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Treads on being boring ngl. Most of it takes place in flashbacks, so you have to sit through a lot of dull, anime school trite. The transfer student who's also a love interest, the best friend, childhood friends, melodrama, slapping, etc. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was wishing I was rewatching Toradora! instead. I enjoyed it a little more once we got to the present again, but the movie really tries hammering in how Taku was oh so in love with Rikako, which I could not for the life of me care about. Because say it with me everyone: Taku has better chemistry with Yutaka than he does with Rikako. I swear there's more scenes of Taku being annoyed with her than actually fawning over her or something. They have a couple of scenes of decent chemistry, but in hindsight, you could tell me it was all platonic and I wouldn't bat an eye.
The production design overall is nicely-made of course, but the animation itself is entirely passable. Feels like something made for TV, and it may as well've just been live-action.
Not godawful or anything, but I doubt I'll ever watch it again. Unless you want to be a Ghibli completionist, you could go your life without watching it and be fine.
My favorite part was the lil' Porco Rosso cameo around the 52-minute mark.
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