Nerawareta Gakuen

I was looking forward to this movie for some time after reading MAL's synopsis, but after completing it, I felt as if I set my expectations too high.

STORY (6)
Nerawareta Gakuen, or Psychic School Wars, is a misnomer. Not once did anyone have a psychic battle against one another, let alone a war. From what I saw, a new handsome transfer student brainwashes all the students that had an aptitude to do some little magic, and were sent out to bully those who do not have powers. This in turn led to the tyranny of the student council, who created an inquisition hellbent on reprimanding those ... who bring cell phones to school, because of course cell phones are the root of evil in a learning institution. Hypocritical I say. Of course, the underdog hero saves the day with his pervasive powers and changes the heart of the transfer student responsible. Turns out, humans were living on the moon in the future.

ART (10)
Admittedly, the art was very good. Very fluid motions throughout, and very beautiful scenery. I had a problem at the beginning with the sakura petals floating everywhere in every scene: on the beach, outside on the streets, at the edge of a cliff, and somehow inside a subway train. Reflections of the most random things like stairs and tables did also irk me a little. The amount of realistic details remind me of Makoto Shinkai's works. But overall, I think the animations were the only thing other than the sound that made me watch this all in one sitting.

SOUND (8)
They captured everything pretty well to be honest. The wind, the drops of water, and the piano. Though somewhat generic, the soundtrack was soothing and fitting for the scenes they were played in. And with a cast with Kana Hanazawa and Daisuke Ono, you know that the voice actings are not half-assed.

CHARACTER (5)
Generic hot guy transfers into school. The main hero is known to be a pervert and at times can be serious. Pathetic-looking, and his heart wavers too easily. His childhood friend loves him ever since they were little and he never took notice. He also cracked her windows yet no one actually cared to mention anything about that. A girl whose past we barely even know attempts to commit suicide, however a hot time traveling transfer student saves her and she becomes his henchman. Another girl from the student council falls in love with the transfer student at first sight. They all have a some form of relationships with one another. Be reminded that they are all in the 8th grade.

ENJOYMENT (6)
I was seriously looking forward to Nerawareta Gakuen. From reading the synopsis, I thought that the new transfer student will rule over the school and create a brainwashed army to send them to defeat the badass main lead. With awesome battle actions and stuff. Boy, was I disappointed. Near the end of the movie, I thought they were going to go all out since the main character realized his powers. Instead, he offered to have a gathering at a beach. Pretty anticlimatic.

OVERALL (7)
All this anime had were very pretty and fluid animations. The plot was pretty generic, the characters generic, and my expectations were not even close to being met. When I think of psychics, I think of people reading each other's minds, planning out each other's next moves in some sort of strategy. Not feeling each other's soul or whatever and create a cliche with other psychics. I would rate this lower, but averaging the above scores, I got a perfect 7. Should the score be lower? Maybe. But I decided to be fair and just average everything together. Unfortunately for Sunrise, this work has disappointed me.

It is a hard and often under-appreciated craft to bend cliches to your will and use them to create a beautiful and astonishing piece of art. The authors of Nerawareta Gakuen have succeeded.

The first thing that draws attention are the visuals. This is one of the most beautiful anime movies that I've ever seen. The quality of art and animation is absolutely top-notch. It is very bright and colorful, but we're being bombarded with the faerie-like palette with absolute mastery. I would say it is worth watching for the visuals alone. The music and sound production follow in line, complimenting the breathtaking graphics perfectly.

But ... a beautiful world is definitely not everything this feature has to offer. We are being thrown into a world populated with refreshingly likable characters. In fact, it's almost too easy to sympathize and grow attached to them. It's a rare achievement for a movie set in a school setting - the characters are well written and none of them makes us wish the scene was already over - the plague of irritating cast has been avoided completely.

When it comes to the plot, we spend a good half of the movie wondering what the heck is going on. As it unfolds, it turns out to be a very interesting take on the theme of time travel, and as would be expected from the previous paragraph, it unfolds naturally and is a product of a myriad of choices made by the characters - they behave in a natural and believable way and what we receive is an endearing tale of an idyllic setting disrupted by a mysterious transfer student. Personally, I love this kind of a story - it manages to show how a potentially world-altering event affects characters on a personal level. It certainly doesn't flip everyone's life over, people don't suddenly become detectives and heroes - they are still their old selves, even in a face of overwhelming circumstances.

I can certainly see that this is not a movie that will appeal to everyone, and people looking for action, multiple-layered intrigue and a massive conspiracy would be disappointed. But if you're looking for more of a slice-of-life drama and allow yourself to be enchanted, you won't be disappointed.

In one word - stunning.

To the casual viewer, Nerawareta Gakuen ostensibly appears to be about three seemingly average junior high students and one mysterious time traveler posing as a transfer student. However, if one peels back the first layer, it becomes obvious that Nerawareta Gakuen possesses myriad levels of complexity as it blends metaphor and reality. By cleverly using love, telepathy, and cell phones as metaphors for various forms of personal connection while simultaneously allowing them to serve as key plot devices to drive the corporeal story, Nerawareta Gakuen attempts to tackle and frame philosophical questions such as the meaning of personal connection, loneliness, individuality, and privacy.

