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If I were to use one word to summarize the experience that this movie provides, it will certainly be “Crazy”, both literally and figuratively. Tenki no Ko is not a show with great depth, and it has made it very clear from the start. But you shall never count it out, as sometimes, an eye-candy paired with a simplistic storyline is more than enough to make a great show.

This movie is no doubt overdramatic with its representation of youth, to a point where more pessimistic anime fans may be taken out of the experience. But such an outlook neglects the reality of how it feels to be that young. Our main duo is just 16 and 14, and to be put under such circumstances, their abrupt actions are understandable. Truth is, the storyline is indeed predictable. Still, the crux of the movie is never its intrigue, but rather its authentic portrayal of youth and raw teenage love.

Supernatural plots are hard to handle, without grounded characters, the whole story can seem unrelatable, causing indifference among viewers. And undeniably, the character’s backgrounds are not fleshed out here. What happened to Hina’s family? Why did Hodaka run away from home just because of a strobe of light from the skies? Honestly speaking, it would have done a lot better with the usual 4 hours of runtime most seasonal anime gets. This lacking of time took a toll on the first half of the movie since the pacing is far too quick for anything to be received as important.

The supporting cast is yet another victim of the short run time of this movie. Natsumi is just a cookie-cutter character, here to add fuel to the fire. And while Keisuke does have character development, isn’t consistent with his initial impression when observed on the surface level. I do appreciate times when we need to dig deep to get a better understanding of a character, but when the whole movie is very out on the surface, this just felt out of place. Despite the flaws, I find the main duo to be nothing short of lovable and intriguing. They are reckless, no doubt, but it’s youth that is fueling this craziness and this becomes what is one of the unique remarks of this movie.

As I have mentioned, this movie is an eye-candy, the animation is much like Kimi no Nawa’s, both in style and fluidity, which is the highest praise I can give. But that isn’t the full story, the soundtrack is incredible as well, in fact so incredible that it elevated the whole experience for me. The songs aren’t about generic teenage love, but rather about definite situations that our characters are in. The OST isn’t one that is board-brush, off the shelf one with minor edits, but rather one that has a distinctive style and theme. It presents a sense of showers and droplets when Hina is involved, or provides an upbeat and passionate BGM when Hodaka is on screen. Truly phenomenal.

I am one that thinks Kimi no Nawa got more attention and recognition than it deserved. So going into Tenki no Ko, I did not have the highest of expectations as others may have had. Though there are obvious oversights, this movie surpassed what I thought was possible for a clear-cut way of storytelling, and presented it with cream of the crop art, animation and sound, which more than makes up for its flaws and deserves a recommendation.