It’s been over two decades since Japan submitted an animated film for then-Best Foreign Language Film, now-Best International Feature Film at the Oscars (the last was Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, which failed to land a nomination). But that changed this year with Weathering with You, the follow-up feature from acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai, who also made Your Name. Weathering is a massive hit in Japan, having earned over $125 million (making it the 12th highest-grossing film in the country’s history), and it’s finally coming out in America early next year.
Watch the majestic trailer above. Here’s the official plot synopsis:
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 strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…
Weathering with You opens on January 17, with fan previews on January 15 and 16.
