Makoto Shinkai’s latest feature-length film, Weathering With You, focused on a pair of young lovers attempting to learn more about a supernatural force that allows one of them to control the weather, but a new edit for the film that was added by its director reflects the times we’ve experienced in the year of 2020. With the coronavirus pandemic hitting the world of anime hard, with many projects needing to be either delayed or outright canceled as a result of COVID-19, an edit to Weathering With You is a clever way to reflect on the ups, and definite downs, of this year.
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Recently, Makoto Shinkai has been in the news thanks to an unexpected source in Hollywood actor Jim Belushi, who found a love for anime following his viewing of the predecessor to Weathering With You in Your Name. While the edit for Shinkai’s latest film won’t feature any alterations to the story, it will include a brief message to viewers of the movie on television that will highlight the struggles that we’ve all been through this year. While Shinkai has yet to reveal any details about the story of his next project, he has stated a number of times that he is hard at work on the anime that will hopefully live up to the high standard set for it with his previous works in Your Name and Weathering With You!
For those who have yet to see Weathering With You, the official description for the film that has become a fan favorite in the world of anime reads as such:
“The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strongwilled girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…”
What do you think of this timely edit to one of Shinkai’s greatest works? What is your favorite film on Makoto Shinkai’s resume to date? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the works of Makoto Shinkai!
