RingoStarr1991

 ***This review has some spoilers in it. They are clearly marked and can be avoided.***

The hype revolving around this animated film is so suffocating that it somehow convinced me to fight the LA traffic to go see it in a cramped, artsy film theater with 40ish loud anime fans and a snobby french couple next to me. Was it worth all this trouble?

Plot: 4.5/10

I'm going to separate this spoiler comment bellow from the rest of the review. If you do not want to be spoiled then just gloss over the next paragraph.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER If you have seen the lackluster Hollywood film The Lake House and the anime Kokoro Connect then you have an idea how the main plot mechanic works in this film. How this mechanic of switching bodies affects the film is pretty fun to see but it is by no means a new idea. Keep in mind that I liked this mechanic but I hate how we see this only really play out for the female MC in the beginning; you see almost no scenes where the male MC is in control of the female MC's body at her school which was disappointing. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

Ok so with that out of the way I have to say that the film does its job of keeping you involved with what is going on. The problem though is that the film is heavily relying on the SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER “Wait...I'm a boy!!!?? Wait...I'm a girl!!!??” SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER gag throughout the entire film. This is funny the first couple of times it shows up but after awhile it starts to lose its charm. The way they brought the ending of the film together was cool and cute but overall you are watching this film for the animation/art and the character interactions.

Animation: 10/10

This absolutely lived up to the hype. I'm not quite sure how much of the film is traditional hand-drawn animation but my god the movement of the characters and the quality of the background scenes are absolutely orgasmic. Both the countryside and Tokyo are so full of color and detail. The character models are also very appealing; not in an overally sexual way but in a tasteful attractive way (I mean come on the MCs are still teenagers).

Sound: 10/10

A surprise standout feature for this film; they nailed the acoustic qualities. The music was very fitting (there are 3 or so moments where there is only music and panning shots) and the voice actors nailed their characters especially in the parts where what was mentioned above in the spoiler section takes place.

Characters: 6.5/10

So...yeah this is tough to put into words. The characters are interesting and they do provide lots of really funny moments together (this includes the female MC's friends who play a big part in the ending) but I cannot help but feel that they seem...not fleshed out? I left the film with very little knowledge of both the male and female MC's personalities. We see the gag play out with the spoiler mentioned plot device up above but that didn't completely tell us how these MC's normally act, what their desires are, ext.

Overall I really digged the interactions between all the characters but I felt like possible character development was severely lost.

Overall: 7.8/10

With something this hyped up it will never live up to everyone's expectations. In my case, it didn't but I did enjoy the film. The slapstick and awkward humor hit their marks, the interactions between characters was on the mark, and the sound and visual design was immaculate. I wished that they took the time to develop the main characters and possibly show us some more material after where the movie left off but I guess that is left up to us to imagine. It is not a perfect film but it is by no means bad; this is a very good watch. I recommend you go see this in theaters if you get the chance since it is such a visual spectacle. It's a super cute, visually and acoustically stunning film; nothing more.

Enjoyment: 8.75/10

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Sincerely,
Awesome Drummer