Sora no Aosa wo Shiru Hito yo

A tale of experiencing first love for the second time, and that of losing sight of what you once dreamt of.

Firstly, the synopsis is not that accurate. This is not a story of time travel, nor did Aoi only start to fall in love upon meeting the Shinno from 13 years ago.

The movie starts with Aoi plugging in her earphones to practice her bass, drowning out all sounds. I feel that that is a nice touch. We are then gradually introduced to the other characters and how Aoi feels about them. There was also a flashback of her past which explains why the two ... sisters are living together, when Shinno suddenly appears.

Story: 10/10
There were some twists that I've never expected. At first, I thought only Aoi could see Shinno, but it turned out that everyone could see him too. They called him an Ikiryou (a spirit that is left behind when the living passes on) at the start, and I thought that that was the case too, when Aoi ran home to Akane and asked her for more details about Shinno - to which her reply was "I don't know whether he is even living or dead", which cemented my belief until minutes later when Shinnosuke appeared on the Enka stage as a guitarist.

What happens when you meet face-to-face with your past self? That was the other big twist that I did not expect. Watch it to find out!

The story built up emotions leading to that scene from the ominous cave to the landslide to the sealed guitar and to the meeting, and the tension - emotions at an all-time high was kept at that plateau for the rest of the movie. It was truly a work of art.

Art: 9/10
My first thought was that the older Nakamura looked like Poppo from AnoHana, but it turned out that they were different persons. Each scene, though ordinary somehow managed to look special while being not overtly imposing. I liked how the director transitioned from showing a dull welcoming scene to the appearance of a very flashy Nitobe, and how the camera slowly pans to the right to reveal the older Shinnosuke. That said though, while the art was great, it was not particularly outstanding hence the score.

Sound: 9/10
As I have mentioned in the introduction, the touch when earphones are plugged in and when Aoi tries to convey her feelings for the older Shinnosuke was absolutely stunning. Aoi fondly reminds me of K-On! when she plays the bass. I feel that her VA has done a good job in conveying her feelings for Shinno, like how her voice trembled when she spoke to him or that outburst when she found out what Chika has done.

Character: 8/10
Given the number of characters, it can't be helped. Although every character has some development, I feel that they could have given more depth to each of them, particularly the older Shinnosuke and exactly how did he come around. Also, the boy-crazy Chika could have been given more exposition - we never knew if she was telling the truth or not when she claimed that 'nothing happened', because we only have an idea of what's her personality like.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall, I enjoyed the movie enough to write such a long review about it. Even after watching the epilogue however, I am left with more questions that I had at the start and I think that this movie would have a better reception had it launched as an anime series instead.

Overall verdict: 8/10

Mari Okada / Tatsuyuki Nagai. A match made in heaven. One of my favorite pairings in all of anime. I don't know a single thing I've disliked made by the combination of the two of them, and Mari Okada specifically is one of my all-time favorite writers.

I had such high expectations for this movie...which perhaps was the mistake I made, because boy was it such a disappointment. I should have expected this from Cloverworks, who did Bunny Girl Senpai along with the movie which clearly wasn't movie quality, much like this. Ultimately, I feel as though "Her Blue Sky" would have worked much better as ... a 1-cour series and it honestly does seem like it was cut down to a movie due to budget constraints, although obviously that's just speculation.

Story: 4/10
There is absolutely nothing original about this story. That doesn't mean it's bad, it just... well, like someone else said, exists. It wasn't really confusing to follow at all, but the main issue was that too many characters were included, too many things were going on, and the focus was spread out far too much for a less-than-2-hour movie. Half the time it felt like a slice-of-life story, a quarter of the time it felt like a supernatural mystery, and the other quarter felt like a romantic drama. Not all even in any specific order; interspersed throughout, which led to a distinct lack of atmosphere and connection to the characters.

There were too many random shots of people playing music, scenery, and nothing plot-related that it felt like they were trying to find things to fill the time which is just super confusing to me because the story that they were trying to tell in the first place felt rushed as it was.

The lack of cohesiveness in tone and atmosphere throughout the story really led to me feeling absolutely nothing during the climax of the movie, what was supposed to be the most emotional point - and then, the story just abruptly ended.

I guess it was trying to tell the story of not giving up on your dreams and realizing that even after time, what your heart most desires can come true - but that was just one subplot for one or two of the characters. What was it trying to convey to us - what was the story for the protagonist? What did she get out of it? When you can't even figure out what the plot was about in relation to the main character of the damn story... I don't know what to say. It felt like we were following around a protagonist and yet nothing in the story was actually meant to be about her and she was just a device used to serve the story of the two other mains.

