I was interested in seeing this movie due to being dubbed as another work from Makoto Shinkai, who was quite famous for directing one of the loveliest anime movie I had ever seen, i.e. Your Name aka Kimi no Nawa. Anyway, as the movie only played in certain cinema chains, I set my mind to see this during the weekend but it was not meant to be as I underestimated the enthusiasm of his fans since the studios were mostly fully booked. But finally I got the chance to see it yesterday. Well enough of that, and let's just get to the movie now.
Brief Story Line
Hodaka Morishima (Kotaro Daigo) was a 16 year old high school student who ran away from home to Tokyo only to find that life was very difficult. Luckily he managed to get a job from Keisuke Suga (Shun Oguri) to become an apprentice in his magazine. There was also another college girl named Natsumi (Tsubasa Honda) who worked part time.
Hodaka later on met with a cheerful girl named Hina Amano (Nana Mori) who seemed to be able to control the weather. At that time Japan was hit by torrential rain for many weeks. And so it really came as a surprise to Hodaka when Hina managed to pray for the rain to stop and brought out the sunshine. Soon Hodaka and Hina became really good friends, with Hodaka in particular grew strong feelings towards Hina. They also "utilized" Hina's ability for monetary purpose with the help from her younger brother Nagi (Sakura Kiryū).
However, things became really complicated when there were consequences from Hodaka and Hina's action. So how would the story conclude? Find them all in this lovely but unusual teenage romance movie.
However, things became really complicated when there were consequences from Hodaka and Hina's action. So how would the story conclude? Find them all in this lovely but unusual teenage romance movie.
End of Brief Story Line
After seeing this film, I could not help but compare it with the other movie I mentioned above Your Name. I felt that this one was still having a bit similar formula where there was some "mystical" aspect plus Japanese culture behind the main story which is the love story between a young boy and a girl. It also had some few funny moments usually from the interaction between Hodaka and the college girl Natsumi and with Nagi. However, the one that I personally thought a bit lacking was the heart warming feeling that I had like in the other movie.
Yes, this one had some touching love story between Hodaka and Hina and the way he tried his best to get the love of his life was truly amazing, something that romance fans would really loved (I bet my wife would have liked this part). But I thought that the conflict which was supposed to be the part making us worried the fate in store for these two main characters was not dug deep enough. It was like the story focused too much on the romance, but too little on the obstacle part. Only quite long after midway through the movie that the major challenge was felt and I started to feel the anxiety of how it would end for them. Although if we see it in full concentration, we could also guess this main obstacle.
Just like in his other movie, Makoto Shinkai made a rather unexpected ending which was a surprising twist for me. And this time, the animation was really top notch. The scenes of Tokyo were done very realistically (sometimes seemed like taken form actual situation), the rain scenery, the cloud and a lot of things were drawn very beautifully. Those who had been in Tokyo would have the sense of actually being there, while for those who had not been there, this was as realistic as could be.
I also love the songs from this film, especially the theme song Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do? by Radwimp, who also provided few other songs which were equally nice. Mostly the songs were heard in the perfect time. That theme song was also playing during the closing credits, which did not have any mid or post end credit scene. And the background music were put to good use. Although if I am being critical, the sound effect in the theater was a bit too loud (not in a good way), which was strange considering I saw this in a studio with great sound system which was normally used for movies with Dolby Atmos effect.
Apart from those technical aspects and the feel that the conflict was a bit late "blooming", I still think the movie was entertaining. It had some comedy, some fantasy and a nice enough love story. I really liked the character of Nagi (Hina's younger brother) who provided many amusing moments. I also liked Natsumi who was like the good older sister Hodaka needed. Meanwhile for the main lead, sometimes I felt that Hodaka was a bit too childish (which comes with the territory) but his actions towards the end was awesome, whereas Hina was such a likable character that everybody would have loved in an instant.
Overall this was a lovely movie with hard fought romance combined with the fantasy (or mystical) aspect plus some Japanese culture. It was definitely enjoyable as could be heard from the sound of laughter during some scenes by the audience who surprisingly were still a lot, even after the film had been playing for almost a week. But personally, I still feel Kimi No Nawa was more complete and it really gave me a lot of emotions after seeing it. So if you are fans of Makoto Shinkai works, then this is definitely one you would not want to miss. For neutral audience who had not known him, you could certainly give this a try. But if you got the chance, please see Your Name as well which I am sure would give you more pleasure.
Happy watching!
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Yes, this one had some touching love story between Hodaka and Hina and the way he tried his best to get the love of his life was truly amazing, something that romance fans would really loved (I bet my wife would have liked this part). But I thought that the conflict which was supposed to be the part making us worried the fate in store for these two main characters was not dug deep enough. It was like the story focused too much on the romance, but too little on the obstacle part. Only quite long after midway through the movie that the major challenge was felt and I started to feel the anxiety of how it would end for them. Although if we see it in full concentration, we could also guess this main obstacle.
Just like in his other movie, Makoto Shinkai made a rather unexpected ending which was a surprising twist for me. And this time, the animation was really top notch. The scenes of Tokyo were done very realistically (sometimes seemed like taken form actual situation), the rain scenery, the cloud and a lot of things were drawn very beautifully. Those who had been in Tokyo would have the sense of actually being there, while for those who had not been there, this was as realistic as could be.
I also love the songs from this film, especially the theme song Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do? by Radwimp, who also provided few other songs which were equally nice. Mostly the songs were heard in the perfect time. That theme song was also playing during the closing credits, which did not have any mid or post end credit scene. And the background music were put to good use. Although if I am being critical, the sound effect in the theater was a bit too loud (not in a good way), which was strange considering I saw this in a studio with great sound system which was normally used for movies with Dolby Atmos effect.
Apart from those technical aspects and the feel that the conflict was a bit late "blooming", I still think the movie was entertaining. It had some comedy, some fantasy and a nice enough love story. I really liked the character of Nagi (Hina's younger brother) who provided many amusing moments. I also liked Natsumi who was like the good older sister Hodaka needed. Meanwhile for the main lead, sometimes I felt that Hodaka was a bit too childish (which comes with the territory) but his actions towards the end was awesome, whereas Hina was such a likable character that everybody would have loved in an instant.
Overall this was a lovely movie with hard fought romance combined with the fantasy (or mystical) aspect plus some Japanese culture. It was definitely enjoyable as could be heard from the sound of laughter during some scenes by the audience who surprisingly were still a lot, even after the film had been playing for almost a week. But personally, I still feel Kimi No Nawa was more complete and it really gave me a lot of emotions after seeing it. So if you are fans of Makoto Shinkai works, then this is definitely one you would not want to miss. For neutral audience who had not known him, you could certainly give this a try. But if you got the chance, please see Your Name as well which I am sure would give you more pleasure.
Happy watching!
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Very good review. We have same point of view.
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