Weathering With You (2019): Characters, Voice Actors, Analysis & Character Map

Hodaka Morishima: Basic Info & Analysis

The protagonist of the story. Weathering With You opens with Hodaka, a suffocated 16-year-old high school freshman, recklessly running away from his isolated island hometown of Kozushima to the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo.

While the film never explicitly states the exact reason for his runaway, early visual clues—such as the bandages on his face and his deeply resentful reaction to a photo of his strict-looking father—heavily imply a history of physical or intense psychological conflict.

So, what triggered this breaking point? Reading between the lines of rural Japanese family dynamics, there are two highly probable scenarios:

If we look at the real-world demographics of Kozushima Village, the primary industries are Fishery, Agriculture, and Tourism. It is highly likely that Hodaka’s father was deeply entrenched in one of these demanding physical trades. Consequently, it is almost certain that Hodaka was facing immense pressure to “abandon any ideas of university and take over the family business.”

It appears Hodaka engaged in a massive, likely physical, altercation over this forced destiny. Given that his father was likely a hardened fisherman or farmer, Hodaka would have been severely outmatched in a physical fight—explaining the bandages.

By the end of the film, following his three-year probation, Hodaka successfully graduates and heads to university in Tokyo. It is highly probable that his parents only permitted this path because of his extreme runaway attempt. They likely concluded, “Letting him go to school is better than having him vanish again.” Furthermore, after surviving the brutal streets of Tokyo and literally fighting the sky, Hodaka likely returned home exuding the aura of a full-fledged, unshakable adult, forcing his father to respect him.

Fascinatingly, there is a real-world Shinto myth native to Hodaka’s home island of Kozushima known as the “Water Distribution Legend” (Mizukubari Densetsu). The myth goes roughly like this:

The deities of the Izu Islands gathered at Kozushima to determine how to distribute the region’s life-giving water. Unable to reach a consensus, they decided water would be distributed the next morning based on the order the gods arrived at the shrine. The god of Toshima island overslept and arrived last, finding almost no water left. Enraged, he jumped into the remaining puddle and thrashed violently. The water splashed in all directions across Kozushima, which is why the island remains so abundantly rich with water to this day.

While it requires a slight interpretive leap to connect this myth directly to the plot of Weathering With You, it is highly thematic that a boy destined to drown Tokyo was born on an island defined by a myth of “raging, uncontrollable water.”

Hina Amano: Basic Info & Analysis

The tragic, supernatural heroine of Weathering With You. At the beginning of the story, she is actually only 15 years old (a third-year middle school student). However, to secure employment and avoid child protective services, she convincingly lies to everyone—including Hodaka—claiming she is turning 18.

In the first act, she uses her power as the “100% Sunshine Girl” to bring joy to Tokyo. She is elated, believing she has finally found her “role” and value in a society that had previously discarded her. However, the tragedy of the film lies in her slow realization that her divine power is actively killing her.

While her ability to manipulate the weather drives the narrative—seemingly triggered by her desperate, pure prayer to “show my dying mother a clear sky one last time”—the lore runs much deeper.

The film establishes that the entity known as the “Weather Maiden” is an ancient, recurring phenomenon. If we assume this, it is highly probable that Hina is a distant, biological descendant of that sacred Shinto lineage.

While the film never explicitly confirms her bloodline, there is a brilliant visual metaphor: Hina constantly wears her late mother’s bracelet as a tight choker around her neck. This strongly implies that she “inherited” something heavy from her mother.

If we apply a slightly cynical, psychological lens, taking an object meant for the wrist and wrapping it tightly around the throat visually symbolizes a “wedge” or a “shackle” that is suffocating Hina. It represents the crushing weight of her destiny.

While the power of the “Weather Maiden” is miraculous, the film fundamentally frames it not as a “gift,” but as a terrifying “curse.” Once activated, neither the Maiden nor her loved ones can escape its toll. Hina is a girl who inherited this divine shackle, and ultimately, she is a girl who chooses to shatter it.