I don't even know what I'm trying to say at this point, other than the story felt almost non-existent, that things were just happening just for the sake of happening. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good, and it failed at creating an atmosphere where I cared about what was happening or felt drawn-in.

Again, I really feel as if it would have worked better focusing entirely on only the main characters, cutting out the side characters, and making it entirely character-driven with no other real events occurring. The way the plot was, in order for it to feel realistically developed, the story definitely needed way more time than what was granted for the movie.

Basically, the plot had potential and failed mainly because there wasn't enough time to adequately tell the story they were trying to tell.

Art/Animation: 4/10

There are definitely some beautiful still shots here. Extremely realistic, and full of life, a sharp contrast to the plot. Sadly, like the premise of the movie, the art is fool's gold. I'm almost positive that at least half the shots in this movie, if not more, were photographs passed through filters made to seem like they were drawn or painted when really they were just pictures taken. There's just too much detail, too much distinct lettering and small items in the background shots for them to have been all drawn.

But it looks visually stunning! Because it looks realistic!...because it's actually real images that aren't drawn. Because nothing in the backgrounds were actually moving, i.e. the backgrounds were all just stills, it leads to even more credence in my theory. In Shinkai's films, all of the backgrounds are alive. Here, the backgrounds are just static. The only things really animated at all in this are the characters, which are drawn very inconsistently throughout the movie with such a clear discrepancy in detail between them and the backgrounds, that they feel jarring and clash with the backgrounds. Even if all the backgrounds *were* hand-drawn or painted, the design of the characters style clashes stylistically with them.

There are shots with characters' faces not even attempted to be drawn-in because they're at somewhat of a distance away - yet inexcusable for a movie to not have faces drawn in because it was 100% possible for them to have accurately been drawn-in. There are shots with characters off-model with little-to-no detail in their clothing.

Why would the studio go the extra mile for beautifully-hand-drawn, ultra-realistic backgrounds yet drop the ball hard on character art? I don't know. I don't think they would have, but I'm not going to through out baseless accusations that a lot of the backgrounds were photographs; only state my personal suspicions that they were.

Sound: 6/10

Sound design was fine. The instrumentation was cool - meaning the actual instruments that were played by the characters in the movie. The soundtrack did not stand out in the least - not a single track was memorable for me. The voice acting was probably the strongest part of the sound. It's hard to go wrong on sound and at least the music choice was fitting.

Character: 3/10

The protagonist felt like a plot device for a story being told about the side main characters. The movie clearly wasn't about her yet it tried to make the emotional climax about her and it failed miserably because I felt nothing for her because the story wasn't focused on her. She felt very one-dimensional, I personally saw zero development in her character throughout the entire film, and she didn't gain anything from the events that took place in the film. Further, some of her actions felt groundless - mainly including her personal feelings towards one of the other characters - which I am attributing to the lack of time to properly show development. It felt like her particular feelings towards the character went from 0-100 in no time at all without any real interaction between the two. How she specifically acted towards that character - after 3-4 scenes with that character, practically no time at all - felt unbelievable and unrealistic.

Regarding the other characters, the other two mains - I don't really get how their feelings for one another occurred either, especially considering how the one character was behaving and his attitude for most of the first half of the movie. Furthermore, I just don't get how over a span of 13 years apart, things could have realistically developed again. Lots of things change over 13 years, what ended up happening just felt forced yet again because there wasn't enough time for adequate development.

As for the side characters, they're important enough to have screentime and lines, yet not important enough for anything they say to really have any impact on the story. Like, they were there, yet they played no role in the story other than being there. They had lines and moments, yet none of what they did impacted the development of the story or even how the main characters acted.

I didn't see the purpose of a lot of characters and the narrative could have been much tighter had the movie focused solely on the main characters.

Enjoyment: 5/10

I wasn't bored enough to drop the movie, it had my entire attention throughout, yet I felt absolutely nothing for it or any of the other characters. I enjoy things the most that pull me into the world through worldbuilding and development, both of which "Her Blue Sky" did not succeed at properly doing.

I think I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more had it been an entire series. There was simply too much going on and not enough focus to have me connected to the story even though I was never actually bored.

For this reason I give "Her Blue Sky" a 4.5/10, the definition of mediocrity for me. Good premise, just not fit for a movie.

although this anime seems like the full plot is about time travelling, honestly the time travelling part barely felt relevant until the end of the series

Story: 7/10
the plot was just,,, well blend. the story was almost boring, and it felt like the plot could have included more, and the story had so much room for improvement, and the characters could have been better developed, but sadly this was not achieved. however, credit has to be due to the way the romance aspect of the show was handled during this series, giving you a smile on your face towards the end of the movie,

character 8/10
the ... characters were all interesting, but was not allowed to be developed in this film. the characters all had their flaws presented in the early stage of the film, but some were never fully addressed

overall, i would not recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a romantic musical anime, but if you are just looking to spend some time with your significant other or just chill in your room and kill some time, by all means go ahead

Just writing my review right after watching this movie.

THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW, BE WARNED!!! (Almost Spoiler-free)

Story: 4/10
The story is really confusing at the start until that red-haired character showed up later in the movie. Just imagine the same person meeting each other but they are in different timelines. (This is some time travelling stuff) The main point of the story is falling in love with the same person who you had relationship with before. Personally, I don't really like the story so that's the main reason why I gave it a 4.

Art: 9/10
Art is exceptionally good in this movie. On par with Your Name ... and Weathering with You. People who likes anime with good art should try to watch this movie.

Sound: 7/10
Sound is somewhat good to me and gets a decent score from me easily.
I won't get into this because I don't critique music well.

Character: 6/10
Character development is pretty okay. All the characters are pretty interesting to watch, especially the red haired guy. I won't get into this because I only know the character for only 1 hour+ and may have to rewatch this sometime.

Enjoyment: 4/10
If I don't enjoy the story, I also won't get to enjoy the movie. Trust me, some decent Korean dramas have way better plot than this.

Overall: 5/10
I will cut it short.
- If you like good art anime, this movie you should give it a try.
- If you like good plot anime, avoid this movie.
- If both, I recommend avoid.

From the trailer, Her Blue Sky looked decent enough. A well-produced and animated coming of age story with aspiring musicians that was helmed by key members behind Anohana, a solid, rather melodramatic, tearjerker. Instead of rising to the level of the aforementioned series, Her Blue Sky instead imitates the mediocrity of the team's other work, Anthem of the Heart.

One thing all three productions have in common is a fantasy element. While I didn't have an issue with this in the other two titles, it felt unneeded here, exploring feelings of the past that would have been better relegated to subtext. In fact, Japanese films and ... anime have a rather tiresome penchant for injecting rote fantasy elements into an otherwise ordinary story as of late. It often amounts to adding boatloads of spice to a bland dish.

The film is a typical slice of life about following your dreams (or not) and growing up. The two paths are represented by Shinno, the ghost with the same youthful ambition as the main character, and Shinnosuke, who isn't following his dreams.
The latter is a gruff, unfulfilled musician, playing in a crappy enka band that no one in the show seems to enjoy, and I doubt many of the people watching this movie would either.

Not only do we get to see Shinnosuke panty-chase after the main character's sister, but the main also had a crush on the old version of Shinno, and is like "Oh, senpai, I always loved you and wanted to tell you uwu, but now you're a creepy old guy about to marry my sister... NO!" when talking to the ghost. An unnecessary child character also tags along just to confirm to the audience that the main is not crazy. There's added "comedy" and animu shenanigans as she prevents her sister from walking into find ghost Shinno. The fantasy element was unnecessary and all of it could have been embedded in the subtext. As it is, it's no more than a distraction.

The characters spend all their time rehearsing their music, but the buildup never went anywhere, leaving an empty feeling. The problem is that the enka music was presented as lame in the film and seemingly wouldn't have been satisfying as a conclusion or a pivotal scene, since it seemed to be a part of Shinnosuke having given up on his dreams (and the vocalist is awful). With the ridiculous flying sequence at the end and all the Shinno nonsense, there wasn't enough time for the characters to make any kind of alternative music. It really feels like if they cut out all the fantasy fat, then maybe Aoi and Shinnosuke, after finally settling their differences, could have gotten a band together alongside the enka music practice, having the film conclude with one of their very own songs they put all of their passion into.

Not to say this isn't a cliche ending, for I've seen this in other movies and series, but this is just typical payoff for a movie about a band. Even if they decided this didn't work and wanted to go in a different direction, as they did, it's surprising that a movie so focused on music actually has very little GOOD music. I've never seen a film about a band that was so musically boring.

Some of the character interaction is decent or quite good, but much of it felt rushed and underdeveloped. The main spends so much time talking to the old Shinno, resulting in her never really getting to know the real Shinnosuke. While the main's female friend was probably a good and needed inclusion, she never really has much to do in the short running length of the film, and I question if she also should have been excised or given a few extra scenes.

In conclusion, this is an okay slice of life drama with an unneeded fantasy element. It's watchable, but Anohana or Ghibli films like Only Yesterday would probably be a better choice.

For Valentine’s Day, I had the amazing idea to watch this movie at the last full show with some of my friends (Unluckily for us, we don’t have any dates, but it doesn’t matter as long as we have each other!!!), and honestly, this didn’t disappoint.

