Zutto Mae kara Suki deshita. Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai

Why Is Love So Hard? - An "I've Always Liked You" Review

I did not like I’ve Always Liked You. To put it bluntly, this 1-hour and 3-minute long movie is shallow, generic, and all-around meaningless. Its sole purpose is to showcase the moments of high love confessions, in ways that are neither clever nor original. Just like many other stories in the genre of romance, I’ve Always Liked You uses these confession as a sort of “payoff”, yet it doesn’t offer up any kind of worthwhile setup for them. The characters are also unmemorable and lack any compelling motivations or adversities. While the animation and ... music are of an acceptable quality, from a narrative standpoint this film is plain mediocre. But let’s dig a little deeper than that, shall we?

First let’s take a look at the characters and the respective narratives they fit into. The main plot centers around Natsuki and Yu, the token childhood friends that actually DO end up together. Yu is the nice guy that’s always been there for Natsuki, he’s kinda cute and that’s about all there is to his character (all the characters are about this shallow by the way). Natsuki is just a loveable tomboy who’s shy about her feelings like everyone else in this movie, and for some reason wears sweatpants under her school uniform. At the beginning of the film, she confesses to Yu and then quickly retracts that confession, playing it off as “just practice” for the person she’s really in love with. Then the entire movie passes before she comes back to him and confesses for real. Leading right up to that moment was a bunch of still-frame flashbacks to their childhood, showing all the times that Yu had been considerate to Natsuki, serving as evidence to why Natsuki likes him in the first place. It’s pretty shallow because they never actually show a genuine, written out moment between the two for portraying how and why they feel the way that they do. I’d liken it to watching a slideshow at a wedding for people you barely know. Oh boy, it’s the bride and groom as children moving up to the point that they’re at now, except I don’t really know who they are and wasn’t there personally for these moments so this doesn’t really affect me at all. *makes fart noise with tongue*

Next there’s Akari and Souta, the cute purple haired girl and the guy who falls in love with her for solely superficial reasons. It’s that sort of “love at first sight” catch-22, where it’s really not meaningful at all if they actually fell love at the sight of each other, because that makes their relationship based off looks and not personality. There is a bit of reason beyond that very base level of affection, as Akari does have a moment of appreciation for the act of kindness she witnessed Souta perform slyly on a train. In Souta’s mind however, it’s basically a matter of “I like her, how can I make her mine?”. Of course, it sounds a lot more innocent coming from him, but by the time he finally works up the courage to ask her out he comes off as borderline misogynistic. The nicest way to put it would be that he has a very “traditional” mindset, and he basically demands her to make lunches for him every day because that’s what good girlfriends do…ugghh.

As for Miou and Haruki, they secretly like each other and nothing happens.

Finally, there’s Koyuki, and he’s in love with Natsuki as well. This white-haired shy-boy asks her out to a HoneyWorks concert and then needlessly walks her home after it’s over. He ends up not being able to control himself and hugs her under the soft glow of a street lamp, illuminating them in the night for all the neighbors to see. They didn’t really do anything inappropriate, but Yu comes barging out anyway and takes Natsuki away from Koyuki. Natsuki cries but quickly gets over it by the next morning and that’s about it.

Overall, this film is wholeheartedly hollow and unoriginal in terms of both plot and characters. There’s virtually no conflict, and these downright privileged students have nothing to overcome but a very basic sense of nervousness. There is not one single hurdle put in front of these characters that prove to be even the tiniest bit difficult, and they lack any significant flaws that could hinder them. Without having to go through any remotely serious strife, what makes their achievements important, or anything they do in life compelling? And the only answer I can come up with is: nothing. This story is a very simple answer to a very simple question: If you like someone, summon the courage to tell them your feelings. And then everything will be fine because it turns out they like you too. While it might be entertaining to watch cute high school students to go through the motions of romance, there is absolutely nothing consequential to learn from this particular experience. And that’s a shame because it actually looks quite pretty.

Reviewers point of view: I was having a romance marathon and thought why not add fuel to the fire. I saw both movies, but am only putting in my opinion for the first one. I did not read the novels. I don't listen to vocaloid.

Story: Put nicely, the plot is basic and rushed. I know the movie is only an hour, but I felt like it put in stories that it couldn't handle. I didn't try to remember most of the characters' names (I'm also VERY bad with names) so if I was asked to describe all the love stories, it would sound like ... I was spreading some middle school rumor:
"Insecure guy likes pretty feminine girl who he thought for a second liked androgynous white haired boy who likes cliche tomboy who likes her childhood friend who is friends with a loud blonde boy who likes tomboy's best friend but can't tell her."
And I'm STILL leaving out another love story so that's 5 love stories!!! Only 3/5 love stories had some sort of conclusion and only 2 got definite answers via confession. The movie only truly focused on the relationships involving Natsuki, the cliche tomboy protagonist. I felt like I would've liked the movie more had they just stuck with Natsuki's story instead of adding details on unnecessary love lives around her because they got no sort of conclusion. And I would've liked it if it was adapted into a show, giving more time for detail and conclusions with the supporting characters.

