Anime Alert

Studio Ghibli hasn't released any new material since its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement in 2014. But Makoto Shinkai came to the rescue with Your Name (2016), Japan's fourth highest-grossing movie; and now, the 46-year-old writer-director returns to the big screen this weekend with his new work, Weathering With You. Picked as Japan's entry for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars next year, the film has already passed the US$100 million mark at the domestic box office. It tells the story of a small town teenager, Hodaka Morishima, who runs away from home and ends up in Tokyo, which has been hit by persistent rain. He befriends an orphan girl, Hina Amano, who has the ability to manipulate the weather. The film's theme song is by Radwimps, the same J-pop band that wrote the music for Shinkai's Your Name.

Weathering With You is screening islandwide now.