Like the synopsis said, this movie is about four people (essentially three), Aoi (the younger sister), Akane (the older sister), “Shinnosuke” of the present, and “Shinno” of the past. The story revolves on the dreams of all of them and how they become tied to one another, whether they become a reality or not. The “time travel” part isn’t ... exactly true, and it isn’t confirmed. They call the past Shinno a living spirit, which was said to be the personification of a person’s strong feelings.

From the same creator of "Anohana", the spirit part of the movie was interesting. The past Shinno was stuck in the place where he tried to move forward from, the place where he had to leave behind some of his dreams. It was quite interesting to see how different people saw him. I honestly thought at first only Aoi would see him, but the other characters were able to see him as well. I don’t want to spoil the movie, so I’ll just leave it at that.

The sound was good, and one of my favorite points in the anime. The movie doesn’t really focus on the music, but it makes the story between the characters better. One of my favorite scenes was when Aoi sang the song “Gandhara” while playing the bass. She had a good voice, and it’s definitely a feat to sing while playing the bass.

The art was also great. The background felt natural, and the random scenes of different objects and events felt nice. But the best parts of the animations were when they were playing the instruments, especially the guitar and the bass. I don’t play them, but I can tell that they were playing the notes for the instruments accurately.

One of my favorite themes is the relationship between siblings, and the love between them. I have a younger brother myself, and I can somewhat relate to Akane. She had to throw away what she wanted to do in order to raise her sister all by herself. She had to sacrifice her time and effort in order to make Aoi happy, but in return she had to reject the person who she loved. Aoi felt responsible for making Akane do that. She felt bad that she bound Akane to her when she could have gone to Tokyo and lived the life she wanted to. They both felt regrets that had to do with each other because of their love for one another. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I can see myself doing that for my brother just so he could be happy.

This movie was pretty good, and I wouldn’t mind watching it again with my other friends. This isn’t a masterpiece or anything, but it’s definitely something I’d recommend.

Within 10 mins of the movie, I realised that this was going to be a special one. The plot of the movie was so different and refreshing that I had very high hopes and expectations from the movie. But it did disappoint me to some extent when it did not reach its potential. The foundation that the movie laid in the first 15 mins made me look into so many beautiful scenarios in the movie but the writer decided to go with an average one.
Yes it is not a bad movie at all. But when you begin this strong in a movie you tend ... to increase the expectations of the audience and those expectations did not meet for me.
The movie does give a very beautiful message to never regret about anything in life and to not shut in your feelings. I really loved the message that the movie displayed for the audience. It is a decent watch overall.

first of all, for anyone who want to watch something, read the synopsis first, don't like me, i immidiately watch the movie without read the synopsis, but even im not read it, i enjoy the movie so much, Aimyon do a really good job on that soundtrack song.

Bring your emotion into the movie, and make you curious abut what happend next, that's what this movie are.
anyway, love is complicated, when you like someone,, but u realized that someone u like is liked by someone u love. It force u to choose right? this film has so many reference about your life

Sora no Aosa wo Shiru Hito yo

I was lucky enough to catch the movie in theatres as soon as it was released, I can safely say I enjoyed the movie but it’s definitely not rewatch worthy. Certainly not as good as the other movies released this year like Tenki no Ko or Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel.

There wasn’t anything particularly notable during the movie apart from the unusual setting and considerably weird plot... That... and my friend sleeping in the cinema.

Well, that statement stands for itself. The movie’s concept is unique. It’s unusual setting which involves a form of time travel with an added twist. And ... a weirdly cliched plot with weird relationships.

-SPOILER-

Second-year high school student Aoi Aioi is an aspiring musician Aoi Aioi. Her older sister Akane's ex-boyfriend Shinnosuke Kanomura is a struggling guitarist. Aoi and Akane's parents passed away in an accident 13 years ago, and Akane gave up her ambition of going to Tokyo with Shinnosuke to take care of Aoi. Since then, Aoi has felt indebted to her older sister.

Years later, Akane's ex-boyfriend, Shinnosuke, returns to town to perform at a music festival. At the same time as the re-encounter between the two former lovers, Aoi meets Shinnosuke's teenage self, who has traveled from the past to the present-and Aoi falls in love for the first time.

-SPOILER END-

There were... I must say, countless flaws in the anime.
Firstly, was the fact that this anime barely had any originality in the entire setting of it. It was quite boring but I thoroughly enjoyed the concept and art which was mainly what kept me watching. That and the voice actors did a good job.
Next, Aoi. The ending was what kept me thinking. The anime ended with the characters agreeing that Aoi is young and dumb but the thing about her is that she’s straightforward. My foot... Aoi has been a selfish kid throughout the entire anime. From a little girl to a teenager, she’s been selfish to a fault. She felt guilty because of that, of course she would... She doesn’t mean it. But instead of being straightforward and apologising or expressing her guilt by telling Akane she feels guilty for her selfishness and wishes to redeem herself. Aoi literally expressed her guilt with rebellion and resentment... Excuse me?

