Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata: Secret Story Film

I'm an absolute massive Honeyworks fan and have been ever since I watched their first movie, Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita back in 2019. When I found out late last year that there was going to be a LIPxLIP movie I was absolutely ecstatic. Fair warning, I am extremely biased as a massive fan of Honeyworks and LIPxLIP but I believe this movie is still very good regardless if you're a fan or not.

STORY
The story is something that we never got to see in Honeyworks' MVs before now aside from small glimpses, and it's how the two boys Aizou and Yuujirou became LIPxLIP and rose ... to stardom. The plot is very clear in what the boys motivations are and the struggles they try to overcome. This isn't like other idol anime where the characters just magically become idols, you actually have to watch them struggle and audition. Yuujirou and Aizou also have an amazing chemistry, and this movie pretty much 100% cemented the fact that YuuAi is canon. I won't say anything further for the sake of spoilers, but it's a very good plot in my opinion.

ART
I'm no snob when it comes to art and animation, but studio CLAP did an absolutely amazing job with the visuals in this film (especially since it was their first major production). One thing of note that comes to mind is the fact that none of the dance sequences are actually CGI like in typical idol shows, it's all 2D animation. Aside from that, the art is clean and the animation is very smooth.

SOUND
It's freaking Honeyworks music, it's absolutely phenomenal. You get a some background cameos of songs and a few actual performances as well. If you're a Honeyworks fan, you will absolutely be satisfied with the music.

OVERALL
This is an absolutely amazing film that should be watched by any Honeyworks fan out there (if possible, of course). Everything is absolutely perfect in terms of catering to fans. I'm not sure what the opinion of a non fan would be, but I still believe that a non fan who is still into idols would have a great time watching this movie.

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This is my first time writing a review so I'm sorry if it's not any good, but I just absolutely had to after watching this.
I was able to watch it through the Toronto Japanese Film Festival, which streamed it with English subtitles.

I've been a HoneyWorks fan for a few years now, and a massive fan in particular of the virtual, fictional idol group LIPXLIP, the ones this movie is centered around. I mostly follow their Music Videos rather than the anime adaptations or movies, but I decided I needed to put in an objective review that might help newcomers be introduced to LIPXLIP.

STORY: 9/10
Two 3rd year middle schoolers who have never met, Aizou Shibasaki (Blonde 💛) and Yuujirou Someya (Blue 💙) , hailing from completely different backgrounds but similar life struggles, see adverts for the same idol audition and apply for the chance to follow ... their respective dreams of pursuing music. They do Not get along.

This story will already be known to most who've watched their 3-4min MVs "Yume Fanfare" or "Yappa Saikou", but for the sake of sparing readers from spoilers, I will say that the movie delves into way more than one can possibly show within the time limit of a Music Video. Basically, I love how they come to be a duo, their struggles, and how they help each other to get through them until their debut, Romeo (this MV is also available online)

Music and Voice Acting: 8/10
I will say as much as I like their songs and most of the soundtracks, the movie makers' first issue was letting there be weird moments of silence that should have been filled with background music. I like the insert songs, but they were started and cut off at awkward moments, which I do not like. Every voice actor was splendid, especially the main LIPXLIP duo's VAs (Shimazaki Nobunaga and Uchiyama Kouki) and they even had real idols voice some characters who seem completely at home to be doing voice work.

Animation and Direction: 6/10
This is probably the only low point of the movie. I REALLY hated the random shininess of the movie in general, though it was barable with the movie's muted colours compared to the average anime we see these days. I really want to give them a break as I hear this was the studio's first major production, but I can get over the wonkiness at some parts, the occasional weird proportions, not to mention the direction. Whoever was responsible for the direction, I want to tell them, PLEASE, there's better ways to transition from scene to scene. PLEASE show us progression of an emotion instead of cutting from a sad scene to a smiling one. SHOW them go from frowning to smiling, I swear the few extra frames will be worth it!
Anyway, I've seen worse directed anime in my life, and it's definitely not unbearable.

Overall: 7/10
I'd recommend anyone who are a fan of enemies to reluctant friends to Most Important Person to watch it, especially if you've come across any of LIPXLIP's songs before and are curious to learn their backstories. Also recommended to anyone who loves idol anime, billegerant romantic tension, and opposites attract tropes. Slight warning, this is not BL, but can be interpreted as such if one liked (though recent developments in the story is suggesting a one-sided love story, but that is wayy after the events of the movie and can be ignored, if you are curious).

Happy watching! Do give our boys LIPXLIP a try! 💛💙