The first English-subtitled trailer for acclaimed Japanese director Makoto Shinkai’s newest film Weathering With You digs deep into the adolescent longing that was pervasive in his 2016 breakthrough hit, Your Name. If the trailer is anything to go by, the film will be an emotional punch in the gut like its predecessor.
Weathering With You follows high school freshman Hodaka, who abandons his rural home in favor of running away to Tokyo. The city, dogged by perpetual rain, seems to reflect his mood as he struggles to find work and fulfillment in the city. Eventually, Hodaka picks up work as a writer for an occult magazine. Everything changes when he meets Hina, a girl with the ability stop the rain and clear the sky, on a street corner.
The film, produced by CoMix Wave Films, bears striking visual resemblance to Your Name’s lush backgrounds and fluid animation. Japanese rock band Radwimps, which was responsible for Your Name’s soundtrack, returns to pen Weathering With You’s original soundtrack, which features the same kind of melodic piano and driving rock tracks with a bit more electronic flavor. The soundtrack is currently available for streaming in the United States.
GKIDS Films will distribute Weathering For You in the United States; the film is currently set for a limited theatrical release in early 2020. It was released in theaters in Japan on July 19 and outperformed Your Name’s theatrical debut in its first weekend.