In what world is that straightforward.

Last but not least, why the hell was Young Shinno bounded in the room? That made absolutely zero sense! The worst part was that he was bounded by a freaking guitar. When the guitar broke, he was free. But the guitar was barely featured and the aspect of significance wasn’t given. Why was the guitar the catalyst? All that was said was the guitar was a gift of sorts from Akane. That made absolutely zero correlation to why it was the catalyst for his confinement.

That’s not the end of it, there’s more.

So why is it that I’m still giving the anime a 6/10? Because in its own right, the anime was okay. I could understand where all the characters were coming from, how they felt and how I can relate to them. I also thoroughly enjoyed the OST and the interesting correspondence between Aoi and Akane.

-Spoiler-

If you look at it closely, Akane’s boyfriend is Shinnosuke. She likes Shinnosuke and Michinko likes Akane!
On the other hand, Aoi likes Young Shinno while Tsugu (Michinko’s son) likes Aoi!

-Spoiler End-

I loved all the characters and the musical cohesion that was supposed to be the main attraction. So it was pretty disappointing compared to anime like Your Lie in April where the musical romance was ways stronger.

After thinking about it, Aoi was actually pretty useless. The anime made it seem like she was the only one that could change what’s about to happen but she didn’t do shit... She couldn’t decide between her sister and her sister’s boyfriend from the past. She didn’t help with getting Shinnosuke and her sister together. She didn’t do anything.

Everything just sort of fell in place for her. From Michinko gradually accepting rejection and stopped wooing Akane... To the lack of crew members that led to Aoi joining Shinnosuke’s band... Even when Akane was in trouble and Aoi ran to Young Shinno for help only to find out that Young Shinno had met the current Shinno and afterwards talked the current Shinno into changing to a better person... Come on, that was your job Aoi... You’re supposed to be the Main Character not Young Shinno...

What a mess really...

Aoi was actually just the narrator. And a catalyst for fan hatred.

Well... at least we can end off and call this an experiment for a newer approach similar to Anohana.

This was an anime worth watching if you have nothing better to do. I rest my case.









Take note that this review may be outdated. Always check my profile for my latest rating, I may have changed my rating due to various reasons.








Take note that this review may be outdated. Always check my profile for my latest rating, I may have changed my rating due to various reasons.

(Spanish review below).

It was okay.

It's one of those animes with nice animations to spend time on a Sunday afternoon. However, that's about it. Even the musical aspect, which seemed like it was going to have weight in the plot, sometimes loses it in the middle of the drama.

If we talk about the characters, I only liked the young version of Shinnosuke. His adult version seemed like a jerk to me, Aoi was too dramatic and hysterical, and his sister, Akane, was too passive. I always expected her to explode at some point, but all she had were soft and evasive answers.

As I said, the anime ... is nice and entertaining (at least). In a couple of scenes, they use real photographic backgrounds and draw the characters on top, and the truth is that it doesn't look good at all. The photography doesn't combine with the rest of the drawings and it's very distracting.

I recommend it if you're bored and want to watch something.

...

Estuvo bien.

Es uno de esos animes con animaciones bonitas para pasar el rato una tarde de domino. Sin embargo, no aporta nada más allá de eso. Incluso el aspecto musical, que parecía que iba a tener peso en la trama, a veces pierde peso en medio del drama.

Si hablamos de los personajes, sólo me gustó la versión joven de Shinnosuke. Su versión adulta me pareció un patán, Aoi era demasiado dramática e histérica, y su hermana, Akane, era demasiado pasiva. Siempre esperé a que explotara en algún momento, pero lo único que tenía eran respuestas suaves y evasivas.

Como dije, el anime es bonito y entretenido (al menos). En un par de escenas se utilizan fondos de fotografías reales y dibujan a los personajes por encima, y la verdad no queda nada bien. La fotografía no logra mimetizarse con el resto de dibujos y desconcentra mucho.

Lo recomiendo si están aburridos y quieren ver algo.

Ok, first of this is from the people who made Anohana, and I found that such a letdown, (the series, not the movies, haven't yet watched it), and Her Blue Sky was AMAZING.

