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Beautiful animation, with a plot about solving an ethical dilemma that leans heavily into "love conquers all"

Review of Tenki no Ko

by Rivka

Posted on April 13th, 2020

Overall Rating

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IN BRIEF: A young runaway moves to Tokyo amidst heavy and consistent downpours. As he slowly ascends from homelessness to a steady but shady job, he bumps into a young woman who claims she can pray away the rain, at least for a little while in an area with a small radius and her at the center. They try turning it into a business for a while, but eventually Mother Nature will have its way - the question is, what sacrifices are people willing to make to get fair weather?

***SPOILERS Below.***

MY THOUGHTS: The movie was a shade too fantastical to be a perfect metaphor for climate change, but the ethical dilemma it poses is familiar enough. Basically, this is a variation on what I think of as an Omelas Dilemma, based on the story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin. In Omelas, everything in people's lives is reasonably wonderful - no perfection, but also no tragedies, with people being generally happy. However, part of their coming of age ceremony involves being introduced to the reason Omelas is so pleasant: a forsaken child that must be kept isolated, emotionally abused via neglect, and left in squalor. If the child is ever treated kindly, their good fortune will evaporate. Therefore, every person gets to choose whether they are willing to live in such a society, or whether they will exile themselves. In practice, the majority stay, but a significant minority leave.

In this story, the weather-worker Hina has accidentally made such a pact with herself as the collateral. Research by the main characters indicates that Japan has had periods of severe weather before that could have wiped out most of its land, but that each time a young woman has prayed for the good weather... however, as they pray, they lose themselves gradually while getting only temporary relief for the weather, until they reach a point when they inevitably become weightless and drift up into the clouds. Once that occurs, the bad weather is broken and a long period of fair weather ensues. Now, most of the people don't remember the legends of weather-workers, but it is clear that this is a cycle that has never been broken. Here is the Omelas Dilemma: do you try to save the weather-worker from her fate, or do you do nothing and let her save the land and people from disaster?

The male lead Hodaka decides that saving Hina is more important, and the sequence in which he rescues her is magnificently animated. However, it's clear that his choice has doomed parts of Japan to a permanent state of flooding. The background characters don't know why the rain has restarted, they only see Tokyo succumbing to the rising waters.

Your ability to see Hodaka's point of view, and possibly to agree with it, will likely determine whether you enjoy this film. If you think that the needs of the many override the needs of the few, you won't care for the ending. (You also might find the entire premise of nigh-magical weather, weird creatures in the clouds, and other fantastical details to be off-putting; I enjoyed them by reminding myself of the MST3K mantra.)

Rivka

My reviewing system for films and shows that are NOT anime:
1-5: I hated it. I also don't think it has redeeming qualities, so you shouldn't watch it either.
6: I didn't like it. It's not my thing, I didn't like the execution, I don't want to see it again. However, I don't think it is a BAD film or show - it has qualities that will recommend it to those who like that kind of thing.
7: It was fine. I didn't love it, and I don't need to see it again. I won't be sad if I never see it again.
8: I liked it. I didn't love it, and while I'd like to see it again, I wouldn't want to see it often.
9: I loved it. I would be sad if I never saw it again. I might want to see it every few years.
10: I loved it beyond description. I wouldn't mind re-watching it every year.

*********************************
Clarifying my Anime rating system:
My number key below is an attempt to parse the small differences between 5 and 6, 7 and 8, & 9 and 10. When I rate, I consider my own enjoyment, the characterization and the plot, the appearance of the animation, and occasionally the soundtrack - in roughly that order. An anime will lose at least 1 point for presence of deal-breaker tropes (for example, comedic pedophilia), and more if the trope(s) ruined my enjoyment. On the other hand, it will gain at least 1 point for artistry in animation or sound. I don't expect to rate anything 1-4, as I would probably never finish watching something in this range of rating.

Cautious Recommending:
5: In this case, it started out with a higher score and slipped over time... because I normally don't watch anything that I would score below 6, except for movies (small time commitment).
6: I may or may not have watched the whole show, but I recognize deal-breaker issues in it, and I'm unlikely to rewatch. It just wasn't enjoyable enough for me to forgive its flaws. There would be huge caveats to any recommendation.

Likely to Recommend:
7: There's two types of 7s (ideally I could rank the second one 7.5). For the first, I didn't like it enough to think I would rewatch it, but also didn't see huge problems in the plot, characterizations, etc. and thought it was worth finishing. I might suggest it to someone if I know they like the specific sub-genre or other work by the studio. For the second, I recognize shows/movies that have high quality but just aren't my cup of tea. Not my thing, but usually I at least respect the work.
8: I had a good time watching it, but it didn't move me the way a 9 or a 10 does; it's possible that over time I would upgrade it if I liked it more on reflection. I would be willing to rewatch it if a friend wanted to watch it with me. I may or may not buy the DVDs (I'm more likely if there's something unique about it). I'd recommend it with the occasional caveat.

Highly Recommend:
9: I enjoyed it very much. It may have had one or two issues, but not enough to diminish enjoyment. It's possible that over time I would downgrade it to an 8 (changing tastes) or upgrade to a 10 (realize it's never left my mind). I'm likely to rewatch, and likely to buy the DVDs. I'd recommend it to most audiences.
10: Virtually flawless. I'd definitely rewatch, and definitely want to buy DVDs. I would shill this to anyone.

EDIT: for years when I'm participating in the MAL Anime Challenge, any anime in the Completed section with a * in the note was watched for the challenge. Similarly, if I'm participating in the MDL Drama Challenge, any drama with a * in the notes was watched for the challenge. Previous years' challenges will have their * removed.

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