Art: The art was absolutely gorgeous and the main thing that hooked me to the movie in the first place. It was bright, fresh, and colorful; an appropriate design for a movie about adolescent "love".

Sound: So, I'm not involved in the vocaloid community. I don't think I've voluntary listened to vocaloid besides some songs in Mekaku City Actors. But for the most part, they were okay. The lyrics to the songs were perfectly matched with the scene. I think there was only one song I really liked while the other one's I just didn't hate.

Characters: I know the movie is only about an hour, but I have watched 10 minute short films (Yeah, you know which one!!!) that made me feel something towards the characters more than this movie did. All of the characters just seemed like your generic cliches without any complexity put into them. I was also rather annoyed with Natsuki's hypocritical friends who urged her to confess her love but never did the same thing themselves. Finding any conflict or climax between the characters was like grasping for straws. I think the big issue for my apathy was the fact that I wasn't cheering any relationship on. The characters were yearning for love, but for why? "JUST BECAUSE?" (lol, it's another romance anime). Although I know love is hard to explain, it's I would appreciate a reason as to why it can't be anyone else.

Enjoyment: Not that enjoyable. The characters were bland, predictable, and more annoying than they were funny. The plot was basic, rushed, and had no complexity. My only enjoyment was watching the pretty animation.

To avoid spilling some spoilers, I'll make this review as simple as possible...

If you're looking for an anime with interesting and unique plot with lots of unexpected development, then I would not recommend this to you. This is a normal romance school anime. A one-hour-length film with an overwhelming number of characters. A flat story where I haven't felt intensity or something unique that will instantly hook me into the show. In other words, if you're planning to watch this movie, then lower your expectations and just enjoy the whole thing. Also, the effort given for this show is not a waste at all since ... it still has its good aspects.

There are two possible goals in this movie that I could think of. First, It tries to make us relate from our past romance back in our youthful days, which is not that effective since everyone doesn't have those cliche situations or story. Second, it wants to give us romantic excitement which I've never felt while watching the movie. But that's just me, I do think that some people would appreciate this show more than I could since the MAL score is high.

I felt so detached from the characters, they are too many of them and the flashbacks doesn't help in building up their developments. One hour is never enough. In fact, making it as a seasonal anime could make this show much better. Well, they do have a sequel movie but the main roles has changed, and I'm not yet convinced to watch it because of the impression it gave me. I heard the songs used were their original, so that is a wonderful effort. The soundtracks were actually many for a one-hour-length film, and they're not bad at all.

There is one note that I came up with from this story. No matter who you are or what your personality is, whether you act cool or you act strong, everyone's weak when it comes to love. The courage you gain comes from the sole reason why you love that someone. So basically, enjoy your youth because it won't last long. Well, I'm a person full of regrets. High school is high school. It may be one of the cringiest segment of our lives, but it is also one of the happiest, which I haven't felt back then. Well, time for me to sulk for a little bit. Ja Matane!

It was very predictable and boring at times. I had previously watched the movie, but because it's so forgettable, I forgot that I had watched it and re-watched it. The characters were very surface level, with no true depth to them. It was mentioned that the two main characters were childhood friends, but there were no solid scenes that showcase the history of their relationship. Only still images of scenes from their younger days were shown.

The movie had so much potential to explore and dive deeper into the characters' personalities and backstories, but failed to do so.

This movie was decent enough, but very mediocre ... at best.

I didn't really expect much going into this movie, as just from the summary it seemed pretty unoriginal. Plus, the short run-time wasn't doing it any favors considering the multiple points of view it was trying to convey in a short period of time.

Story: 5

The unoriginal and uninspired plot makes for a bit of a boring watch. The scenes from multiple different perspectives are lumped together awkwardly to the point where you have trouble discerning almost anything other than what is currently happening between the characters in the scene. The ending could be better and the cliffhanger isn't even a good cliffhanger. It didn't leave ... interested in watching any more.

Art: 8

-Nice art that pops in the right moments.

Sound: 7

-Some nice music inserted throughout the movie. Most of them were in good spots, but some felt out of place, especially in the middle. I believe this movie is an adaptation based on a series of music videos, so that may be why. Still, it's decent music, but it doesn't stand out in any way from other soundtracks enough for me to rate it any higher.

Character: 3

-This is the worst part of the film. The characters are boring and one-note. Some may have quirks here or there, but there isn't enough time in the movie to make them enjoyable to see. I guess in a movie about a bunch of students being in love with each other can start to feel that way when every character is constantly thinking about one person. There is no development either. Each character stays the same beginning to end, which makes it extremely boring to watch. It was also obvious from the start that certain characters would get together, making it a pain to wait for the inevitable - especially when the movie is boring to progress through.

Enjoyment: 4

-Like I said before, this movie was a pretty boring watch. The lack of any development, movement, or change made it a chore to finish. That says a lot for an hour watch.

Overall: 5

-While not necessarily bad, this feels like a movie without life, passion, or character. While the art and sound is good, it doesn't make up for the boring story and the one-note, soulless characters. The fact that there are multiple viewpoints in an hour length means that it is hard to form any kind of connection or relation towards any of the characters, and the ending is predictable and unsatisfying. It's a pretty easy pass for those who haven't watched it yet.