A good adaptation of a wonderful film. This book covers about the first third of the film. Seeing the film is not necessary to enjoy the book. The main thing that is lacking is the color. With only a few color pages, the black and white manga style does not fully capture the feeling of the anime. Overall, it works both as a stand alone work and as a supplement to the movie.

This story has an interesting plot but I don't think this first volume had enough to make me feel like I need the next volume right now. There are many aspects introduced but not enough time to fully explore any of them. I need to try at least one more volume before I can decide if this is a series I want to follow.

Weathering With You Vol. 1 is the start of a whole new adventure, set in Tokyo. This is a world where storms are more common than not, and Sunshine Girls are one of the few rays of sunshine on a given day (literally).

Apparently, there's also a film adaptation, but I haven't seen it yet. As such, I can't really make any comparisons, but I'd love to hear them! If it's anything like the manga, it'll be cute and worth the watch.

Weathering With You Vol. 1 was not anything like I expected it to be – but I think that's a good thing. It ended up being better, all while being charming and oddly sweet at times. Though I'm struggling a bit to find the right words for how it felt.

The characters are the big selling point for this manga. Hodaka and Hina are about as different as two people can get, and yet there is something so compelling about their interactions. Not to mention their individual journeys.

There is something so positive and heartfelt about this series, it's certain to bring a smile to the faces of any reader. Something I feel like we could all use right now, so the timing really did work out there!

I really wanted to like this book but just couldn’t follow the story. I struggled to tell the characters apart. Loved the concept of being able to control the weather. I often find this problem in manga style graphic novels everyone looks the same, it’s all too dark with from a low or ariel perspective. Just too much going on in a tiny space.

I enjoyed the art style, but the plot wasn’t overly interesting. I probably won’t read the next volume.

Weathering With You is a fantasy manga about a girl with the ability to call sun down upon a cloudy village. A vibrant concept; I’m curious as to where things’ll go next.

There’s nothing objectively bad about Weathering With You; The characters, art, and prose were all great. I think I subconsciously wished for something more eventful, though I’m sure others will enjoy the leisurely parts more than I did.

In terms of art, I can’t complain. The drawing style and shading were both really eye pleasing. I enjoyed the protagonist as well, and was never bored by the story despite my previous statements. This was an overall solid first volume!

About two years ago, I read Makoto Shinkai's "your name" (the light novel) and honestly, I was disappointed. The idea was very good, but the execution was poor, even though I assume the manga and movie were better.
I was curious about Weathering With You and this one didn't disappoint. It's a manga about a girl who can manipulate weather and the teenage entrepreneur helping her turn her skills into some profit. It was set in Tokyo and the city was an important part of the story, so it gave me some Durarara! vibes. It also felt like a great way to start a series--it offered some information and opened many possible plot lines.

*4.25 stars*
This was so lovely!

From the writer and creator of Your Name/ Kimi No Nawa, this story is about Hodaka who runs away to Tokyo wanting a different life for himself. He finds a job as an assistant writer to a pair of reporters and is tasked to write about the 100% Sunshine Girl, a person who can magically bring out beautiful weather at her will. Then he meets Hina, who reveals herself to be the so-called Sunshine girl and together, they bring sunshine and happiness to the people of Tokyo.

I really loved this from start to finish, and I enjoyed literally all the characters. I wanted a bit more conflict, drama and angst towards the end than what I got, so I can’t wait for the upcoming volumes in this manga because I’m sure it’ll get more climactic.

I’ve just started the movie and lemme just say, the animation and visuals are too stunning for words. Studio Ghibli and Disney WHOMST.

Thank you for Kodansha and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The cover and the art are beautiful, the manga is really athmospheric. However, the storyline feels rather chaotic for the first 70 pages or so. I felt really confused for about half of the manga. We are thrown into sudden scenes and we only start to get explanations in the second half of the book. If you like stories where the mystery is unraveling slowly, this is the book for you.

