RJ Writing Ink

Ever since I saw Your Name in theaters a few years back, I’ve been convinced that Makoto Shinkai’s the Hayao Miyazaki of our generation. It was one of the best anime films and one of the best romance films I’ve ever seen. Thus, you’d think I’d be first in line to see his new hit, Weathering With You. I’m ashamed to say I dragged my heels until this weekend.

Having now seen Weathering With You, I regret not seeing it sooner.

The film’s about Hodaka, a 15-year old boy who runs away to Tokyo to get away from his (apparently) neglectful parents. By chance or fate, he meets Hina, an orphan girl with the power to stop the endless rain falling on the city. Together, the two try to use her powers to earn money to support themselves. However, they eventually learn that such actions have consequences.

I just got done seeing the film and reading what others are saying about it, and there seem to be two main themes to the film. The first is that Weathering With You’s a love story with a supernatural twist. From the looks of things, that appears to be Shibkai’s go-to theme.

That said, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Weathering With You and Your Name. From the supernatural love story and structure of the plot to the use of music by RADWIMPS in important scenes, there’s a lot the two have in common! The main characters from Your Name even appear, showing the two share a universe.

That said, the big difference in Weathering With You is the films second theme: consequences. In the movies climax, Hodaka and Hina are separated, with the former having to outrun the police to get her back. While I won’t say how it ends, let’s just say that Hodaka’s going to be in a lot of trouble and that Tokyo’s never the same. In other words, the film’s basically asking us how far we’d be willing to go to be with the one we love. Furthermore, can we live live with the consequences by doing so?

So, the film has a lot in common with Your Name, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Shinkai makes sure Weathering With You unique enough to set itself apart, letting us still enjoy it despite the similar plots. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Go see it in theaters if you can. If you can’t, stream it once it’s available!

I Give “Weathering With You” a 4.5/5. Great Love Story

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The Owl House Episode 3 Review

So when Disney started running all the promos for The Owl House, they kept coming back to a few aspects. Chief among them was Hexside, this school for learning magic in the vein of Hogwarts. At first, the promos made it look like Luz would be attending Hexside on top of her lessons with Eda. However, when this episode introduces us to the school, it turns out Luz’s crashing the school in another weird adventure.

Mean Girl in a Demon World

After getting frustrated over her training’s lack of progress, Luz runs off while Eda and King scavenge a trash slug. I thought the last episode had taught Luz to be patient with her training. Thus, it felt disappointing to see she didn’t let that lesson sink. Luz knew what to expect being Eda’s apprentice; plus it was either that, or Reality Camp.

The show doesn’t give us much time to dwell on Luz’s Aesop Amnesia for long, though. We got new characters from Hogwarts Hexside, the local magic school. First, we get Willow and Gus, two students who are basically in the same boat as Luz was back home. Willow’s stuck learning something she has neither the talent nor love for, and Gus’ obsession with humans doesn’t seem that popular. The three bond quickly as Luz sneaks into their version of Hogwarts.

In addition, we also get the closest Luz may have to a rival on this show right, Amity Blight. Amity’s got all the hallmarks of the mean alpha bitch: teacher’s pet, top student, responds aggressively to anyone she sees as a threat. Luz takes an instant dislike to her, and decides to help Willow one-up her by disguising herself as her abomination project. What’s an abomination? I think some sort of golem/homunculus made out of slime.

So, basic high-school sitcom drama, but with magic? Okay.

I Was Almost Dissected

As expected, Luz and Willow’s plan works, just too well. Amity goes as green with envy as her hair, and the manner she chooses to get back at them is pretty dark. She talks the Principal into trying to dissect Luz, and worse, making Willow deliver the first cut. Like last week, its moments like this that remind us how this show’s part horror. And for some reason, seeing an alpha girl like Amity try to kill Luz was darker than that puppet guy.

It doesn’t work, though, as Willow shows off her true talents with plant magic, and this was the end result:

Nice job, girl! She could give Poison Ivy a run for her money.

Eda vs. King

While Luz’s crashing dark Hogwarts, the show has its first sub-plot with Eda and King. The two make a bet over who’s teaching methods are better, with King using a trash slug as his student. It’s a humorous side-story with equally humorous stakes. If King wins (which he never does), Eda has wear a dunce cap; if Eda wins, she changes his name to Mr. Wiggles.

Turns out, King wins by feeding the slug dog treats, while Eda’s loss feels twofold. She realizes Luz is at Hexside, and she responds with an overly-dramatic “nooooo!!”.

It’s still not made clear why Eda hates the ideas of conformity or being told what to do, and this episode doesn’t help in that regard. Maybe she’s just the kind of person who thrives in non-traditional learning environments, which isn’t unheard of in real life. People who did bad in school become hugely successful. Also, I can partially sympathize with her dislike of school curriculum. As many classes I had that I liked, there were many that I saw as a waste of my time. Which they were.

In the end, though, King loses the bet because he runs out of dog treats and the slug goes crazy.

New Friends, New Enemy

So, Luz got the Aesop she learned pounded back into her head: she needs to be patient. King loses a bet but will probably not be going by Mr. Wiggles. And The Principal of Hexside’s so impressed with Willow that he transfers her to plant magic. As for Luz, she’s now banned from Hexside. In other words, Hogwarts isn’t on the itinerary for Luz.

It seems like a happy ending for all, but I’m still concerned about Amity. I’ve seen her type of character, and they don’t let slights like this slide. Given how furious she was at being outdone by Willow, she’s going to be after Luz and her new friends from now on.

Overall, I think this episode was an improvement over last week’s. It gave us three new characters for Luz to interact with, as well as an affectionate parody of Hogwarts. I liked it, but it’s only making me more eager to see Luz start casting spells on her own. With Amity now after her, she’ll need the extra protection.

I Give “I Was a Teenage Abomination” a 4/5. Better.

Stray Observations

• Notice how the school bell was voiced by Alex Hirsch?
• What goes into making an abomination? Asking for a friend.
• I can already see people shipping Luz and Gus. I’m staying away from that!
• Why do trash slugs remind me of those stories of whales with garbage found in them? I don’t like that!

Favorite Quotes

• “You can call me Mr. Wiggles!”
• “I may be an abomination, but your my a-mom-ination!” hilarious
• “I’d teach her about demons. How to identify them, talk to them, raise an army with them and tear apart the world!”

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