

Release
Weathering with You was released in Japan on July 19, 2019, at 9 a.m. by its distributor Toho on 448 screens in 359 theaters across the country. Theaters in Tokyo's Shinjuku and Osaka's Umeda districts, however, premiered the film at midnight, July 18. Weathering with You official website announced on September 20 that the film would be shown in the popular 4DX and MX4D formats throughout Japan from September 27.

It was announced that the film would be released worldwide; on July 16, releases had already been decided for 140 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, exceeding the 130 for Your Name.

In Asia, EDKO Films released the film in Hong Kong on August 8, Encore Films streamed a Malay, Chinese, and English-subtitled trailer and announced and released the film in few Southeast Asia countries including; Indonesia on August 21, Vietnam on August 30, Malaysia & Brunei on September 5 and Singapore on September 12. Pioneer Films announced and released the movie in the Philippines on August 28. Producer Genki Kawamura said they want to release it in India because 53,000 people signed a petition requesting its release there. On August 10, director Makoto Shinkai and the official page of Weathering with You announced through Twitter the film would be screened in 20 Indian cities including Mumbai and Delhi from October 11, 2019. PVR Pictures and Bookmyshow-backed theater-on-demand platform Vkaao distributed the film. It was the first mature Japanese animated film to be screened theatrically in India. CJ CGV announced that Weathering with You would premiere in South Korea in October 30. Volga Film Company has confirmed it would release the film on October 31. Thai film distributor Major Group announced the film would open in Thailand on November 7, 2019, but was changed to September 5, 2019. The film has been approved by Beijing's censors and hit Chinese theaters on November 1.

In North America, GKIDS announced that it had acquired the rights of the film and screened an awards-qualifying run in 2019, followed by a theatrical release with Japanese and English-language options on January 17, 2020. The 44th Toronto International Film Festival, which was held from September 5 to 15 in 2019, hosted the North American premiere of the film. As part of the "Special Presentation" category, it is eligible to compete for the People's Choice award. GKIDS premiered the film in the US at Animation Is Film Festival on October 18, 2019, with Makoto Shinkai in attendance, and it additionally received a one-day IMAX showing.

In Europe, the 67th San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain hosted the European premiere of the film from September 20 to 28 2019. Anime Limited acquired the UK and Ireland rights of the film, premiering the film at Scotland Loves Anime on October 12, 2019, with a theatrical run in Japanese and English-language options from January 17, 2020. In Italy, Dynit and Nexo Digital released the film theatrically on October 14, 2019. Selecta Visión has licensed it in Spain and screened the film on November 29, 2019. In France, the film was released on January 8, 2020 by Anime Limited and BAC Films. In Germany, the film was released on January 16, 2020 by Universum Film. In Portugal, the film was released on February 20, 2020 by Big Picture Films, with a special screening on February 14, 2020.

In Australia and New Zealand, Madman Entertainment acquired the rights of the film and began screening it theatrically from August 22, 2019, with encore screenings of the English dub from February 13, 2020.

In Middle East, the leading independent film distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has announced that the film will be releasing soon. Novo Cinemas has mentioned the release of July 2, 2020 on its website.

Home Media
The movie released on Blu-ray in Japan on May 27, 2020. A collectors edition included a 4K UHD Disc. English and Chinese subtitles were included. The film is also scheduled for a Blu-ray/DVD home media release on September 15, 2020 in North America, with a limited edition set for a November 2020 release. A digital release is planned for August 4, 2020.

Box Office
During its initial screening in 359 theaters and 448 screens in Japan, Weathering with You sold 1,159,020 tickets to earn ¥1,643,809,400 (approx $15.22 million) in its first three days. It was reported that Weathering with You surpassed Shinkai's previous film, Your Name, which earned ¥1,277,960,000 (about $12.51 million at the time) in its first three days of screening, earning 28.6% more. By August 25, 2019, it had sold eight million tickets and earned ¥10.73 billion (about $101 million). By September 16, 2019, it had earned ¥12.72 billion, ranking eighteenth in the all-time Japanese box-office rankings. By October 2, 2019, the film had sold over 10 million tickets in Japan, after 75 days on the market. By October 20, 2019, it had sold 10.27 million tickets and grossed ¥13.7 billion in Japan. As of 12 April 2020, the film has grossed ¥14.06 billion ($127 million) in Japan.

In China, the film had sold 8,985,208 tickets and grossed $42.4 million in its first 17 days on the market, by November 19, 2019. By the end of November 2019, the film had grossed CN¥288.65 million ($43.6 million) in China. In the United States and Canada, the film has grossed $7,798,743, as of March 15, 2020.

Critical response
Early reviews have given Weathering with You a generally positive response. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 91% based on reviews from 85 critics, with an average rating of 7.38/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Beautifully animated and narratively engaging, Weathering with You further establishes writer-director Makoto Shinkai as a singularly talented filmmaker." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku praised the film, saying; "parts of the movie are incredibly moving and for interweaving Shinto beliefs with contemporary Japanese lifelike praying and performing rituals to god for getting clear weather" but later wrote "the biggest problem that Weathering With You has is this: it’s the follow up to Your Name". Daryl Harding writing for Crunchyroll News praised the world-building aspect of the film, stating that Shinkai has his finger on the pulse of modern Tokyo's atmosphere, but criticized the similarity between Weathering with You and Your Name. Kim Morrissy of Anime News Network also gave the film a generally positive review, praising its visuals and use of weather to convey the story's metaphor but criticizing the execution in the second half of the film; she wrote that "Shinkai was evidently constrained by the need to fit his story into a particular template, one that didn't seem to fit the plot this time around". Twwk, reviewing the film for Beneath the Tangles, was mostly positive as well, writing, "The movie isn’t as emotionally powerful as Your Name due to a screenplay that plays too loose (and lazy) to earn its huge moments, but it’s still heartfelt."

Ollie Barder, writing for Forbes, described the animation of Weathering with You as "incredible" and recognized its ability to bring "Tokyo to life in a uniquely palpable way". Later, he praised Shinkai for his way of depicting "wildlife and naturalistic vistas". James Marsh from South China Morning Post praised the film for its animation but criticized it for its lack of "clarity of vision seen in Your Name". He described the plot as more straightforward than that of Your Name but said it has some unanswered, "dangling plot threads". A review by Alicia Haddick for Otaquest praised the film's attempts to differentiate itself from Makoto Shinkai's past work and praised its animation, story and music but said that its reliance on the structure of his last film hurt the movie overall, stating that "it's impossible to discuss this film without the specter of Your Name hanging over your shoulder". Andrew Paredes, writing for ANC X, praised the film's characters, story, themes, and Makoto Shinkai's directing, saying; "The effusive emotion and Shinto mysticism rubbing up nicely against real-world concerns. And then there’s the animation: Shinkai has outdone himself with this follow-up, presenting Tokyo not just with detailed fidelity, but also with a glow that suggests a lush, lambert inner life." Terence Toh, writing for The Star, praised the film's characters and story, saying; "Weathering With You boasts of wonderful visual and likeable characters. The story is also right as rain."

Light Novelization
On April 30, 2019, Shinkai announced through Twitter he had finished writing a novel adaptation of Weathering with You. It was released in print and in digital format by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko on July 18, 2019. On October 24, 2019, Yen Press announced they had licensed the novel for North American release, in print and in digital format, on December 17.

Manga
A manga adaptation drawn by Watari Kubota began serialization on July 25, 2019, in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine. It was announced that the manga would have a colored opening page.