Story: 9
Well rounded and makes sense. It's simply a story about love and regrets. The story itself focuses around four, or three people, Akane, Aoi, Shinno and Shinnosuke and is very sad, (I cried, I NEVER cry watching sad stuff). I won't give a plot summary as I don't want to give spoilers, but trust me it's worth the watch.
The thing that pissed me off the most was the ending, but I'm sure ... you'll understand it if you watch it. (Poor Ao-chan :( )

Art: 6
Really good until halfway then the backgrounds began to look more like actual photographs, but the character art stays very good, and the background revert around the last 20 minutes back to the original level.
I love all the character designs and backgrounds (ignoring the photograph ones) except for Shinnosuke's character design, but as he had to be originally Shinno I really understand it.

Sound: 9
I love the soundtrack especially Gandara. I just love it, and the voice acting really good, it really puts you off it it's had bad voice acting but it doesn't so :D. They also had really good voices for the cast who can sing.

Characters: 10
Ignoring Shinnosuke who if you can't tell I strongly dislike. All of the characters are strong and amazing. Shino and Aoi are the best though.

Enjoyment: 10
It's happy, it's sad, it's amazing. I found it very enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to those who are fans of Your Name, Weathering with You, Hotarubi no Mori e, A Whisker Away and Your Lie in April. It is the kind of thing that I certainly think needs a rewatch and may when I finish this, (let's ignore the fact for me it's currently 02.29 in 24 hour time.

Overall: 10
Everything about it ignoring the photographic backgrounds which are my biggest peeve, it amazing, hence my 10/10. But I certainly recommend watching it.

Sorry about my rant and I hope this review could be of help to you.

I would've thought this is gonna be good anime like K-ON stuff

but after watching this, i was like "what is the point of this anime?" the story is too messy and cannot be understood easily.

but luckily the art/graphic in this anime is nice to watch though and the song is pleasant to hear.

but what is unfortunate is the plot of the story is unclear and confused, i don't know if this can be a recommended anime because its to confusing

well I don't know if I caught the wrong thought when watching this anime but this far way from my expectations

It's actually a very good film, I really enjoyed the story. But there is still much that can be criticized. There may be a few spoilers in this review, but I try my best not to leak the story line.

The visuals are very good, it cannot be denied, the visuals provided can spoil the eyes, both in character and depiction of locations, I also like the way the seiyu play their roles in the film. The part that I like the most about this film is the song. yes, I immediately put this song into my playlist.

Then what are the drawbacks?
- In my opinion, the ... initial introductions for each character are less mature, especially Shinnosuke. I hope that the introduction to the past of an important character can be described a little more broadly, so that when you enter the story you can immediately understand what the problem.
- Too much time skip, even though I think adding 20-30 minutes will make the story more perfect
- this is fatal point. Their "concert" is not shown in the story but in post credits, I think it would be better if you want to increase the duration by 10-20 minutes to reveal a clearer past, and their relationship after the conflict is over.

if those points are met, I can give a higher score

I loved this movie. I’m somewhat lukewarm on Mari Okada usually, but her and Tatsuyuki Nagai really work together beautifully here, showcasing all her positive aspects really well. As with Anohana, Okada excels at crafting beautifully written characters with authentic and genuine emotional insecurities. Her dialogue is excellent, being both naturalistic and hilarious. She has such a knack for writing teenagers who actually talk and think like a human being. So much of Aoi’s internal monologue resonates so much me personally, especially her penchant for knowing that she shouldn’t say what she’s thinking, but overcomes with enough teenage anguish to power through that reasonable voice ... in the back of her brain. Her rage at herself for seemingly dragging her sister down is eerily similar to one of many insecurities I had as a teenager, and is written so well. The themes of regret and failure are done so well also, really creating this nostalgic atmosphere filled with longing and mistakes.

The music is great, as it should be for a movie ostensibly built around it. The score is atmospheric and soothing, pulling you into the melancholy world the anime creates, yet is also soaring and grand, placed well enough to possibly warm even the most blackened of hearts. The songs that Aoi and Shinnosuke perform are good as well, and I can definitely buy that Shinno was talented and passionate enough to reasonably pursue great success.

The animation is unbelievably gorgeous, and almost on par with Kyoto animation for some of the best animation in the industry. Beside some CGI cars, every frame is beautiful and lushly detailed, with some of the most lifelike and fluid character movements I’ve ever seen in anime. The emotiveness is jaw dropping, never once feeling janky or stuttery. Every character moves in their own unique and deeply human way. The colors are so bright and striking, lending each scene such amazing vibrancy.

The direction is unbelievable, with so much emotion packed into every gorgeously placed frame. So much character depth comes purely from Nagai’s stunning direction, with hilarious or tension filled cuts focusing on the dynamic movement of the characters. You get so much just by perfectly framed close ups on small facial expressions, or wide shots establishing the characters’s environment.

