In an interview shown after my film showing, director Makoto Shinkai shared some thoughts about Hodaka's decision. He says that decision is what makes the movie feel so raw, that a young person can just say what they truly want without considering the desires of detractors or society at large. That someone can just so simply abandon the world for one person.

I don't think it's particularly fair to blame Hina for Tokyo's dilemma, which is what one is essentially doing if they believe sacrificing is the obvious choice. I don't know what I would do personally in her position, but Hodaka represents what I think a lot of us feel deep inside.

Interestingly enough, I see a lot of parallels between him and Madoka Magica's Homura. They both overturn a dear companion's noble sacrifice for their own selfish desires. But I ask you, were their actions really that bad? Let me know in the comments, and I'll be sure to respond!

References and Additional Reading:

Aforementioned /r/anime Writing Club Post -   / ranime_writing_club_talks_weathering_with_you  

Homura Was Never A Good Person: Why Rebellion is Great -    • Homura Was Never A Good Person: Why R...  

Anime is Better Being Well-read (Or Well-watched!) -    • Anime is Better Being Well-read (Or W...  

Do the Trolley Problem here yourself! The second scenario is pretty congruent with this video, and the typical results are interesting- https://www.philosophyexperiments.com...

VSauce actually recreated the Trolley Problem with some interesting reactions -    • The Trolley Problem in Real Life  

_______________
End card design by Bakuretsu: https://bakuretsu.co/
Twitter:   / kamimamimashita  
Patreon:   / kamimashita  
Reddit:   / drjwilson  
Anilist: https://anilist.co/user/drjwilson/ani...