Weather Woman (1995) Reviews

Based on the popular manga, this wickedly funny, over-the-top farce is about greed, power, and Japan's national obsession with weather reports. Keiko (Kei Mizutani) is an unusual woman by any yardstick. She speaks in the same harsh guttural tones as a yakuza, she perpetually masturbates, and she has the ability to fly. She also possesses an almost Nietzschean will to power; her greatest desire is to do the nightly weather report. Her big break comes when regular weatherwoman Michiko (Saori Taira) calls in sick. During Keiko's few moments in the spotlight, she exposes her panties to the national television audience. Overnight, she is the toast of Tokyo. Soon Michiko is out for good, while Keiko commands an executive suite at network headquarters and a chorus line of half-naked men who applaud as she vaults end-over-end on her way to the studio to deliver the weather. Michiko's ill-fated attempts at vengeance backfire miserably and she is relegated to interviewing enema-enthusiasts for the late-night show Hello Mr. Pervert. Though Keiko's weather report-cum-peep show garners phenomenal ratings and the unqualified support of the network head (Hideyo Amamoto), she soon develops some serious enemies, most notably the snobbish, European-educated daughter of the CEO, Kaori (Yasuyo Shiratori). Claiming that she wants to bring Parisian sophistication to Keiko's crass meteorological display, Kaori forces Keiko out with dirty tricks and quiet yakuza manipulation, and she takes the mantle of weatherwoman for herself. Meanwhile, Keiko plots to retake her job, using the sacred Sky/Heaven whip. High school admirer Yamagishi (Takashi Sumida) dutifully lashes and beats Keiko's shapely body as part of her rigorous training. When she confronts her archenemy, the result is a wild weather-themed battle to the death. Weatherwoman was released with little fanfare in 1993. It slowly gained a cult following, until its studio, Bandai, re-released it in 1996, when it was hailed both at home and abroad. It was placed on the top ten lists of many Japanese critics and won prizes at both the Stockholm and Oslo film festivals. Eventually a sequel and a popular television show followed. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi