Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Maihitoyo

Holy hecking sh*t-balls, why wasn't this the way all of the original series was directed and executed?

After I watched the original anime of Harukanaru Toki no Naka de I was left quite disappointed by its mediocrity in basically every aspect; this movie entirely changes that, from its obvious improve of budget (or its use) to ost, execution and character writing. It's really great to be able to see actual struggle, Akane wanting to help and tired of being useless, the Guardians being sort of douchebags and forcing her to always stay behind (even if their concerns are understandable), the way the title of priestess ... weights on Akane like never before, how she tries to do stuff but is too nice and emotional to manage to do her job well which in turn makes her feel even more depressed, finding comfort in this random stranger that never treats her as anything more than just a girl. It was all just so genuine and heartwarming!
If somebody would have told me Harukanaru Toki no Naka de would make me teary-eyed I'd have snorted in their faces. And yet, it really did make me emotional. I feel this movie contains what reverse harems nowadays tend to lack: a "soul". How characters should stay characters before the need of offering fanservice, genuine feelings, characters that we can actually relate to, struggles than we can cheer for the characters to overcome etc. I'm only giving this an 8 because of the original material being the way it is and despite me raving about it, this movie isn't actually a complex masterpiece, it's just infinite times better than the original lol

It was absolutely amazing and if anybody actually managed to go through the main series or get at least halfway through, then I definitely recommend this movie.

Let me start with the fact that I haven't seen anything from the original anime. It's still in my to watch list, though. I don't know if that aided my opinion of the movie, but one thing is for sure - it did not ruin it. I found it quite easy to understand and follow the plot, even while lacking a lot of the knowledge. Usually, reverse harem/harem like anime is not my piece of cake, but here I didn't find it as annoying. Makes me wonder if the anime is any different. The story was beautiful, but there is a lot of room for ... improvement. I found myself thinking "Are these guys just there for decoration, 'cause they don't do much?" XD That goes for the female protagonist as well. Overall, I feel like the movie did quite a decent job, and I enjoyed watching it.

Story 7
Animation 8
Sound 8
Character 7
Enjoyment 8
Overall 7

Having enjoyed the series, I had looked forward to watching this. Unfortunately, though being a fan of this series, I found this ova truly disappointing.

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Story
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The plot was plain and frankly there is nothing much to write about. And while it is uncomplicated and easy to understand, it doesn't captivate the audience.

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Art
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... Probably the only salvageable part of this ova. Peppered with bishounens (pretty boys), there is a depth of research of the traditional japanese living ways seen in its art.

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Sound
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The soundtrack is pleasant to ears, however while it tries hard to capture the mood of the ova, it fails short in certain parts.

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Character
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Having enjoyed the set of characters in the anime series, I had looked forward to seeing them again. This ova, has tried to put in enough screen time for each of their characters, but because of this, it becomes messy. It tries too much and ends up making several characters to the point of annoyance.

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Enjoyment
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In whole, while I enjoyed the appearance of more bishounens, I found the ova severely lacking to the point of annoyance. I do not recommend it to anyone except the die hard fans.