Though ... the story is also called "Psychic Schools Wars" in English, it is important to note that the primary adjectival definition of 'psychic' refers to the human mind or soul in general and not to the more common nominal definition suggesting one who is sensitive to psychic phenomena. By explicating this subtle, but important, difference and examining it in light of the underlying philosophical narrative, the title of this story gains not only a different meaning but also aligns with the film's message that forming human connections is a battle.

Story: (10)
The corporeal story concerning the three students and one mysterious time traveler, though not cliché, utilizes story telling themes familiar to many cultures. The most prominent of these include unrequited love, love lost, time traveling, and psychic powers. While the script writers took more of an absurdist approach to the themes of time traveling and psychic powers by using them as plot devices without supplying an inherent explanation, this should not be negatively viewed as these devices lead the viewer more toward speculation than the creation of plot holes. Since neither psychic power nor time travel are used as plot gimmicks, the corporeal story ultimately and expectedly focuses upon unrequited love and love lost. When viewed in tandem with the deeper complexity of Nerawareta Gakuen, these themes resonate more soundly and serve as adapters, fastening the corporeal story to philosophical narrative.

Though Nerawareta Gakuen explores philosophical questions concerning connection, it is does not directly answer them. Instead, the film continues the narrative begun by numerous philosophers, and demonstrates the pain of loneliness, and the struggle to make meaningful connections while retaining one's individuality. Though no solution is posited to this ancient and inherent problem in human society, Nerawareta Gakuen offers reassurance that no matter how painful forming a connection between human beings may be, bonds are important to our survival and that ultimately we will struggle to survive to create connections or create connection to survive.

Characters: (10)
Though rather plain, the characters are likeable and memorable. Though some may find their actions cliché, they are more mundane than anything. Though it is common for characters of Japanese anime and manga and American film, modern literature, and television to possess interesting or irregular personalities, abilities, or traits; human beings are rarely flourished in actuality. In consideration of Nerawareta Gakuen's philosophical narrative, it seems obvious that the writers would deliberately create characters who are average (or as some may declare cliché), like most people. They do this to demonstrate the tenacity required to make connections, the pain of being lonely, and the difficulty of hiding secrets. Since each of Nerawareta Gakuen's characters are average, they all attempt to find ways to differentiate their individuality while seeking ways to connect with others. Even the most unusual character, who is a time traveler and can awaken the psychic powers of others, is merely an average adolescent seeking to fit in a place where he does not belong. As such, Nerawareta Gakuen's characters are perfect in their own right. They are normal because they are representative of humanity and changing these characters to possess unique traits or personalities would undermine the power and meaning of Nerawareta Gakuen's story.

Art and Visuals: (10)
Like many anime films, Nerawareta Gakuen possesses astonishingly beautiful artwork and animations. By themselves the backgrounds are highly detailed breathtaking works of art, but when combined with animations brought to life with meticulous effort, one finds oneself overwhelmed with visual stimulation. Many of the backgrounds are so enchanting it would not seem unlikely if they were found displayed in an art gallery. Each new background that occupies a frame could easily be paused and examined in great detail before moving to the next. Character designs, while not unique, are well drawn, do not detract from the visual experience and allow for easy animation.

With respect to the animation, the characters' movements are fluid and the CG is well designed. In general, characters' movements are natural and rather fun to watch. The animators added many discrete movements that benefit the film's overall realism. At first, one may find oneself distracted by such movements because he or she is not accustomed to such quality animation. However, as the movie progresses, the viewer acclimates and begins to enjoy this degree of animation. The CG was beautifully created and positioned and added to the scene, but never unnecessarily took the focus.

Though still frames are often the mark of a lazy animator, they are often quite effective given the proper set of circumstances. Nerawareta Gakuen is unusual in that still frames are rarely, albeit effectively, utilized. Interjection of still frames is often paired with exposition, explanation, or extrication from lively scenes, facilitating the viewer's comprehension of important details, allowing a moment for the viewer to procure and understand the meanings of symbolism, or to engage the film with questions of the viewer's own.

Audio: (10)
Nerawareta Gakuen's voice acting is superlative. Despite a combination of seasoned veterans and rising stars, it is often difficult to tell the difference between two. Each voice actor easily conveys her or his character's feelings and words without forced effort or contrivance, which favorably augments the overall suspension of disbelief. Conversely, the voice actors did not overact their characters which adds to each character's individuality and believability.

The film's musical score is enchanting but subtle. Nerawareta Gakuen's score often supports the characters' emotions and in turn the scene as opposed to creating the emotion and the scene. As a result, the music adopts an important side role, but rarely takes a center stage in serving as the focus. The one exception is the direct mention of and reference to Debussy's "Clair de Lune" which in turn alludes to the poem of the same name and Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Since "Clair de Lune" and its allusions epitomize each character's struggle for personal connection and against insecurity and loneliness, its significance cannot be understated.

