A review by chelsloukelly
Weathering with You by Makoto Shinkai

5.0

5/5 Stars: ‘Weathering With You’ is a Young Adult, Magical Realism Light Novel by Makoto Shinkai and translated by Taylor Engel; ‘Weathering With You’ is a whimsical supernatural romance with a pointed environmental message that is vibrant and cosmic. ‘Weathering With You’ was written concurrently with the production of the 2019 film ‘Weathering With You’, this novel comes straight from the director himself. There’s a childish charm to ‘Weathering With You’, which playfully zips through the story of a teenage runaway who arrives in an unfriendly and rain-drenched Tokyo. Makoto treats the serious subject matter with a surprisingly light hand, showing growing desperation as he wanders the streets of Tokyo through the first of a series of peppy music video-like montages. But when reality comes crashing in, that feeling of alienation that Makoto has so expertly displayed before comes creeping in. As desperation increases, the streets of Tokyo fade into a mundanity that is even more terrifying than the 'scary' or 'amazing' impressions that he first has of the city when he arrives. Perhaps the scariest thing, ‘Weathering With You’ declares, is not being able to see the world with the wonder of a child. ‘Weathering With You’ would inevitably draw comparisons to the cosmic romantic masterpiece, ‘Your Name’. It’s also a teenage romance with a supernatural twist and engages in spectacular feats of both visual comedy and breath-taking otherworldly sequences. But ‘Weathering With You’ doesn’t have quite the emotional ambition of ‘Your Name’, instead favouring a buoyant tale of first love that overcomes any of the grim realities Hodoka and Hina face. It would best be described as a slice of life comedy, anchored around the hijinks of the two colourful found families that Hodoka becomes a part of: Hina and her brother, and the publishing company’s only two employees, Keisuke and Natsumi. ‘Weathering With You’ is far and away one of the loveliest and most beautiful novels and animated films in years.