We meet our young, highschool age protagonist on a boat. We know that he is leaving the island he grew up on, and he is headed for the big city. We do not know his reasons, or if he even has a plan. He sees a weird weather phenomena from the boat: a mass of water that looks like a dragon. After a moment of awe, the boat gets drenched by the water crashing onto it and he is almost thrown off into the water.
A man saves him, and later offers him his card. He clearly thinks our protagonist is a kid who just run away from home. The boy scoffs at this idea, but we see the kid ending up on the streets after he can’t find any work in town. He gives in and calls the man for help and ends up with a rather sweet gig: meal and boarding for helping with writing journal articles. As the city seems to attract strange weather phenomena this becomes their main focus. We soon learn the existence of Sunshine Girls, girls who can change the weather. Are they urban legends only or are they real? Would people pay for their services if one would.. let’s say, open up an etsy shop? If such powers exist what is their true price?

Content warnings
there was one or two fanservice-y panels, and some guns and violence, but it’s nothing serious

I had fun this with manga after things started to make sense. In the second half of the book we get some of our questions answered and start to learn a bit more about our protagonist and why he left home. He made friends with Hina, who is a really awesome girl. There were a few story elements that felt random to me, but it might play a role later on. Like, weirdo, shady men in town who always chat up young girls. A random gun, discarded in the trash. I definetely want to read the second volume to learn more.

This manga follows Hodaka, who's run away from his small village to Tokyo. Once he arrives there, he struggles to find work and a place to stay. After a particularly bad night he ends up in a fast food restaurant where he meets Hina, who gives him some food. However, he is unaware that Hina has the power to effect the weather. Her powers lead them to start a profitable business keeping the perpetual rain at bay.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this manga. I liked the weather aspect and the relationship between the two main characters. I loved the artwork as well, it was so nicely done. I cannot wait to read volume 2! I'm excited to see what happens with the story.

What a promising plot. I found the concept of Hina being able to affect the weather really interesting. I was sometimes a bit confused with the story, I think because I didn’t quite get when time passed or not. I think the story takes place over at least a month but I can’t be sure since there are no indications. The characters are quite nice and I’m dying to know more about each one of them. I think they have all interesting and mysterious stories. However, it was maybe too mysterious as I didn’t learn a lot about the characters and the story just gives me more questions without answering any. On the other hand, the artwork is really nice and beautiful. There is also a movie so I think I’ll watch it after reading the second volume of this manga. I recommend this manga to everyone, especially young adults.
3.5/5

This was ok for me. I can definitely see others getting into this but it just didn't resonate with me. The art was beautiful and the story was really intriguing. I would definitely consider the movie for anyone intrigued by this first volume.

I am little disappointed. I expected something more. I think that storyline has potential. Art style is not bad too. It can be improved.

I think the concept intrigued me more than the execution of this one and I'm unsure whether it was the Netgalley advanced copy that isn't fully-formed or because it felt like it plodded along.

I like the introspective stories but this one dragged because I wasn't necessarily connected with the characters, yet I do want to try again when I have the final version in my hands.

I'm really glad that I was able to read this Manga since I haven't been able to see the film adaption. "You Name" is one of my all time favourite anime films, so I'm really excited for the main characters to make a cameo in this story!

The Manga itself is wonderful and endearing, and the artwork would be wonderful to see in animation! The flying whales, the sunshine.. And not to mention the characters!

I'm looking forward to continuing this Manga and seeing what happens next. At the end of this volume, we could see that trouble was beginning to stir.
I can only hope that "sunshine girl" will be okay 😔

Rating: 5/5

Thank you so much to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this title won’t load for me. The cover is lovely though, and it sounds like an intriguing premise. I will be checking it out once it’s available to the public anyway.