Conclusion: (10)
Nerawareta Gakuen is easily one of the best anime films ever produced. It's voice acting and music help to respectively build a strong suspension of disbelief and rich emotional world. It's artwork and animation are flawless, allowing the viewer to focus less on nitpicking poor animation and more on the story and the questions raised. The film's simple corporeal story coupled with its complex philosophical narrative makes it both a joy to watch and adds immeasurable re-watch value. If you enjoy heartrending stories of personal connection, beautiful animation and artwork, powerful voice acting and musical scores, or having a film force you to think, and have yet to watch Nerawareta Gakuen, this film is for you. If you have already watched Nerawareta Gakuen, but missed the basic allusions and philosophical narrative, watching it again might amply increase both your comprehension of and affection for this film.

Communication and connection are important parts of human relationships that develop over time, and in an era of incredibly easy access to technology, it is easy to assume that these bonds can be formed at the click of a button. However, is it really so easy to impersonally call someone a friend from having their cell phone number or email address? Rather than speaking through the "mind," simply expressing your feelings through words and actions can be more effective than any kind of computer or cell phone can offer.

Blending elements of time travel, psychic awareness and philosophy, "Nerawareta Gakuen" (Psychic School Wars) focuses on ... a group of students who get caught up in a time traveler's attempts to change the bleak future that seems to await humanity. Through loosely connected sequences, the film poses questions about when to express your actual feelings and the morality of whether or not to change something that inevitably will happen. Set in a vibrant world of color, the film uses two interlinked love stories to tackle these questions, linking the stories with the overarching theme of the difficulty of forming connections.

Using psychic powers and time travel as a medium, the film wants to challenge the notion of what it means to stay connected. The psychic powers here are mostly telepathy and psychic awareness, as opposed to things like psychokinesis and pyrokinesis. It is a complex plot with many things to take into consideration, and it will take creative thinking to piece together the loosely connected sequences into a single, overarching story that has many, many layers. Peel a layer back and another more complex one replaces it. It is smart and refreshing, and linking the themes to the story gives a wistful interpretation of staying in contact with one another. For the time traveler, who lives in a hopeless future, and for the psychic, who lives in relative peace, their interpretations of personal relationships and ideas of love are considerably different.

One of the most striking features of the film is the beautiful animation and diverse color palette. Shades of red, blue, and green dominate the scenery, and the characters make references to fairy tales and plays, almost giving a self appreciating kind of awareness. With the animation quality rivaling other films known for this, such as "Kotonoha no Niwa" and "Byousoku 5 Centimeter", both directed by Makoto Shinkai, "Nerawareta Gakuen" is definitely one of the best looking anime films. The sky in particular looks beautiful, with many different colors used. Watching the film almost feels like a dream, with one fantastic background moving to another fantastic background. Colors flow and blend easily, immersing the characters in a vibrant world. Lighting is also a high point of the film, mimicking the sun's rays and emphasizing the contrast between light and dark.

One of the most common staples in anime is cherry blossoms blowing in the wind, or falling from the trees. The beginning of the film in particular has cherry blossoms scattered everywhere, from train tracks to the path leading to school, almost saturating the film with the flowers. It is toned down significantly as the film progresses, but their presence is a common reminder of the passing of seasons and fading beauty.

The film's soundtrack consists of soothing instrumental pieces and piano themes. The transfer student in particular likes "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy, a fitting piece for him given the character's background. It's placement is smart and is a major point in one of the central love stories, bringing the two characters to a common love of piano playing. The opening theme is "Giniro Hikousen" by supercell, and the ending theme is "Sayonara no Hashi by Mayu Watanabe, one of the voice actresses. The soundtrack captured the mood of the film perfectly, with breathtaking, dreamy scenes accompanied by a resonating soundtrack.

The characters talk about fairy tales, dreams, and acting, and that's almost precisely what this film is, a modern interpretation of a fairy tale. Its moments of blending reality and fantasy is visually and emotionally spectacular, and something that will bring with it many questions. Common to fairy tales, there is a lesson to be learned, but I think I will leave that lesson to be learned up to you. Interpretations, after all, are the most important thing when watching a film of this complex nature. It's re-watch value is very high, and a second or third viewing will lead to new interpretations and new insight to the time traveler's and the psychic's journey. While difficult to digest, I believe "Nerawareta Gakuen" is a worthwhile experience that will leave a positive, if bittersweet impression on the viewer.

After all, even in the hustle and bustle of increasing technology, and even when fantastical elements are introduced, simply reaching out to someone else can make all the difference, affecting the present and the uncertain future.

Okay, despite what others may say, this is a good movie to watch. I especially thought that the surprise at the ending made up for the confusion throughout. Yeah, it wasn't packed full of action, and twenty more minutes to clear up the plot would certainly have been welcome, but, regardless, I definitely thought it was worth the just shy of two hours I spent watching it.

