Now, don't get me wrong. It is still a good enough film to enjoy and a lot of people might even find this one great.
But if you have high expectations after Shinkai's other works, especially the recent "Your Name", most likely you'll be disappointed. I don't want to spoil anything, so this'll be as spoiler free and as short as possible.
The visuals are gorgeous as always and the music is good too. But the characters and the story just felt boring and uninspired. It felt like Shinkai didn't come up with anything really good or original and just did a formula rehash of "Your Name". We have the same combination of boy and girl that have their issues and want to be together but are being torn apart throughout the movie because of *spoilers*. Then there are some fantastical elements and the same pop band performing rather repetitive songs if compared to their stellar song for "Your Name". The songs for this film felt like Avril Lavigne or Nickelback, kinda good but unoriginal and they all sound the same.
It felt like Shinkai was trying too hard to live up to his masterpiece, which I have no doubt is a terrible pressure for an artist, but once it's out there and you've outdone yourself, that's how it is.
The ending was the worst part for me. Nothing gets solved, nothing gets explained. While that can be a good thing, leaving the end and what follows up open to the viewers imagination, this ending wasn't anything like that. It just leaves you sitting there thinking what the hell?
Another thing I really found cringy was the unnecessary and obviously forced depiction of japanese traditional and current day/pop culture. I don't know who this is supposed to cater to (Anime/Japan fans? Japanese otaku? Viewers that want to be proud of their country?), but there were some scenes that just didn't make sense or had no reason to exist in terms of story or character development. In one scene the female protagonist wears a kimono just because, then you get a shot of a sakura tree, the characters eating cup ramen from Nisshin as well as other japanese junk food saying how delicious it is, they're showing a love hotel, them watching fireworks, doing a little bit of Karaoke, the list goes on and on. It felt pushed and unnatural like a commercial for Japan. That takeaway might just be me being overly critical, but you can show japanese culture (traditional and modern) without forcing it. It needs to fit the narrative and the characters, like the scene fairly in the beginning where the male protagonist crashes at a manga café for a while to save money, otherwise it will just feel weird. If I want to watch some random boring "Cool Japan" slice of life moe stuff, I can pick any tv anime that is out there and don't have to go to IMAX.
In the end "Tenki no Ko" is still a good movie by normal standards but by Shinkai's standards and the new high he set with "Your name", this one is just average. I'd like to give it 6 points from a Shinkai perspective but that wouldn't be fair. Thus all in all, setting aside my strong personal emotions, this movie is still a strong 7 in my opinion for the general viewer.
If there's a film festival near you that's showing this or other 2019 anime films or if you're in Japan and understand Japanese and you want to go to the cinema to watch an anime movie, I'd rather recommend "Ride your wave" by Yuasa Masaaki. That movie was better in so many ways. It's difficult to compare movies, of course, but because these two have similar themes like love, loss, water (I know xD), mixed with a fantastical element, I think a comparison is applicable. Also, that movie made me cry which doesn't happen often. 😉 Or you can just watch both if you get the chance. But don't watch "Kaiju no ko", that movie's second half made me want to get up and leave.
What is up with all these water themed anime movies this year anyway? "Lu over the wall" last year already reminded me of Ponyo, but apparently that was just a taste of what was to come this year. I mean, did they all write off of each other? Were they stuck in the same taifun together? Do they all love Ponyo? Did they lose someone to water? I don't know what's going on but this year's theme in japanese summer anime movies seems to be "Be water my friend." 😜
But if you have high expectations after Shinkai's other works, especially the recent "Your Name", most likely you'll be disappointed. I don't want to spoil anything, so this'll be as spoiler free and as short as possible.
The visuals are gorgeous as always and the music is good too. But the characters and the story just felt boring and uninspired. It felt like Shinkai didn't come up with anything really good or original and just did a formula rehash of "Your Name". We have the same combination of boy and girl that have their issues and want to be together but are being torn apart throughout the movie because of *spoilers*. Then there are some fantastical elements and the same pop band performing rather repetitive songs if compared to their stellar song for "Your Name". The songs for this film felt like Avril Lavigne or Nickelback, kinda good but unoriginal and they all sound the same.
It felt like Shinkai was trying too hard to live up to his masterpiece, which I have no doubt is a terrible pressure for an artist, but once it's out there and you've outdone yourself, that's how it is.
The ending was the worst part for me. Nothing gets solved, nothing gets explained. While that can be a good thing, leaving the end and what follows up open to the viewers imagination, this ending wasn't anything like that. It just leaves you sitting there thinking what the hell?
Another thing I really found cringy was the unnecessary and obviously forced depiction of japanese traditional and current day/pop culture. I don't know who this is supposed to cater to (Anime/Japan fans? Japanese otaku? Viewers that want to be proud of their country?), but there were some scenes that just didn't make sense or had no reason to exist in terms of story or character development. In one scene the female protagonist wears a kimono just because, then you get a shot of a sakura tree, the characters eating cup ramen from Nisshin as well as other japanese junk food saying how delicious it is, they're showing a love hotel, them watching fireworks, doing a little bit of Karaoke, the list goes on and on. It felt pushed and unnatural like a commercial for Japan. That takeaway might just be me being overly critical, but you can show japanese culture (traditional and modern) without forcing it. It needs to fit the narrative and the characters, like the scene fairly in the beginning where the male protagonist crashes at a manga café for a while to save money, otherwise it will just feel weird. If I want to watch some random boring "Cool Japan" slice of life moe stuff, I can pick any tv anime that is out there and don't have to go to IMAX.
In the end "Tenki no Ko" is still a good movie by normal standards but by Shinkai's standards and the new high he set with "Your name", this one is just average. I'd like to give it 6 points from a Shinkai perspective but that wouldn't be fair. Thus all in all, setting aside my strong personal emotions, this movie is still a strong 7 in my opinion for the general viewer.
If there's a film festival near you that's showing this or other 2019 anime films or if you're in Japan and understand Japanese and you want to go to the cinema to watch an anime movie, I'd rather recommend "Ride your wave" by Yuasa Masaaki. That movie was better in so many ways. It's difficult to compare movies, of course, but because these two have similar themes like love, loss, water (I know xD), mixed with a fantastical element, I think a comparison is applicable. Also, that movie made me cry which doesn't happen often. 😉 Or you can just watch both if you get the chance. But don't watch "Kaiju no ko", that movie's second half made me want to get up and leave.
What is up with all these water themed anime movies this year anyway? "Lu over the wall" last year already reminded me of Ponyo, but apparently that was just a taste of what was to come this year. I mean, did they all write off of each other? Were they stuck in the same taifun together? Do they all love Ponyo? Did they lose someone to water? I don't know what's going on but this year's theme in japanese summer anime movies seems to be "Be water my friend." 😜