Weathering With You Review: A Fast-Paced Fantasy Romance with Stormy Emotions

They leap, not because everything’s fixed—but because they’re together. Weathering With You celebrates the light we make, even in uncertain times.

Introduction

Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You (Tenki no Ko, translated "Child of Weather") blends action, magic, and teenage romance into a visually stunning coming-of-age story that is both compelling and strange. For fans of emotionally charged anime films like Your Name, this film offers a high-stakes narrative and striking visuals, but also introduces heavier, more adult themes that may surprise younger viewers. It’s a story about courage in the face of danger—and about choosing love, even when the world says not to.

Plot Summary

Set in a rain-soaked Tokyo, Weathering With You follows Hodaka, a high school runaway trying to survive in the city. He meets Hina, a mysterious girl with the power to stop the endless rain and bring sunlight back—if only for a moment.

As the two teens grow closer, they build a small business offering "sunshine girl" services to the public. But their magical connection comes at a price, and soon, the consequences of altering nature become impossible to ignore. Hodaka must make an impossible choice between saving the world and saving the person he loves.

The trailer for Weathering With You

Themes and Genre

This film is a romantic fantasy drama wrapped in a coming-of-age narrative. It explores climate anxiety, sacrifice, teen independence, and moral ambiguity. At its heart, it’s a story about finding hope—and choosing love—when everything feels beyond your control.

But it also touches on darker, more grounded topics: runaway youth, societal neglect, abuse of power, and even underage exploitation. These elements, while handled carefully, make the film feel more intense and emotionally charged than Shinkai’s earlier works.

Character Analysis

Hodaka Morishima

A runaway with more courage than wisdom, Hodaka is impulsive and driven by a deep desire to protect those he cares about. His arc is marked by desperation and devotion, making him both flawed and deeply sympathetic.

Hina Amano

Hina’s strength is quiet but powerful. Her sense of responsibility and self-sacrifice makes her a compelling character, even as her choices lead to consequences far bigger than herself. The fact that she carries such weight at such a young age is both moving and tragic.

Supporting Characters

Keisuke Suga and Natsumi provide some comic relief and moral complexity, while Hina’s little brother Nagi adds levity and charm. Each supporting character plays a meaningful role in pushing the story forward.

Animation and Sound

As expected from CoMix Wave Films and Shinkai, the animation is breathtaking. The cityscapes of Tokyo—glossy with rain, glowing with light—are practically characters in themselves. The weather effects are mesmerizing, and the transitions between sunshine and storm are symbolic and cinematic.

The soundtrack by RADWIMPS elevates the emotional impact with sweeping tracks and intimate melodies. It’s a perfect match for the film’s urgent tone and tender moments.

Is Weathering With You Family-Friendly?

Not entirely. While the romance and visuals may appeal to younger viewers, there are mature themes and scary sequences:

• Hodaka runs away from home and lives on the streets

• Brief but implied mention of teen prostitution

• Police chases, gun use, and kidnapping

• Hina’s sacrifice could be emotionally upsetting to younger children

For these reasons, it’s best suited to teens 13+ and up, with parental discretion advised for sensitive or younger viewers.

Final Verdict

Weathering With You is a visually rich, emotionally high-stakes anime that blends magical realism with the grit of real-world challenges. It’s more intense and thematically mature than Your Name, but still rooted in the emotional earnestness Shinkai is known for.

Pros:

• Gorgeous visuals and music

• A unique blend of fantasy and real-world stakes

• Emotionally compelling leads

• Strong pacing and dramatic tension

Cons:

• Darker, more adult content may feel out of place for some

• The romance, while sweet, may come off as impulsive or unrealistic

• Moral ambiguity may leave some viewers conflicted

Our Rating:

2.5 / 4 Mochi

Similar Titles

If you enjoyed Weathering With You, you might also like:

1. Spirited Away

Both films explore supernatural realms tied to emotional healing, with a young protagonist navigating loss and transformation.

2. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

A richly layered story about environmental balance, sacrifice, and compassion—mirroring Weathering With You’s moral dilemmas and natural symbolism.

3. Princess Mononoke

Like Weathering With You, it centers on the clash between human ambition and the sacredness of nature, with no easy answers.

4. Suzume

Shinkai’s spiritual successor to Weathering With You, featuring a similar blend of disaster, romance, and emotional healing on a national scale.

5. When Marnie Was There

Shares Weathering With You’s introspective tone and themes of memory, longing, and self-discovery through a magical lens.

FAQs

Is Weathering With You appropriate for kids?

Not really. The film contains themes like running away, implied underage work, and gun violence. It’s more suitable for teens and older.

Is there a happy ending?

The ending is emotionally satisfying but bittersweet. It prioritizes love and personal choice over traditional “hero saves the world” resolution.

Is it connected to Your Name?

It’s a standalone story, but there are cameo appearances from Your Name characters. Fans will enjoy the nods.

What genre is Weathering With You?

It’s best described as a romantic fantasy drama with elements of magical realism and coming-of-age storytelling.