From this point on, there WILL be SPOILERS. The next section are for people who watched the movie and were confused. This should clear up a lot.

Let's start from the beginning.

Ryouichi Kyougoku's father went back it time FIRST, in ... order to save the future (in which humanity had made the Earth uninhabitable, forcing them to live on the moon). He failed (presumably thanks to Seki Kouji (Seki Kenji's grandfather). However, Ryouichi Sr. did meet his wife and took her to the future, where she would give birth to Ryouichi Kyougoku before shortly dying (due to her lack of telepathic ability).

Now, apparently, time traveling puts a lot of strain on the heart, as such, you can pretty much only make a round trip (to one time period and back). With that said, already having went into the past once and failing to accomplish his goal, Ryouichi Sr. sent his son to the past (and the same time period his wife / mother was from) to complete the mission (either stop humanity from destroying the Earth by connecting people through telepathy or bringing those telepaths to the future to help stave off the dying human race, as in the future, only those with telepathic abilities can survive.

Now, at some point before Ryouichi Kyougoku enters, Seki Kenji is born and grows up with Suzuura Natsuki, a childhood friend who developed strong feeling for him at an early age. He DIED. Seki Kenji DIED as a child. She, being a telepath, used her powers to go back in time so that she was injured instead. However, since everything has a price, she lost her powers but saved Kenji's life. As some point, Kenji's grandfather, Kouji, SEALED Kenji's telepathic abilities.

Enter Ryouichi Kyougoku, a time traveler sent to complete his father's mission. As per, he takes over the school relatively easily. The missing students seemed to be staying at home due to fear or suspended for carrying their cell phones to school (it was also mentioned that the vice president moved away) or taken by Kyougoku himself for his mission.

I'm assuming everyone understood the romance part, so I'll only give a brief recap. Natsuki likes Kenji, who likes Harukawa, who likes Kyougoku, who likes Harukawa in return (just like 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'). It causes problems. Nevertheless, Harukawa and Natsuki are attacked and both find out about Kyougoku's mission. Natsuki stops going to school. Kenji saves Harukawa, and the three convene and decide to keep going to school even after learning Kyougoku's true purpose.

The cell phone ban gets worse (all apart of Kyougoku's master plan), and Kouji releases Kenji's sealed telepathic abilities (also a part of the master plan), which he uses to save Natsuki from the angered student council (as both he and her broke the rule by carrying cell phones to school and were caught). Knowing that Kenji intends to stop his plan, Kyougoku challenges him to a fight. Kenji refuses, and the four go to the beach in an attempt to understand one another and bring peace. It goes well; and everyone ends up with the person they are supposed to (Kenji X Natsuki; Kyougoku X Harukawa).

However, Kyougoku needs to return to his own time or be 'eaten' by the one he is in. Despite, Harukawa's love for him, he refuses to bring her for fear that she will die (as she is not a telepath) just like his mother. There is a slight skirmish between him and Kenji that happens INSIDE the time stream, but they are both returned to the moment they left. However, Kyougoku is injured due to his excess time in the past. So, Kenji uses his power to sent them both into the future (a one-way trip as Kenji will not have enough power to return). Natsuki and Harukawa and everyone else forgets that Kenji and Kyougoku existed once they leave. Seki Kouji has a stroke or heart attack.

Since Kenji destroyed the device and went to the future (which he COULD live in as he had telepathic abilities), everything at the school went back to normal, though both Natsuki and Harukawa felt some sort of longing for the love they lost. However, Kenji (who is TRAPPED in the FUTURE) was able to sent back a device that allowed Natsuki to regain her memories and for them to talk (for how long was not specified). Kyougoku's mission was a success, and the future Kenji called from was from Earth, which in this future had NOT been destroyed by humanity.

I may be an avid anime viewer but I rarely watch anime movies but I decided to give this new one a try. Nerawareta Gakuen is a supernatural romantic drama that starts off simple but gradually builds into a beautiful story that drops 2/3s of the way through. Allow me to explain what I mean. Nerawareta Gakuen starts off as a touching middle school romance between a set of friends that turns into a heart wrenching love triangle of pure unrequited love for each person involved. The love triangle gets even more complicated when Ryoichi, the new transfer student enrolls. Said transfer students turns out ... to be from the future and has come to turn more people into "psychics" to build a better future for humanity. I won't tell you the entire plot but basically the plan ends up looking more like a strict and frightening dictatorship instead of a peaceful and happy society. It's up to the main character, Kenji to stop Ryoichi and his "psychic" followers and this is where things get complicated. The overall movie contains two plots, a touching romantic drama and a supernatural drama. The movie builds up to an amazing climax and then quickly drops into a confusing battle between Kenji and Ryoichi that makes little to no sense once it's all over. I attempted to go back and look for any missing or misunderstood moments but I still came up with "WTF Just Happened?"