Overall, A preposterously well animated film that is packed with magnificent dialogue, great character work, and a resonant treatise on the destructive nature of idle regret coupled with an inability to rectify past mistakes.

So close, yet so so far.

This movie starts off surprisingly well, one of the few anime that distances itself from the anime tropes and makes characters well defined and closer to realistic. Everything from characters to aesthetic was so sweetly spot on, and though the plot is nothing to write home about, it is a very comfortable ride thanks to how non-anime it seemed and how chill it is: a true proper slice-of-life experience with a supernatural twist, and some nice, romantic drama.

Alas, what was supposed to be a nice, comfortable movie about growth, maturity and following your dreams, was that for about two ... thirds of the movie before it turned into some quite unnecessary, forced drama about rescuing a "damsel in distress", and turned to rather strange and inexplicable supernatural occurrences. For aesthetics' sake I think it's worth a watch, but this is not the sort of anime I would gladly go back to re-watching, because once it gets into the third act, everything unapologetically loudly falls apart, and you're left standing in the rubble of the story, scratching your hand and wondering: how could this have happened? I would like to know too, because the subtlety with which the story is told until then suddenly turn into exposition so poorly told, and an ending so poorly delivered that it literally made me yell 'that's it?' at the screen.

There is a 'cheat-epilogue,' which is to say: the main story beats that were supposed to be THE finale of the movie are presented in still shots that appear as the credits scroll. Have I mentioned that a good deal of this movie was about music, and that there is a massive music festival being announced throughout it? And all we get out of that is a STILL SHOT IN THE CREDITS?

All in all, worth one watch for the sake of being able to say you've seen it, and maybe enjoy the really well animated and acted portions of it, but largely a disappointing experience as far as the story - and the promised but never delivered music - goes.

I found myself incredibly excited at the first time I heard about this movie.The trailer feels promising, the animation looks wonderful, the story makes me think that this is going to be a sad, tearjerker story. And my excitement went wilder when I found out that the story is written by Mari Okada. So I have such a high hopes about this movie. But then I realize that this movie wasn't what I expected it to be.

Story:
The story follows a girl named Aioi Aoi. She's an aspiring bassist who dreamt of pursuing a career as a musician. Following the footstep of her sister's boyfriend ... Kanomura Shinnosuke whose gone to Tokyo to pursue a career as a professional musician.
Aoi's sister Akane was meant to go with Shinnosuke to Tokyo but she ends up refuse to go due to her parent's dead and her responsibility to took care of her little sister.

13 years later, the now highschool Aoi met with the 13 years ago Shinnosuke. While on the other hand the adult version of Shinnosuke is coming back to town. And it's Aoi's decision to get Akane and Shinnosuke back together again.

Review:
I love the characters in this movie. I love how every character act always based on their personality and quirkiness. Like Akane who look like your typical nerdy, good girl type of personality, how the older Shinnosuke is the grumpy, gloomy, and a drunkard, the complete opposite of his 13 years old self who always seem cheerful and see the wold in a positive way. Aoi is your typical edgy, angsty, and rebellious behavior really shines the story in this movie.
But still having such a wonderful character can't avoid this movie with some of it's major problem.

This movie is missing something crucial in most of Mari Okada's work. The character interactions. While the characters really stands out on their own, most of their interaction felt like an awkward prepubescent kid trying to make a small talk.

Some of the conflicts happen without any reasons at all.like the climax where Akane is trapped in a collapsing cave for a pendant belong to a perverted old man. Those kinds of conflict who rely too much on coincidences only make the story felt rush and forced and doesn't really add too much to the emotional impact that the viewers supposed to get.

Conclusions:
Well the question is am I enjoying this movie? Kind of. There are some parts I love about the movie, like the gorgeous animation, the lovable characters, the good soundtrack, and basically all the music element in this movie.
But I think this movie suffers from a rush production and a storyline that feels forced.

Do you think you should watch this movie? Well if you only looking for something enjoyable to watch then yes.
But if you looking for a deep and emotional drama you won't get it here.

But despite all the flaws, I still enjoying this movie. This movie reminds me of how much time can change people, and how everything wouldn't work the way you planned it out to be.
Because sometimes many people think that you can be free by going so far away from home, only in reality they forgot that sometime the freedom itself is home.

