My UserPage - chemin (up266334)

Masterpiece. The pure essence of a slice of life. It's filled to the brink with flawless writing and Takahata's brilliant direction. The characters are extremely well realized, and grounded in reality, and the dialogue is superb. Lifelike. Mature. That makes the story equally good. I could relate to Taeko more than once. The ending is really, really sweet, with her childhood following and supporting her make the decision. Studio Ghibli seldom disappoints in the production area, and this movie is no exception. It reeks of great visuals and sound. The movie is made with adults being the target group, and it shows. No over-the-top humor, crazy characterizations or spectacular events. Just perfectly realized slice of life drama.

A decent little recap of the first season. It's no masterpiece in editing, but it does its job fine enough. Mostly. Only recommended for fans who want to spruce up on the story though.

The arc-format manages to keep most romances interesting, even at a mere 4 episodes per arc. Shit actually happens! It's not everyday you see a harem (well, one can argue whether this is one or not - I really don't judge it as such), or romcom, where the romance actually goes somewhere. And it has several great characters to boot. Some arcs are better than others, sure, and that's the reason this show gets an 8, because it's not perfect. That aside, it's still one of my favorite romantic shows in the last few years.

Just short and sweet. Simple as that. I highly enjoyed it. Slice of life, yuri, sibling love, in a low-key setting. I suppose the length made it all very easy to digest and appreciate, and the characters were very likable. Also, it looks great, the art style is very easy to enjoy.

Recommended for fans who want to spruce up on the story from the series only - IT'S NOT for people who haven't seen the series already. The narration is annoying, and would ruin the whole atmosphere, suspense and story for new-comers. Otherwise it's a fairly competent recap, and I found it to be interesting enough since I really forgot what the hell happened in the series. And I wouldn't want to watch the 2 movie sequels without some memory of the story.

If you're a fan of the series you might want to take a look at this just for the heck of it. It can be interesting to see an alternative ending. It's not a good one, really, and you'll be perfectly fine if you never see it. But 4 episodes is not especially long, so it might still be worth the time.