Don't get me wrong, this is actually still a good movie to watch but keep in mind that the last half hour of the film will be pretty confusing. I think the producer and writer were probably thinking that they had no idea where to go after building such a stunning climax and just decided to jump off and see where they land. The animation and music for this movie are both incredible but neither of them make up for that last half hour of the film. I say go and watch it yourself. Hopefully you can come up with a better answer to the ending than I did.

The movie was a major let down. Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters, the sound as well as the art work, but that becomes a mute point when the actual plot line leaves a lot of unanswered questions for the viewer. Everything else ends up feeling like it was wasted. There is that much lack of closure by the end. It's to the point I'm frustrated and annoyed, particularly when I was honestly looking forward to this one.

One of the main issues comes from the fact the movie isn't just about certain characters having powers, it's about time travel. As I watched the ... series, I found the use of time travel theory to be poorly used. Which particular time theory they were trying to use honestly isn't made clear, everything is that vague. Actually, it is vague to the point where the identity of one of the characters remains vague even until the end, and yet said character (Ryouichi's mother) remains unidentified.

Which is one of the intriguing things about the characters that is missed out upon, how the relationships between the various characters work over all. Only the surface is touched upon, everything else is... well... the mystery that ended being so hyped up ends up bearing no fruit what so ever. Well, way to much in the long run gets left unexplained, and there was so much more that could have been done with the plot as well as the characters it isn't funny.

Having just finished watching the movie a few moments ago I felt like now would be the perfect time to do a review. It's still fresh in my mind, and while I won't intend to do the normal layout of a review going over the story, art, sound, etc. separately, I felt I'd just give an overall.

Before watching this, I had finished Hotarubi no Mori e on youtube and Nerawareta Gakuen came up in the sidebar so I thought, why not give it a chance. And it was worth it. At some points, like in a lot of movies, there's a lack of action, ... and instead they focus more on building the characters which I was completely fine with seeing that you needed all that background knowledge in order for the movie to really hit and forge an emotional bond with you. The only true thing I disliked was the inclusion of awkward fanservice scenes, which, since it's about highschoolers, are too be expected, and they were definitely not as bad as the majority of animes- But I could have done without. Some things were definitely unclear while watching, and at times I was left confused and asking questions- And even in the end I was left with a few, but overall, the story was great. It was original, and the best part, the ending wasn't cliché.

I sat there the whole time expecting to be able to guess the ending. I prepared myself for what may have happened, and then it never did, and I'd explain my presumptions, but I wouldn't want to give anything away. While I have to admit, still, the ending was a tad anticlimactic and I would have honestly LOVED it if it were just a bit longer to get in some other minor details, it was definitely a heart breaker. I will most definitely be sharing this movie with ALL my friends and I'll probably force my family to sit through it too.

Any movie that's capable of making me cry definitely earns it's way onto my favorites list because it's a rare occurrence that you're able to forge such a strong connection to characters over such a minimal time. To sum it up, Nerawareta Gakuen is definitely worth your time.

Personally I would say the anime was beautiful. It felt so damn tranquil. Yeah I have seen many reviews saying that the story wasn't so good because the title suggests something else. Well supposedly it suggests psychic battles. Is it? If you are looking for action I recommend not watching it but if you are a lover of beautiful things its a must watch. Yeah at some parts its quite hard to understand but the ending puts all things to places.

The ending? Makes you sad really sad until the ending song ends. There is always something good after that. A typical happy ending it ... is ^^

I hope my review helped :)

To tell the truth I watched this purely on a whim, but ended up really liking it!!

It is a tragic love/end of the world/life sucks/life rocks/bittersweet moments that make you want to cry, type of anime. I was delighted by the simple, but yet gradual story line that changed from everyday comedy, to intense drama. Drama that was very raw, and so that not a second of it was wasted to cause the viewer a sense of "too much drama". The art was beautiful from the very beginning, and it only gets better as the true "psychic war" unfolds. This anime will keep you ... at the edge of your seat in the sense of romance if you're a sap like me, and the deep meanings that it touches upon will keep the not-so-into-romance type happy with the plot.

In the end, a TOTAL must see! Definitely something to watch to lighten your mood. Even if you're in-between different animes right now, give this one a try. If nothing, it will give you a change of pace from other animes, and will prep you to watch something else...but really I hope that if you do decide to watch this that you will enjoy it as much as I have!!!!!!!

Final: 9.7/10

I actually watched this movie accidentally, thinking it was something else entirely. However, having full enjoyed the movie, I got on the Internet and started poking around - where did this come from, what was the vision behind it, that kind of thing. And everywhere I go - whether it's Anime News Network or here on MAL, every says that the story is about the main characters battle for freedom at their school.