Her Blue Sky

A movie which is really good at expressing that the path towards your dreams can really be hard and rocky path and requires a lot of sacrificing

This would be my first review so please spare some criticisms

Story :8/10
I was expecting a time travelling story but to my surprise didn't become relevant until the last bit of the story,the pacing is good but there can be some flaws not too major to bat an eye

Art:7/10
... The art style isn't that spectacular but it does it's job,the art styles help express the emotions much more better

Character:7/10
Some characters felt a bit underdeveloped but nothing too major to ruin the movie,There is some characters that definitely developed properly with a good pacing and you can feel some emotion attachment to them as i did

Enjoyment:9/10
Just watch the goddamn movie,I'm telling you right now

Her Blue Sky, a movie that exists.

Story 5/10
Honestly, as I sat through this movie I only grew more and more bewildered by the plot of this movie, which has nothing really to do with either time travel or the weather. The plot is nonsensical at times leaving you to scream questions at the screen, and by the end of leaves several plot threads left hanging.

Art 6/10
I may have been spoilt by Makoto Shinkai's weathering with you and expected this film to have the same fidelity as that one. The expectation was not met sadly with most of ... the scenes only being slightly better than most TV anime.

Sound 7/10
It's pretty decent, and is by far the best part of this movie though not really all that praiseworthy either.

Characters 6/10
The characters were a mixed bag, I disliked some I liked others. The MC comes off as overly angsty and edgier than a razor, not entirely unlikeable but I much prefer if she has toned down these traits by at least a little. To loop back to the plot for a second, some of the characters shown in this movie have next to no purpose which makes me wonder if the plot has left them behind.

Enjoyment + Overall 6/10
Overall I can safely say that the film is mediocre and while enjoyable enough to not feel like a waste of time I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really itching for a dose of mediocrity.

TLDR; Movie's plot is meh, characters are a mixed bag, art is ok, sound ain't terrible and is pretty mediocre overall.

Sora no Aosa wo Shiru Hito yo, or Her Blue Sky for short.


Spoiler warning, but to sum up the show, it's not that good anyway.


With that, I'll be brief and clear on the review. Her Blue Sky is a movie that really just uses the same anime formula but tries to incorporate its own plot to the structure. The show honestly starts off with no hesitation, from the get-go we are literally just thrown into the movie. Promising start I presume, plus what came after that was honestly fine. Mediocre and somewhat cliche of the 'anime-vibe', scenes of Japanese school life/scenery/people blah blah blah... The ... usual in an anime movie that takes place in Japan. For those who have watched or haven't watched, I must admit the 'scenarios' they used to fill in the anime formula is kind of weak. But it's acceptable, nothing too bizarre or out of this world, it's just kinda boring. But what came after the backstory, introduction and the development of our characters, Aoi and her sister Akane, struck me interested. We get to see the person Shinnosuke, that was close to both the sisters before, in his youth days. Now I'm not very clear on saying what's happening so, this Shinnosuke was close to the sisters when Aoi was a young child, 13 years later Shinnosuke became an older man. But what Aoi saw was the young Shinnosuke or Shinno. Honestly, until this point, I was engaged, I was interested. Nothing mind-blowing or super eye-catching but it was fine for what it was. So straight to the problem, the ending quarter of the show just threw everything it had before. The story felt as if the writer or director just gave up and rushed towards the end as quickly as possible. Like when I saw it my initial reaction was 'Oh no'. Like I knew at that point the show just went downhill from there.

-SCORES-

Character- 6/10: To be frank, Aoi was actually a decent character. Another thing about this show was that it had details in movement and actions from the characters. What is the issue was that there were too many characters. So many and so many that felt shallow and weak. What the supporting characters were introduced or made felt as if the movie was meant as a series. Apart from that, there's also the cliche character saying 'I don't like this' or 'I don't think you should do that' kind of thing that makes for a very cheap drama.

Art- 8/10: Amazing I must say, honestly the star of the show. The production was great but sadly the writing couldn't be as good as the visuals.

Writing- 4/10: It was honestly just following the anime formula until the director gave up and the writing went to hell at the ending. Like the ending was somewhat close, but more like a door that's not fully close, it's just incomplete I feel.

Sound- 7/10: Fine for the most part, but I was losing my shit when they pulled a flying scene (where two people start flying in the air) and the music just suddenly increases so much louder, just like Spirited Away or Weathering With You.

Overall, I'm not super disappointed cause the show wasn't amazing, to begin with. The plot was somewhat amusing but the execution of scenes and writing just seriously need help. Plus, once again, the ending is trash.


Strong 5 to a Light 6

I really like the series. Just finished watched this in the theatre. First interested in this series because of trailers and the staff in it. Overall i enjoy it. Story is pretty complex with many emotions. We can really feel that the characters is alive in this story, not just some made up characters. You can enjoy it watching this movie alone, with your friends, or with your girlfriends. This anime is 13+ for my country so it's not suitable for kids to watch this.

you can read more of my review in my site, but Indonesian language. Link is in my Bio