I think I heard that this turned into a movie which peeked my interest. The idea of someone controlling the weather also sounded pretty cool so I decided to check this book out. So Hodaka runs away to the city of Tokyo when he meets the very girl who controls the weather and from then on this book turns out to to be a very good start. I thought this book was a nice introductory and enough makes me what to learn more about these characters and what's in store for the following books.

'Weathering With You, Vol. 1' by Makoto Shinkai with art by Wataru Kubota us a manga about a young man who runs away to Tokyo and the odd characters he meets along the way.

Hodaka runs away for his own reasons to the big city of Tokyo. Along the way, he meets a man who helps him out, but seems suspiciously shady. He is helped out by a young woman named Hina who feeds him. He discovers in Hina a strange gift she has to dry up the rain and make the sun come out. How their relationship develops is the main plot of this volume.

I liked the story, and didn't realize there was a movie. I felt like the story meandered a bit and introduced things that aren't that important to the main plot, at least not so far. I liked the art also. Hina is definitely a more interesting character than Hodaka at this point.

I received a review copy of this manga from Kodansha USA and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

A great manga companion to the "Weathering With You movie"! I absolutely loved the film! The manga differs slightly, but the essence of the story is preserved. I'm also happy to enjoy more of Makoto Shinkai's artwork, which is gorgeous.

ARC was provided by NetGalley and Vertical Comics in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published after the release date (September 22nd, 2020)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Homelessness, physical assault, gun violence, mentions loss of loved ones


Did I request this manga because I loved Your Name? Yes. Did I completely fall down a rabbit hole reading this manga and therefore need to know what’s going to happen next? Also, yes! I really loved Your Name. It was a very emotional, whimsical series and movie. So naturally my interest was at an all high when I saw this was available for request. And this book didn’t disappoint! It fully captured my heart and I think many manga readers are going to fall in love with this series, if they haven’t already!

We follow a boy named Hodaka, who’s run away from the island he grew up on, fleeing to the Kabukichō neighborhood of Tokyo to start a new beginning. However, Hodaka finds himself struggling to adjust to the new city and all the gloomy weather. Until he comes across a girl named Hina, who has a the special ability to bring out the sun, also known as a sunshine girl. Together they’ll turn Hina’s ability into a means of helping Hina gather funds to support herself and younger sibling, but Hodaka is keeping secrets and Hina is keeping her own.

“All this time, I think… I was chasing the light that you bring, Miss Hina.”

I loved these characters so much. They’re not your typical main characters who are fierce warriors or magical beings. They’re just two kids who come from rough backgrounds, trying to survive in the big world. I love when characters are just like everyone else, but we get to see their hardships, they’re struggles. It makes those characters feel more realistic and easier to connect to. And of course, the story line that pulls these two characters together is so beautifully woven. I loved seeing the small pieces of Japanese myths and legends tie in to the events happening and the characters.

Just like Your Name, Weathering with You has underlying themes to it. Looking at Hina’s character in this book, he character is designed to show the weight that women often carry. Women are often expected to provide warmth, comfort, and happiness, more time than most being the caregiver of the household. Now, I don’t want to spoil too much (especially for the anime), but the author does a brilliant job of showing this and how if affects women, how much energy the deplete from themselves, and the toll it begins to take on their bodies. I thought it was so beautifully done and I think this book shows the beginning of that process really well.

And of course, I have to talk about how stunning the art style is because it is gorgeous! The beginning of this arc we have one to two pages of colored art and it is everything. That alone had me gasping for breath. It so beautiful and I wish more manga had more little glimpses into colored panels. Even the black and white panels just really had an extra emphasis on the events happening throughout the book. The illustrator of this book is truly talented and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do next!

Overall, I really enjoyed this manga with my whole heart. I think the story line does a fantastic job hooking the attention of the reader, pricking the curiosity of those who want to know more. It truly is a beautiful story and I can’t recommend this graphic novel enough. I hope my fellow manga readers will be picking this series up and if you haven’t checked out this series yet, please do. It truly is wonderful!


The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.