That isn't true at all. This anime is about the characters, period, and the plot only works to emphasize their relationships. All of the cast are very simple characters - there really isn't ... anything in their personalities that we haven't seen anywhere else. But the motions, acting, and their depth of feeling come across extremely well. Natsuki's continued annoyance at being unable to tell Kenta about her feelings; Kenta's omni-present inability to understand the people around him; Harukawa having to deal with falling in love for the first time - they are presented earnestly and really got under my skin. Every time Natsuki fought with Kenta, I braced for the break-up and my heart dropped. When Harukawa sneaks into the music room to listen to Kyogoku play the piano, my own feelings when I first fell in love came back to me. Despite having a plot that revolves around time-travel and psychic abilities, it's the characters emotions that resonate most deeply.
It's not all dramatic though. There are lots of moments of levity, mostly revolving around Kenta. I won't lie, he's a stereotypical shonen type - stupid, but honest and true - and his simple nature helps keep the movie from taking itself too seriously.

As for the specifics of the plot, I really liked this movie because it's all there, it's just never spelled out. After finishing the movie, I walked to my local grocery store (literally a five minute walk) and talked out my confusion to myself. And yeah, you WILL be confused. Nothing about the plot is very well explained, but for someone who is paying attention and is willing to draw the lines, the background story adds so much. Small revelations - for example, Kenta's dog, Shiho - made me appreciate how well thought out the story for this was.

Artistically, holy cow. Nerawareta is full of bright colors, lushly painted scenery, well-animated characters, and MOVEMENT. One of my personal problems with anime shows is that there are a lot of stiff, standing characters who just talk. Or even worse, the director just focuses in on the eyes for a five minute speech - AND THE EYES DON'T EVEN BLINK. But not here. Characters bounce, and shift, and blink, and even something as simple as slapping a person's face has extra movement added to make it more dynamic and impactful. When Kyogoku plays the piano, there are not only shots of his hands on the keys, but matching animation for the reflection in the wooden surface. That is the focus on quality and realism that I came to appreciate about this movie.

Ultimately, Nerawareta Gakuen is a love story - and even better, it's TWO love stories. I can't say that everything makes perfect sense. This is a time travel story and I feel like there is a lot left out in regards to the time travel stuff. But at it's core, this story is about Natsuki and Kenta and their struggle to find each other despite being neighbors forever.

So… I have to start by saying this is one of the most confusing movies I have seen in a while, but also very well done. The reason why it’s confusing may be because it went though about eight different adaptations. ‘Nerawareta Gakuen’ was a science fiction novel written by Taku Mayumura in 1973. It became a television drama in 1977, 1982, 1987, and 1997 with two live action films done in 1981 and 1997. The one I am talking about now is the 2012 animated film version which came out around the same time as the manga. There is one small problem here in ... my tackling this animation, I have never seen any of the other adaptations, nor have I actually read the novel. I feel like I missed a lot within this story sadly.

Where do I begin with this show? To talk about the characters would spoil so many things sadly and you can’t really talk about the story without spoilers as well. I will do my best but it’s hard not to spoil. Our main character, Kenji Seki, is a middle school student like any other. He has a girl next door, Natsuki Suzuura, who has been his childhood friend for much of his life, and the crush on one of the popular girls who seems pretty much perfect in every way. Of course, there is this three way love triangle that is in all romances, where you just want to yell at them to confess their love to each other. One day, a mysterious new student shows up as the people around the school are starting to act a little strange... and that’s pretty much all I can say without breaking spoilers. The story, I’m not going to lie, is a bit dull. The major points do make you think and have a rather deep meaning to them if you are like me and love diving into psychology and sociology, otherwise it’s basic and bland clichés.

So, this is the point where I have to tell you to skip this paragraph if you do not want spoilers at all. I am going to be talking about a bit of philosophy that is set within the movie and why I feel like I missed something really important in watching this. This may also be sort of a rant because it’s hard to explain fully.

Spoiler stuff starts sort of.

A big part of the show talks about the limitations we place on ourselves and how to break those limitations. One aspect that we limit our evolution is using cell phones and our way to express how we feel though words. According to them, the cell phone is only a false sense of bringing people together. Instead of bringing people together, its pushing people apart but we cling to the cell phone like a security blanket as to not feel lonely. They even make a very large attempt at banning cell phones in the school, going as far as to expel anyone caught with a cell phone. Opinions of people who wake up to their psychic powers also seem to change their views very fast to follow what the group thinks making the concept of the psychic mind sound much more like a hive mind, similar to the monster called “Legion” or “Unity”. There are two small problems with this concept that they have brought up to this movie. The first is that I love a world where we can voice our own opinions (I am talking civilized discussions, not trolly ‘I’m right and your wrong’ yelling matches). It’s a way that we can see others point of view and even if we disagree, we may find that we have more in common then first thought. Second, the idea that cell phones are pushing us farther apart (or even the internet pushes us apart) just doesn’t seem right. I have friends I have met online who live thousands of miles away. They are some of the best friends I have ever met and though we do not talk often enough, when we do talk, it’s like we are in the same room. I don’t even think psychic abilities would even be able to replace that. While the movie does seem to change the idea and try to make up for it, these concepts take up most of the movie.

