There is a lot of uncertainty in the world today. But one thing that you can definitely be sure of… is that The Amazing Race Philippines: DryedMangoez Edition is still up and racing! And can you believe it has reached its milestone 20th season?! Imagine that!
After watching Weathering With You, I decided to immediately jump into an earlier Makoto Shinkai work I had been meaning to watch for a while now: The Garden of Words (言の葉の庭).
And after watching Shinkai’s 2013 film, I can’t help but feel like it is able to present similar themes and imagery as Weathering With You, but in half the time and in a more affecting way.
Perhaps Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You (天気の子) faced some unfairly high expectations after the global success of Your Name. But while Shinkai’s stunning vision and creative storytelling is still present, something somewhere stumbles. And that leaves the film struggling to avoid comparisons and struggling to give itself its own memorable voice.
This recap will be a little different from the usual, obviously. I’ll just recap the chunks of deleted scenes:
It was a breathlessly exciting 2nd Leg as teams continued Racing through Nepal.
The Race continues as teams depart Pokhara on an overnight bus back to Kathmandu, arriving in the capital at 6am.
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After a split-second encounter with a dark, shadowy figure, Aruto is back inside ZEA and continues his recap session with Izu. This time, they move on to Amatsu Gai and talk about the job competition.
It is only a coincidence that I watched the KBS miniseries How to Buy a Friend (계약우정) after just finishing Extracurricular and At Eighteen. Three series in a row addressing the unfortunate reality of school violence and the lack of resources and care for mental health, especially for youth.
The 2019 JTBC drama series At Eighteen (열여덟의 순간 /Moment at 18) is one of the sincerest depictions of teenage life in Korea I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.
The 2002 short film Voices of a Distant Star (ほしのこえ) is one of Makoto Shinkai’s earliest works. But for anyone who watches it after having already enjoyed his more recent films, it is easy to see the talent and depth he would bring to his work later on already present.
I first watched Mamoru Hosoda’s Summer Wars (サマーウォーズ) a couple of years ago after enjoying Wolf Children. It’s been a while since watching the film again, so I decided to pop the Blu-ray in. And it was a little eye-opening to see some parallels between the film and what is happening in the world today.