If you want to dive deeper into the tragic, forgotten mythology of Hina’s powers, we have expanded on this lore in a dedicated article:

Nagi Amano: Basic Info & Analysis

Hina’s 10-year-old younger brother. Despite being an elementary school student, he is a hilariously precocious ladies’ man, constantly juggling multiple “girlfriends” and offering profound romantic advice. To the socially awkward Hodaka, Nagi is a literal “master of romance” (Senpai).

While Nagi frequently serves as the film’s “comic relief,” his underlying psychology is deeply tragic. He constantly maintains a stoic, detached poker face, viewing the world with a cynical side-eye. This mature persona was forced upon him by the trauma of his mother’s death and the reality of living in poverty with only his teenage sister. He was robbed of his childhood and forced to “play the adult” to survive.

Therefore, the climax—where Nagi violently tackles the police officers, breaks down in tears, and screams at Hodaka, “It’s all your fault! Give my sister back!”—is incredibly profound. In that moment of absolute despair, his tough facade shatters, and he is finally allowed to act like the terrified, vulnerable little boy he truly is.

Keisuke Suga: Basic Info & Analysis

The shady, chain-smoking owner of the boutique editorial agency, “K&A Planning.” He scrapes by publishing sensationalized urban legend articles for occult magazines.

Though never explicitly stated in dialogue, the “K” in the company name stands for Keisuke, and the “A” stands for his beloved, deceased wife, Asuka.

He becomes the catalyst for Hodaka’s journey by physically saving the boy from drowning on the ferry to Tokyo.

For the majority of the film, Keisuke plays the role of the “cynical, useless adult.” He is trapped in a custody battle, struggling simply to get visitation rights for his asthmatic daughter, Moka. His mother-in-law weaponizes various excuses (like his smoking habit) to keep them apart, but the heartbreaking reality is that she recognizes Keisuke is still deeply, dangerously unstable following the death of his wife.

Despite his gruff exterior and his cowardly attempt to abandon Hodaka to protect his own legal standing, Keisuke is fundamentally a deeply caring, empathetic man. Without his begrudging shelter, Hodaka would have undoubtedly died on the streets of Shinjuku. His eventual redemption in the climax cements him as the ultimate “flawed but reliable older brother” figure.

Natsumi Suga: Basic Info & Analysis

A 22-year-old university student and Keisuke’s niece (by marriage). She works as a part-time investigator and writer for “K&A Planning.”

For the first act of the film, the naive Hodaka assumes the beautiful, flirtatious Natsumi is Keisuke’s “mistress.” To a socially awkward 16-year-old boy, a glamorous college girl operating in the adult world must have seemed incredibly intimidating and bewitching.

Despite her bubbly, confident exterior, Natsumi is actually suffering from severe anxiety regarding her future. She is failing miserably at job hunting, constantly being rejected by corporate Japan. While the film never explicitly details how her career search concludes, the epilogue shows Natsumi’s signature pink scooter helmet resting on a desk in the newly expanded, highly successful “K&A Planning” office. It heavily implies she stopped trying to fit into the corporate mold and accepted a full-time position working alongside her uncle.

Asuka Suga: Basic Info & Analysis

Keisuke’s late wife. She tragically passed away in an accident shortly after giving birth to their daughter, Moka.

Although she is never physically shown in the present timeline, her absence casts a massive, suffocating shadow over Keisuke. His alcoholism, his hoarding, and his emotional detachment in the early parts of the film are all screaming indicators of a man paralyzed by unresolved grief.

Moka Suga: Basic Info & Analysis

Keisuke’s young, energetic daughter.

Following the sudden death of her mother, Asuka, Moka’s custody was awarded to her wealthy grandmother.

She suffers from severe asthma, which is violently exacerbated by Tokyo’s endless rain and plummeting temperatures. Her grandmother uses Moka’s fragile health, and Keisuke’s chain-smoking habit, as legal ammunition to restrict his visitation rights.

Mrs. Mamiya: Basic Info & Analysis

Keisuke’s strict, wealthy mother-in-law.