Spoiler stuff ended.

The backgrounds of this show are so beautiful and serene as though you’re only getting a faint glimmer of the world around you. It’s as though you’re looking through a fog or you’re not quite awake through the whole movie. The times when the art gets a bit darker and more defined are the more intense scenes, much of how we will see most dramatic points in our lives more vivid then say what we had for breakfast two days ago (unless you had a awesome breakfast that day). Sadly, the characters seem to be lacking against this sort of background. Many times, they feel as though they lose their proportions or have almost a weightless feel. There is even one scene where a girl sort of jumps another on the back but yet she seems to float in place for a few moments. The other doesn’t even show that any weight has been put on her body as well in this same scene. The clothing also doesn’t seem like its actually flowing right on the forms that are there. These might be very little things to nit pick about but when you have such a beautiful landscape and then you see the characters, it sort of pulls you out of the moment.

The music is amazing, with a very beautiful piano melody that feels like its placing you within a dream. This piece works really well with the very soft watercolor/pastel style artwork. If you want to look it up, the song is called ‘Clair de Lune’ which is French for “Light of the moon” or “Moonlight”. They played is so much that it’s the one piece of music that stands out in my head now looking back but it never got old. The English voice acting is not bad at all, although it did sound a bit preachy in some spots. I don’t know if this was because of translations or if it was because the sub was that way too. What I found was this movie first was showed off at a thing called ‘Scotland loves Animation’ so I think that the dub had been made first though this is only speculation.

So is this movie worth the watch? I say it is. Although there are a couple things I did not understand or did not agree with, the show did make me think and has a very sweet little romance story involved. The backgrounds are a work of art and the use of ‘Clair de Lune’ made it all that better. Some things to note before you watch it; the story is a bit lack luster in how it was executed, very cliché. The first part of the show almost made me want to fall asleep to it. They didn’t get into the interesting stuff until they got farther in the story. If you like shows that make you think, then you’re golden. If you like more action base, then you might want to look elsewhere.

As for this movie, I would have to say it's not half bad... The story had an unsorted pacing though... but overall I was satisfied by it...

Story = 7
For me, it has a mild and calm setup... for people who wants to watch this movie; i think you would be delighted fair enough... The main problem I saw was the sequencing/ pacing... But I think it will depend on your how you try to understand it... overall of the story is sufficient...

Art = 8
I think its art and music are the main fortes of the ... movie, it belongs to the latest art styles we commonly observe now and has a soothing aura for the people who watch it.

Sound = 8
I especially liked the song selection of the movie. One of my favorite song of all time, Giniro Hikousen by Supercell was in this movie... So great and mellow :3

Characters = 7
Their development in the first part was pretty normal but begins to accelerate fast going in its climax, but still inclined with the story and still understandable in sense.

Enjoyment = 8
Enjoyment is simply good, I had a good time.

Overall is good... and had fun watchin' it, have fun too :D

STORY ~6
The basis for the plot was good. In fact, good enough that I could have given it a 7-8, but I had to reduce it down to a 6 because, even though the idea was a very good one, as I was watching it, I felt that the story was very 'jumpy' and 'all over the place,' and also rushed through. They left a lot of unanswered questions too, which brings it down more as well.
This could have been avoided by playing things out in a straight forward manner that was easy to follow, at least so that you knew what was going on ... at least 90% of the time instead of 60%.
Basically, they could have saved the story line if they didn't make it so that it was confusing and leaving the viewer feeling like they missed out on some of the movie even though they've watched it all.

ART ~10
The artwork in Nerawareta Gakuen saves the movie completely. Every scene was beautiful and colourful; you can tell they really put a lot of work into the animation.

SOUND ~8
Not much to say about this, but it was enjoyable. Nothing to praise, nothing to diss.

CHARACTER ~7
There was nothing particularly wrong with the characters -they were relatable and pleasant to watch. That being said, I feel as though there was something missing from them. It's like I just couldn't get attached to them like I normally get attached to the characters while watching something. There wasn't a lot of character development for any of them, besides for maybe Natsuki, but even at that, there wasn't much for her.

ENJOYMENT/OVERALL ~6.5
Overall, however, I enjoyed watching Nerawareta Gakuen because even though I thought the plot progression was a bit of a mess, I was constantly wondering how things would end up in the end throughout the movie. Although I doubt I'll be watching this again, and if I do it won't be for a long time.

I like this movie, after watching this movie the first thing I thought of was the old love quote, "I love you to the moon and back." This anime movie is indeed a bit cliché, but in a good way.

Not too many animes try to take the concept of using an old story, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which is continually referenced, but made a subplot out of it and making a somewhat modern story out of it.

I do agree that the title, "Psychic School Wars", a bit of a disappointment when you don't see too much psychic abilities featured or warfare. I was kind of ... hoping the plot was more like "Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!", but with psychic abilities. But they weren't actually referring to actual war in the movie either, the quote "All is fair in love and war" loosely fits the plot of the movie.

