RADWIMPS Will Perform Soundtrack for Makoto Shinkai’s New Film ‘Weathering With You’

10.April.2019 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE / MUSIC

It has been announced that Japanese rock band RADWIMPS will perform the soundtrack for the upcoming animated film Weathering with You written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film is set for release on July 19, 2019.

 

The veil has finally been lifted on the highly-anticipated next movie from Shinkai with the first promo video that also features the main theme song by RADWIMPS.

 

It has already been three years since Makoto Shinkai’s 2016 film phenomenon Your Name. took the world by storm. The romantic fantasy drama also featured music written by RADWIMPS. The theme song written by them for Shinkai’s new animated feature is entitled Ai ni Dekiru Koto wa Mada Aru Kai. When Shinkai received the song he felt strongly that this was a film he had to make.

The story follows Hodaka Morishima, a high school student who leaves his home on an island to move to Tokyo. He finds a job as a writer but when he starts working he finds that it rains every single day. He meets a mysterious young girl named Hina Amano who is able to manipulate the weather to stop the rain and clear the sky.

 

The promo video that was released today features scenes compiled by Shinkai himself. We see once more the beautifully delicate world that Shinkai has crafted with the sky and rain. We also get to hear RADWIMPS’s song which elevates the emotional tone of the visuals.

 

Shinkai first made the offer to RADWIMPS for this film in August 2017. Like with Your Name., he and the band have had regular meetings throughout the entire writing and production process. The film will contain many vocals parts written by RADWIMPS for important scenes in addition to the rest of the soundtrack.

Yojiro Noda, the frontman for RADWIMPS, released the following statement regarding their involvement: “We are RADWIMPS and we have been tasked with writing the music for Makoto Shinkai’s film Weathering with You. In the summer of 2017, we suddenly received an e-mail from him asking if we would read the film script. I replied saying I would gladly do so. That’s where our story with Weathering with You begins.”

 

He continues: “Even now they are working diligently on the film. We have been given the chance to be involved in the story side of things more than last time. I feel happy to be able to work on something with such stable teamwork. Every single day we are e-mailing Shinkai back and forth as we progress with the work. Perhaps we’re even more incessant than couples in love. Shinkai is no different from the first time we worked with him. He looks at his work more dead on, genuinely, stubbornly, and sometimes clumsily than anyone else. And all the staff are fully supporting him. I am proud to have the opportunity to join him on a new adventure once more.”

 

He finishes by saying: “I sometimes feel as if I’ve hit a wall, but I will squirm my way forward. I will go with eagerness and not lose just like Hodaka and Hina [in the film]. I hope everyone who watches this film are filled with sunny joy. Please look forward to it.”

Director Makoto Shinkai also commented on working with RADWIMPS for the music: “I sent Yojiro the script for Weathering with You that I had then only just completed on August 26, 2017, exactly a year after the release of Your Name.. At first, I hadn’t intended to send him an offer to write the music, but I personally had to know what kind of sounds he could hear in his head from reading this script. I subsequently received [the song] Ai ni Dekiru Koto wa Mada Aru Kai, and felt strongly that this was a film I had to make. I understood deeply within myself the reason why I had sent Yojiro the script.”

 

He continues: “The first conversation I had with them when it was decided that we would make the film together with RADWIMPS once more was: ‘Let’s do this as if it’s our first time’ and ‘Let’s do something different from before.’ We wouldn’t do the same thing but we would do something more interesting. Because we worked together every single time, and with Your Name. in mind, I felt in my mind that we would be able to deliver to viewers something even better. That’s the same for the film overall. It’s different from last time, but to ensure there’s even more surprise and excitement packed in, the staff are giving it everything they’ve got right now.”

 

He concludes: “I would be overjoyed if people look forward to seeing and hearing the new story and music.”

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