Weathering with You

Tokyo is drowning. Not in a literal, apocalyptic sense, at least not yet, but in an unrelenting rain that has turned the city into a gray, dripping labyrinth. Into this soaked chaos steps Hodaka Morishima, a 16-year-old runaway from a remote island, who arrives with little more than a backpack and a stubborn hope that the city will offer him a fresh start. He finds work as an assistant at a seedy occult magazine, chasing rumors of cat cafes, alien sightings, and a mysterious "sunshine girl" who can supposedly clear the sky on command. That rumor turns out to be true, and it leads him to Hina Amano, a girl his age who lives with her younger brother in a cramped apartment, working odd jobs to keep them afloat. Her power is real: when she prays, the clouds part, and sunlight breaks through.

What begins as a business venture, the "100% Sunshine Girl" service, where clients pay Hina to brighten weddings, festivals, and school sports days, becomes something deeper. Hodaka, Hina, and her brother Nagisa form a makeshift family, stealing moments of warmth in a city that seems determined to wash them away. But every prayer weakens Hina, and the legend behind her gift carries a terrible price: weather maidens are sacrificed to restore balance, their bodies fading into the sky. Makoto Shinkai, returning after the global phenomenon Your Name., crafts a romance that is both intimate and operatic, set against a backdrop of hyper-realistic rain, glowing sunbeams, and the shimmering Tokyo skyline. Produced by CoMix Wave Films on a modest $11.1 million budget, the film became the highest-grossing Japanese film of 2019, earning over $192 million worldwide and sparking conversations about climate change, sacrifice, and the moral cost of happiness.[edit]

Hodaka Morishima steps off a ferry into Tokyo, his pocket money already dwindling. The city is locked in a record-breaking rainy season, and he quickly learns that survival here is harder than he imagined. He wanders the streets, nearly starving, until a kind employee at a fast-food restaurant, Hina Amano, gives him a free meal. That small act of generosity lodges in his memory. Soon after, he meets Keisuke Suga, a jaded writer for an occult magazine called MU, who hires him as an assistant. Hodaka spends his days investigating urban legends: a cat that brings good luck, a ghost in a love hotel, and the persistent rumor of a "sunshine girl" who can make the rain stop.

Meanwhile, Hina lives with her younger brother Nagisa, their mother having passed away. She works multiple jobs, but her life changes when she discovers she can clear the sky by praying. The power is erratic, draining, and tied to an old shrine she visits. When Hodaka tracks her down for a story, he recognizes her from the restaurant. He proposes a partnership: they start a service called "100% Sunshine Girl," charging clients for clear weather. The business takes off. They brighten a wedding, a school sports day, a rooftop party. For a few weeks, the three of them, Hodaka, Hina, and Nagisa, live like a family, laughing in the rare sunlight.

But the rain never stops. Hina grows weaker after each use of her power, and Hodaka begins to notice her body becoming translucent. He digs into the legend of the weather maiden, a figure from Japanese folklore who is offered to the sky to restore balance. The more Hina uses her gift, the closer she comes to disappearing. The police also begin to close in on Hodaka, alerted by his parents that he is a runaway. As the pressure mounts, Hina accepts her fate, believing her sacrifice will save Tokyo. Hodaka refuses to let her go, setting up a climactic confrontation between love and duty, the individual and the world.[edit]