She currently holds full custody of her granddaughter, Moka. While the film frames her reluctance to let Keisuke visit as a precaution against his smoking, the psychological reality is likely much darker. Taking a cynical view, she almost certainly harbors a deep-seated resentment toward Keisuke, viewing him as “the reckless man who took my beautiful daughter away.”

While Asuka’s death was a tragic accident, it is an entirely natural human reaction for a grieving mother to place the blame on the husband. Her coldness toward Keisuke is born from a place of profound maternal agony.

Fumi Tachibana: Basic Info & Analysis

A kind, elderly client who hires the “Sunshine Girl” to clear the sky so she can light a ritual fire for her deceased husband’s spirit.

She is the grandmother of Taki Tachibana, the protagonist of Shinkai’s previous masterpiece, Your Name. However, given the timeline paradoxes created by the events of both films, it is best to view her appearance as a fun “parallel universe” cameo rather than strict canon.

Crucially, during the film’s epilogue, as Hodaka stares out at a permanently drowned Tokyo, Fumi offers him a profound piece of wisdom: “Humans always manage to survive somehow.” It is a quiet, unassuming scene, but it serves as the philosophical anchor of the entire movie.

Detective Yasui: Basic Info & Analysis

A weary, middle-aged detective tasked with tracking down the runaway Hodaka after the firearm incident. Compared to the other adults in the film who operate on emotion or self-preservation, Yasui is the most grounded, rational representation of “Adult Society” and the law.

Detective Takai: Basic Info & Analysis

Detective Yasui’s aggressive, younger partner.

Given that he intentionally styles his hair in a classic, delinquent “pompadour” (Regent style), it is highly likely that Takai was a reckless punk in his youth who was straightened out by the law. He almost certainly views Detective Yasui as a father figure who set him on the right path.

Officer Sasaki: Basic Info & Analysis

The policewoman who is brilliantly outsmarted by 10-year-old Nagi during the climax. To be fair to her, absolutely no trained officer would anticipate an elementary schooler executing a flawless decoy body-double switch with his ex-girlfriend in a police precinct. We can’t really blame her for falling for it.

Ayane: Basic Info & Analysis

Nagi’s “ex-girlfriend.” She is the first young girl seen chatting with Nagi on the city bus during his debut scene. She later plays a vital role in his escape from police custody.

Kana: Basic Info & Analysis

Nagi’s “current girlfriend.” She is the second girl speaking to Nagi on the bus in the opening act.

Scoutman Kimura: Basic Info & Analysis

The sleazy club bouncer who cruelly trips a starving, homeless Hodaka into a trash can at the beginning of the film. While it is easy to view him as pure evil, he is simply a low-level thug struggling to survive in the ruthless underbelly of Shinjuku’s red-light district.

Later, he aggressively attempts to recruit a desperate Hina into the illegal sex industry. This triggers Hodaka’s reckless rescue attempt, culminating in Hodaka discharging the handgun.

Ironically, this terrifying incident serves as the ultimate catalyst for the plot. By forcing Hodaka into a life-or-death scenario, Kimura inadvertently pushes the boy and Hina together. In a twisted way, he is the matchmaker of the film.

Fortune Teller: Basic Info & Analysis

The eccentric, seemingly fraudulent fortune teller that Hodaka interviews for the occult magazine. While she speaks in rapid-fire, cryptic riddles, her dialogue actually serves as massive, crucial exposition regarding the lore and inevitable fate of the “Weather Maiden.”

Researcher Araki: Basic Info & Analysis

An official researcher at the Meteorological Agency interviewed by Natsumi. He provides the fascinating, semi-scientific theory regarding a hidden, living ecosystem existing within the cumulonimbus clouds.

The Shinto Priest: Basic Info & Analysis

The elderly caretaker of the “Weather Shrine” visited by Keisuke and Natsumi.

He delivers the film’s most damning philosophical indictment of humanity: he argues that the term “abnormal weather” is an arrogant, human-centric construct. Nature is simply reverting to its original state; it is only “abnormal” because it inconveniences modern society’s records. He flawlessly articulates Makoto Shinkai’s underlying views on nature and humanity.