New
What did you think of this episode?
DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
Sep 13, 2015 8:09 AM
#1
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- Some of the artwork feels off but still a decent movie with its themes. The artwork for a lot of background scenes are quite realistic. I found the main characters' personalities to be quite likable for some reason. The friendship theme along with the coming age style of the storytelling was noticeable. I also found the beginning dancing animation intro to be symbolic in a few ways. Definitely a satisfying film that I think people can enjoy if they enjoy the smooth and somewhat slow pacing. Loved the way the ED theme is done as well. |
Sep 13, 2015 9:47 AM
#2
Haven't watched 2004 movie and yet it was surprisingly good. UPD: watched that movie too. I'd say that it's totaly fine to watch this anime before/without it. |
vivanSep 13, 2015 12:33 PM
Sep 13, 2015 8:26 PM
#3
It started off quirky and mysterious, but then it became really funny and strange, then it became logical and interesting, but the end was sentimental and left a good feeling. I just love how quirky and funny the characters are, especially Alice. I thought she was kind of whiney at first (she was rude too the old guy, but eh.). But when she threw her bag at the chicken guy and got all aggressive it was super funny the way she spoke. The way she reacts in the film is really funny. XD The animation was a bit funky at times which is probably my only complaint, though it was stylistic reasons. I immensely enjoyed how simple and whimsical this film was. I was grinning throughout most of it. The ending was splendid, when those random strangers stopped the truck. LOL. It was a really simple film, but it felt kind of meaningful too. I like how they became good friends by the end, that was really warming. I like fun and warm coming-of-age films like this, rather than crazy and destructive ones. I knew it would be interesting from the PV and it hit expectation. :D |
Sep 14, 2015 2:39 AM
#4
I've been waiting for these subs for awhile, constantly checking and at last. And I was NOT disappointed. I enjoyed every second of this film. I couldn't stop smiling at how wonderfully charming and insanely comical this was. The acting is great, they definitely captured real personalities, and both Alice and Hana are so likable. Hana's explanation under the truck made the situation seem kinda silly, but still managed to tug at those heartstrings a little. The rotoscope was well done, only problem was when they went for a slow mo moment. The frame by frame motion at that point was really choppy. But during the regular scenes it was pretty nice. The facial expressions were the punchline to many of it's funny moments. This was very entertaining. Time to write a review and get some friends to check this out! |
Sep 14, 2015 2:58 AM
#5
It was a very everyday-like story, quirky and enjoyable. Also artstyle was very simple and looked off at times, but it was enough. Had a good time with this~ |
Sep 14, 2015 10:01 AM
#6
the animation is super detailed! for once i thought this is a live action movie with edited to make it look like anime. the story is funny thanks to Arisu, really a promising waifu material! |
Sep 15, 2015 2:11 AM
#7
I liked this quite a bit. Everything just felt so natural. The beginning was a bit weird with the premise and all but the story unfolded to be just a fun adventure of two girls and everything flowed. The art was a bit off at times, but it matched the type of slow-paced movie it was. |
Sep 15, 2015 4:44 AM
#8
I enjoyed the movie very much and Alice has a really great personality. I will recommend it to my friends. |
Sep 20, 2015 11:48 AM
#9
This movie was simply outstanding, in terms of enjoyment. There were some scenes that was hard to watch, in a good way, such as the Taxi scene. I had to stop for a bit to take every in, Alice and Hana's reaction with the occasional "Ah" were gold. It really was fun seeing these misunderstandings, or lies causing situations to go out of hand. I also really liked the somewhat child-like actions every now and then. From playing rock-paper-scissors with a bet, running happily towards a swing, and to basically have a heck of a time teasing and chasing each other. Being amazed and amused by a lot of things, it was just great to see. Also, seeing the wide range of good people from the old man, the people at the ramen place, to the people that put themselves in a truck without thinking much, it was a breath of fresh air, as normal and realistic depiction of society as it was. I would say that society tends to focus on negativity, being genuine is probably a lot harder than the "good old times", to what I believe to be true, yet a misconception of society, that in a way had led us to being all distrustful and skeptical to an extent like never before. The drama