There are however some moments in the movie that they failed to develop much plot behind, almost as if there was originally an anime had been planned at one point. (Like as if this movie was supposed to be a sort of recollection of the actual anime. Something like "Star Driver: The Movie".)

Over all the movie is great if you enjoy brain teasing plots, classical music, and beautiful design. If it wasn't for the fact I'm used to animes using tear-jerking moments, this may had a chance of being a tear-jerker too.

At first, I found this a slow-paced anime that was heavy on the typical Japanese nostalgia (cherry blossoms, high school, etc), but at around halfway when the actual plot kicks in, it starts to become compelling in spite of itself. If you are looking for an actual psychic war, this will disappoint, but in an odd way its slow pace and reticence about the details makes it a lot more watchable than if it was explicit and explained everything. It's more of a healing anime than anything, something you watch to relax and enjoy the gentle points being made.

Unfortunately the downsides of the anime are ... many and prevalent. The art is good, but tries to evoke nostalgia too much and resembles a Thomas Kinkade painting will all the emphasis placed on multicolored light. Towards the end, too many things just happen without much grounding in a solid plot. And the first twenty minutes are slow enough to turn you off the anime, with focus on rather normal school lives and obsession with mobile phones as a barrier to real communication.

You can't help but wish for a bit less blushing love, and more of the awakened psychics acting in the school (done absolutely wonderfully, as it's not really a "war" at all, and then the whole obsession with mobiles make sense) and just a little more of the science fiction part of the film.

I found it good to watch, but I can definitely understand the low scores. It's a film you'd need to watch to find out if you like it or not.

The animation in this movie was STUPENDOUS! Very well done in the art department and fluid animation. The characters had many different facial expressions and their actions were realistic and well done. The storyline was pretty good as it went along, although it left some to be desired. The thing that bothered me the most was the ending, there are SOOO many unresolved questions! Other than the ending, I enjoyed the animation and watching it was fun, but mainly because of how well the animation was. Overall an enjoyable movie.

Rather than saying "Psychic School Wars", let's start off instead with "The Mysterious Life of Kenji Seki". The title of the anime is definitely relevant, however it's only REAL purpose is to start your journey into the many hidden meanings throughout this anime. It doesn't require a high intelligence to understand it, but it does require a little bit of inquisitive problem solving. Story wise of course. The word "feel" is important in this story AND in this review.

The art work and the fluid motion of it is truly amazing. You literally feel that something is in motion every second and it really expresses itself ... with it. The music, voice acting, and all the subtle little noises and sound effects are top notch. You could close your eyes and still enjoy the show. It's not the best I've experienced, but it's pretty up there and one I will remember.

The character development is natural and you can really feel as if these are real people living in that town. The way they interact with each other, and express themselves. You can watch not only their facial expressions, but their body language and immediately know what they might be feeling/thinking. The scenery and setting pieces in this puzzle fit perfectly enough that you couldn't even slide a sheet of paper between them.

The story itself is deep. On the surface it may come off at first as another generic supernatural story line with fancy visuals. But within the first 10 minutes you realize you couldn't be any more wrong. I was enamored by the many levels of this story that were going on at once and continued throughout. It also is good at not adding anything unnecessary to it's purpose. So, no random pointless tangents. I'm not throwing out any examples as I'm trying to avoid solving any story mysteries or answer any potential questions because it's best to experience it all as you go, and find your own conclusions.

This anime does have deep meaning throughout and may give you pause at some moments, but it's brilliant in it's execution. After all the praise I have for this, there is but two things I feel are off. Almost everything about this was fantastic to me, except that I feel it had just a couple too many "ah ha, so that why" moments, and if I had to ask, they could have stretched out a few of the quickly tied up ends around 3/4 the way through. All in all, I really would recommend this to anyone who appreciates a deep meaningful story and excellent artwork.

Side Note: Sit through the credits.

Even though the movie was stuffed with whole bunch of clichés. I generally found myself enjoying it. This anime has its issues and I would call it far from a master piece. But it also has its moments. Firstly the characters in this movie felt real and their emotions were genuine. Next were the was the art which I have got to say amazed me every time from small details such as the sand on the beach to the way that the characters looked. Overall I would recommend people to give it a try and I'm probably going to rewatch it sometime .

Story : (6)
- slow start
- quite interesting however some parts are confusing
there were some very deep meanings in this movie and I love how they related this movie with "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Art : (10)
I was seriously blown away by the art. This anime/movie has one of the most beautiful animations I've seen. The coloring is fantastic and it just leaves you speechless by how beautiful it is.

Character: (4)
This was the part of the movie that I disliked the most. The characters are too typical and you can pretty much predict from the start who they like and who they will ... later end up with. There were some moments where I sympathized with the characters though.

Overall : Although it wasn't the best I've seen, I definitely enjoyed it. It really got me thinking about the communication between people. I think this is a very wonderful anime movie and that if you have time, you should definitely watch it.