A Sunshine Girl is somebody who can summon a sunny day on demand even during a furious monsoon. Hina (voice of Nana Mori) is one such being. She wasn’t born that way; one stormy day while waiting for her last relative to die, she prays for sun and a beam appears on a rickety rooftop shrine five blocks away. Climbing to the rooftop and breaking the shrine portal, Hina can now dial up sun like she has a Hulu app. I would love to know the rules for how one gets special powers in Japan, but I fear it somehow always involves a corpse.
In another movie, teenage Hodaka (Kotaro Daigo) is a runaway. He’s come to Tokyo because he just can’t run out of money fast enough where he’s from. An ideal opportunity arises before he even gets to the Japanese capital. See, the anointment of a Sunshine Girl has screwed with the local weather and the storm creates a swell so magnificent that Hodaka’s boat attempts to drown him. Luckily, tabloidist Suga (Shun Oguri) is also on the boat having traveled back from a Gamera interview or something. Suga saves Hodaka’s life and in return, Hodaka buys Suga lunch. You want to say that’s an uneven swap, but have you priced food in Tokyo?
In a possible case of “no good deed goes unpunished,” it takes all of six minutes for Hodaka to become Orphan Broke and –with no one else to turn to- he shows up on Suga’s doorstep. This all is pretty irrelevant; it just sets up Hodaka in Tokyo where he can be on the lookout for –among other things- a Sunshine Girl. And, wouldn’t you know it? One shows up.
If you or your friend had the ability to summon a sunny day from a cloudy sky, how would you use said power? Hodaka creates a site to hire Hina out for birthdays and golf tournaments and stuff. I suppose this isn’t the worst idea that’s ever been, but it doesn’t strike me as the best romantic setup, either, now does it? I’m imagining Rick selling Isla’s services as a translator in Casablanca or Jack asking Rose to pawn the rock in Titanic; just not quite the romance angle one hopes for, y’know?
Oh, but don’t worry, Hina’s sunshine days won’t last forever as she’s turning ethereal. Meanwhile, Tokyo continues to rain and rain and rain. Thirty-eight straight days over summer makes it almost a bad as London. While the lesson may appear to be “stay true to your love,” the real theme of this piece is “don’t f*** with Mother Nature.”
I want to praise Weathering with You for being another unique anime vision of romance, magic, and delight … but it really doesn’t deserve much. The conflict is all wet; the paper-thin plot melts in the rain; and the romance suggests that these folks would be better off as a fair-weather item. However, the rainy day animation really is something special. While I don’t love this film for any other reason, I find cinematography reason enough. Now how do I become a Rain God again?
♪Don’t tell me the script
Is in a rut, or
My heroine is
Quite the nutter
Who told you can
Rain on my screenplay?
Don’t tell me not to write
‘Bout a guy who
Lives off remains
Of garbage tofu
Who said you can
Complain ’bout my screenplay?♫
Rated PG-13, 114 Minutes
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Writer: Makoto Shinkai
Genre: Demigod dating dos and don’ts
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Romantics
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Scientists
♪ Parody Inspired by “Don’t Rain on My Parade”