aspect was decent, though not exactly what I expected it to be. Being relieved at seeing Yuda being fine, the tension just really wasn't there, as Yuda's dad was happily waving at Hana early on. The transition from something fun to something serious was just weird, like switching from a grin to a sudden serious face, or having to remind myself that I should contain my smile to get a better understanding of Hana's feelings. But it felt humane, and the follow up with the dance in the parking lot, a dance revolving around Hana, as if she was the center of the world, captured the beauty of their friendship, that basically was concreted in a span of just over a day! Calling 40 years short, or calling in long, the same thing can be said for a day's worth of time, it all goes back to perspectives. To the two heroines, calling it quite the day would be the tip of an iceberg. The truck driver with his "Oh shoot, did I run over somebody" expression... this is the stuff that can't be seen often in animation. It is rare to see a teenage girl waking up under a truck, that then started driving, or a bunch of superstitious classmates that can easily be manipulated, an adventure around people, that is what I call it. My thoughts are everywhere, though it does go to show what kind of movie this can be to its viewers. |
Sep 25, 2015 3:49 PM
#10
I was waiting for ENG subs for sooo long! But it was worth waiting for! The girls are so consistently stupid that it turned out cute and funny! I really enjoyed it! Nicely done! So simple and not complicated, nothing unlike stuff I usually watch where I can hardly follow the story because there is so much details and twists and characters... For example I'm currently watching Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu where's absolutely too much characters involved. I'm not comparing the two I'm just saying that simple story can be very interesting too! I'll recommend this Anime to all my friends! Oh, and I really loved the animation! Now I can watch the movie. 9/10! |
jakovSep 25, 2015 4:03 PM
Oct 13, 2015 5:43 PM
#11
Dec 7, 2015 6:40 PM
#12
I took around two months to finish it. lol I don't find it good nor bad, just watchable and entertaining. Good animation, likable characters, but the story was strange, slow yet many things happened - a bit hard to follow -, nice ending song. |
Dec 9, 2015 4:13 AM
#13
I found it quite boring. The story could have been developed a bit more in few aspects rather than adding so many unnecessary moments. The whole Yuda thing was really a great turn off. However the one thing I really liked about this film was the characters, very real, likeable standing on the ground characters, all of them. I very much enjoyed the characters only I dare say. |
Jan 6, 2016 2:56 AM
#14
I didn't realize this had come out already. Nobody has been talking about it so I didn't know lol. I loved it. As a fan of the original movie, this is a nice continuation (well its a prequel but still its a new story). I don't think it's neccesary to watch the original film as it doesn't refer to anything in that film, but of course I'd encourage people to watch the original film as its one of my favorite movies, and all of Shunji Iwai's films area great in general. This film captured the tone and feel of the original perfectly. I like the new character Mutsu Mutsumi a lot. The story with the old man was very heart warming. I did feel dissapointed they focused more on Alice than Hana, who doesn't really enter the film until a lot later on. The animation was a bit off putting, I'm assuming it's rotoscoped or something, maybe because the real actresses who are too old now to be school girls so they used this instead. They could've just animated it properly as rotoscope always looks kinda funky but whatever it doesn't ruin he story at all and sometimes it looks nice with detailed backgrounds. Hopefully this is not the last we'll see of Hana and Alice. |
Feb 28, 2016 3:44 PM
#15
Rather strange how it takes 40 minutes (!) to get the two main characters together and without accomplishing much of anything in the meantime. The time spent with Fu and Mu seems a little wasted since they just vanish so fast, although Mutsumi was very interesting regardless. Regardless, once the film finally gets the titular pair together it's quite good. It's very good at capturing an atmosphere of early adolescence; taking itself too seriously yet noticeably childish. |
Mar 21, 2016 6:02 PM
#16
I really love how this movie show there's still so many nice people around us. start from the taxi driver, the oldman, the customer in the ramen store and the bicyclists. A good movie to watch when you just want to relax on your chair and don't want to think heavily after getting tired from your day. |
May 26, 2016 5:07 PM
#17
