Honda Super Cub shines in 'Weathering With You' anime film

Japanese viewers are gushing over Natsumi’s Super Cub

“Weathering With You” (天気の子, “Tenki no Ko”) has been playing in Japanese theaters since July, and the movie will hit Philippine theaters soon with a local release date set to August 28, 2019. Those looking forward to seeing the latest work by celebrated Japanese director and box office darling, Makoto Shinkai, will also be treated to appearances by two Honda vehicles: the Super Cub and N-ONE.

The female college-aged character named Natsumi in “Weathering With You” rides a pink Super Cub in the film and Japanese people on Twitter have been fawning over her bike. The fun two-wheeling action scene apparently made an impact and Natsumi’s ride has become a bit of a star in its own right. In fact, there’s one particularly funny screenshot of the Cub being shared on Twitter, which we won’t post due to spoilers. Existing Super Cub fans are pleased with the iconic underbone's appearance as well as its recorded sounds, while some have been asking other Twitter users to identify the variant Natsumi was riding (likely the current Super Cub 110). Several people proclaimed, “I want a Super Cub now” after having watched the movie.

Makoto Shinkai’s previous film “Your Name” (2016) became the highest-grossing anime movie ever at the time of release, raking in $361 million and beating the $353 million record of "Spirited Away". “Weathering With You” was released in Japan this year on July 19, 2019 and has already earned $94 million as of August 21. When you go see “Weathering With You,” expect to spot Honda's Super Cub and N-ONE kei car. In fact, Honda Japan reported that the animators borrowed units not just to sketch but also to record faithful audio, from the sounds of a running Super Cub to the N-ONE’s windshield wiper. This isn’t the first time Makoto Shinkai has stuck Cubs into his work...

Makoto Shinkai is considered one of the contemporary masters of magical realism, seamlessly blending fantasy and science fiction with charming slice-of-life familiarity. His movies have been both well written and exquisitely animated. He’s placed Honda Super Cubs in his movies before, like “5 Centimeters per Second” (秒速5センチメートル, “Byosoku Go Senchimetoru") and “Your Name” (君の名は, “Kimi wo Na wa”).

Noritaka Kawaguchi, a producer for CoMix Wave Films studio, frequently works with Makoto Shinkai. He has actively contributed to the decision to depict the Super Cub because of its universal, nostalgic design and its ability to evoke emotions from the Japanese audience. He’s a rider himself, owning a Honda C90, CL90, and CB750F. When conducting field research, Kawaguchi has said that the animators scouted locations and noticed the prevalence of Super Cubs. To draw the essence of such places accurately, they recognized the importance of portraying the bikes in these films.