An awkward start but then I actually started to enjoy the movie, be it for it unique take on rotoscoping animation or for its nice slice-of-life carelessness of both girls. There were certainly some weird moments (like the character of Fuuko felt totally out of place) and some weirdly charming also but I guess it ended well and chemistry of both girls was on spot. Would definitely want to see more of their adventures in some series. 7/10 I may actually rewatch this some time cause you really don't see such lovingly daring main heroine that often. |
Jun 2, 2016 4:27 AM
#18
Jun 8, 2016 6:32 PM
#19
This movie surprised me in more ways than one, sure the art is debatable but i really liked it regardless. The characters were the thing that made this movie stand out, they're just so lifelike and relatable. All in all this movie did not disappoint !! |
Zura janai, Katsura da !!!!! |
Jul 23, 2016 11:54 AM
#20
I love this. I'm quite shocked at how compelling I found this film, even with its very slow pacing and silly plot. Must be due to the fact that it was carried so hard by its characters which were really relatable and fun. Seriously, I found my self smiling from near beginning to end. My only gripe is that Hana was introduced quite late as the movie only came into its own once they focused on this lovable duo. Not sure why they bothered to rotoscope this as the character animation was quite poor, although I guess it did make for some lovely looking backgrounds and lighting. It reminded me of Aku no Hana, though this was a much more clean and much better animated, but equally as un-detailed. I would definitely like to see more of these two, but I read the synopsis to the live action movie and it seems kinda lame. I might still check it out. |
Aug 9, 2016 4:56 PM
#21
That was mostly pleasant. Liked how the friendship formed. 7.5/10 |
Aug 10, 2016 4:38 PM
#22
Aug 16, 2016 8:40 PM
#23
Well, I'm impressed. That was much better than I expected it to be. The character interactions were genuine, the soundtrack was delightful, the story was simple but well-constructed, and, despite being rough around the edges, I found the visual style to be quite charming. |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
Aug 16, 2016 8:57 PM
#24
Koybz said: I completely agree with your first paragraph. Kudos to the staff for making the characters come together so well. I love this. I'm quite shocked at how compelling I found this film, even with its very slow pacing and silly plot. Must be due to the fact that it was carried so hard by its characters which were really relatable and fun. Seriously, I found my self smiling from near beginning to end. My only gripe is that Hana was introduced quite late as the movie only came into its own once they focused on this lovable duo. Not sure why they bothered to rotoscope this as the character animation was quite poor, although I guess it did make for some lovely looking backgrounds and lighting. It reminded me of Aku no Hana, though this was a much more clean and much better animated, but equally as un-detailed. I would definitely like to see more of these two, but I read the synopsis to the live action movie and it seems kinda lame. I might still check it out. As for the rotoscoping, I have to defend it. I agree that the animation looked "bad" insofar as it was sloppy and choppy, but at the same time the rotoscoping captured subtle character movements of the kind that regular animation typically doesn't capture — the hand gestures of teenage girls, the gait of an old man, the posture of a woman sitting on a picnic blanket, etc. Rotoscoping was instrumental in creating the realism that makes Hana & Alice captivating. |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
Aug 18, 2016 8:42 AM
#25
Josh said: As for the rotoscoping, I have to defend it. I agree that the animation looked "bad" insofar as it was sloppy and choppy, but at the same time the rotoscoping captured subtle character movements of the kind that regular animation typically doesn't capture — the hand gestures of teenage girls, the gait of an old man, the posture of a woman sitting on a picnic blanket, etc. Rotoscoping was instrumental in creating the realism that makes Hana & Alice captivating. I agree that as far as making an animated film, rotoscoping was definitely the best choice available to the creators as the film would in fact have lost part of its charm if more traditional 2D animation was used like you said. I was just kind of wondering why they bothered making this an animated film in the first place as outside of a few handful of scenes I felt like this film would have benefited more from being a live action film much like its sequel. That being said, I most likely would not have discovered this gem if it was live action and I certainly don't hold the animation style against the it, I just wish it was a little more pleasing to the eye. |
Aug 18, 2016 3:28 PM
#26
Koybz said: Fair enough. I don't think I've ever seen a live action Japanese film before (I'm not even a casual film watcher), but now I want to watch Hana & Alice.I agree that as far as making an animated film, rotoscoping was definitely the best choice available to the creators as the film would in fact have lost part of its charm if more traditional 2D animation was used like you said. I was just kind of wondering why they bothered making this an animated film in the first place as outside of a few handful of scenes I felt like this film would have benefited more from being a live action film much like its sequel. That being said, I most likely would not have discovered this gem if it was live action and I certainly don't hold the animation style against the it, I just wish it was a little more pleasing to the eye. |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
Aug 18, 2016 3:46 PM
#27
Josh said: ]Fair enough. I don't think I've ever seen a live action Japanese film before (I'm not even a casual film watcher), but now I want to watch Hana & Alice. Same here, I'm really tempted to watch the sequel (Hana and Alice are even played by the same actresses), but based on the synopsis it seems to involve a love triangle, so I'm a bit skeptical. I don't think I want to see these two characters in that situation considering what a great bond they built up between them in this film ._. |
Sep 3, 2016 6:25 PM
#28
Such a feels-good movie, especially the ending, though I didn't really get to enjoy it much until around the half way point where the real intent of the movie started to play out. I would love to watch the sequel if it ever gets animated, I am not too fond of live action movie, especially a Japanese drama. |
Honobono Log - best slice of life short -------------------------------------------- most kawaii loli overlord ---------------------------- Donquixote Doflamingo AMV - Control |
Sep 18, 2016 2:42 PM
#29
It wasn't done well, the story was silly and uninteresting, the characters boring and it got absolutely nowhere. A real, true miss that this movie. |
"Even now, I travel on my journey, Believing in the world, Aiming for something far away – an endless journey. Having a dream like someone else’s, Or being in someone else’s dream – Which would you prefer?" |
Oct 11, 2016 9:56 PM
#30
What a different kind of film. In some ways, it reminded me of Aku no Hana. The settings, the way the characters acted, etc. In the beginning, I thought the spirit/ghost talk was nutty. Glad to see there were sensible answers to it all. But alas, someone in the class has a huge imagination and spent a long time worrying about something that may not have happened. I like how the two main characters became good friends by the end of the film. This had a nice ending, the kind that leaves you feeling good. |
Nov 6, 2016 11:16 PM
#31
I'm not familiar with the original movie, but this was cute on its own. The characters were likable and the story and artwork were unique. Definitely a relaxing watch on its own. I'm sure when you start thinking about this movie on a deeper level you can get a lot of subtle meanings from it, which is something I appreciate about this movie - subtlety. I think the scenes with the "wrong" old man were more important and less arbitrary than they appeared. That was the most enjoyable part of the movie for me. |
Dec 22, 2016 9:13 AM
#32
first few couple of minutes i thought the artwork is so annoying but as the story goes i enjoyed every bit of it, i recommend this movie, it's worth a watch :) |
"Hello." |
Jan 4, 2017 10:19 AM
#33
Shunji Iwai is a real marvel. Whether he's working in live-action or animation, short film or feature, or even in Japanese or English, his work has such a distinct, beautiful quality. I wish some of his novels were translated. His characters are so genuine and his portrayal of youth is always wonderfully exact and attentive. This film was a lot lighter than some of his other work, but has all the quiet subtleties and pensive qualities I've come to expect. I wonder if Iwai will continue to work in animation. |
Jan 8, 2017 6:25 AM
#34
I just watch this movie and I was really surprised. I picked it up on a whim, but never expect it to be this good. The story is simple, yet has lots of subtle meaning. The characters feel real and genuine. This definitely become one of my most favorite anime movie. |
Jan 9, 2017 7:34 AM
#35
This movie featured a surprising amount of people writhing on the ground in pain. |
Jan 10, 2017 10:35 PM
#36
This is the best anime that I have seen in a while. I thought that I would not like the anime because of the character art work but after a bit I grew to think that it was perfect since facial details didn't detract from the wonderful conversations that the two girls have with each other. The voice acting was on point and I enjoyed listening to the Japanese more than I would have a dub. Giving it a 9/10 and wishing to find another anime as satisfying. |
Apr 16, 2017 12:46 PM
#37
Apr 23, 2017 1:56 PM
#38
Impressive film. Everything worked in unison to deliver. The gorgeous backgrounds and the music created a light but aesthetic mood, yet at the same time everything felt ultra realistic from the framing of the shoots to the acting. Beyond the on point execution, the movie shines because at its core reside a story and dialogues minutely balanced -- and knowing how easily Japanese media (anime and drama alike) tend to fall into clear-cut clichés, this is quite a feat. A unique work. |
EratiKApr 23, 2017 2:01 PM
Jul 14, 2017 11:16 AM
#39
anyone notice that the ending credits features a slightly elongated ending than what was shown in the film? I wonder if they ran out of time, although I liked the actual ending very much either way since it ends exactly where it sequel begins. seemed like mu summoned hana back into the class or something lol |
KoybzNov 17, 2017 2:53 PM
Aug 31, 2017 9:09 AM
#40
just watched Akira Kurosawa's film Ikiru and it came to me that the old man and all the scenes with him and Alice are kinda one giant homage to the film which is really cool |
Feb 19, 2018 12:33 PM
#41
Mar 4, 2018 1:53 PM
#42
That was a wack plot period and the mystery was so dull that I said to myself why did I watch this? I guess you can't trust these rating, people rate for the sake of rating. That was a boring plot, that got my hopes for jack( Yuda Kotaro was alive all along from a bee). Anime school mysteries shouldn't be watched by us people who graduated from high school, they are so lame and lack maturity like Hyouka and this one. The only thing good about this movie was the real art and the friendship that sprung from that stupidity. story=4, Art=8, characters=7 and enjoyment=6 |
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove |
Feb 24, 2020 12:12 AM
#44
pretty good for coming of age story. I felt the movie would of benifeted more if the animation was different or even live action since a lot of emotinal scenes felt a little off. I enjoyed it nonetheless and the main characters is this films greatest strength. |
Feb 27, 2020 10:41 PM
#45
7.35 seems a little low for this film. Solid 8/10 for me personally. The mystery played a secondary role in this film, more of a coming of age animation. Very character driven. |
Apr 14, 2020 3:15 AM
#46
I actually like this. The Animation may not be my cup of tea but their movements were similar to a human. I also agree with OP, I find the two MC quite likable. Alice is naive but strong and Hana is smart and also has a strong personality but I kind of think she's tsundere. Lol. I like the part where Alice and the old guy walk around and use the swing and when the nurse in the hospital stopped Alice to use her phone. Her reaction was really funny. I also laughed so hard when Mu started the exorcism stuff and I think she's not a bad kid. I really enjoyed watching this but I still don't get why Yuda decided to "marry" or come up with marriage certificates for 3 girls. Lol |
★━━─ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺? |
Apr 26, 2020 1:04 PM
#47
What a simple and cute movie. I like Hana and Alice, especially the old man. Nice song at the end too! I love movies like this one, makes me feel good. |
Jul 4, 2020 8:26 PM
#48
Anime, this is what I expect a story about "cute" girls doing slice of life things to be like, or actually, any high school girl in a high school setting. Characters that feel, move, and talk like 9th grade girls. None of that cutesy anime veneer. I was expecting actual mystery but this is good too. I think people who are disappointed because of the lack of story are missing the point. This movie is like Iblard Jikan--- the enjoyment is in the mundanity itself, because these mundane settings are rendered so beautifully and the characters are rendered so true to life. My attention was on the backgrounds and environments as much as it was on the plot. Though not quite my cup of tea, the development of the relationship between the two characters was simply fantastic. Oh, and I love the ending song. Now the live action movie on the other hand, love triangles need to burn in hell. It's kind of ironic that I want utter realism in characters but I wouldn't be interested in this movie if it was in live action because the environment wouldn't be nearly as engrossing. The characters could remain the same and the relationship can develop the same way, but without the art it would be a boring movie about the mundane lives of two high school girls. |
RecynonJul 5, 2020 9:48 PM
Aug 10, 2020 5:01 AM
#49
i loved the film right from the start, the art is simply lovely. i realised that the animation & art direction are very stylistic and intentional. they did a great job with those ballet scenes as well, and the movements were realistic, i read that they used rotoscoping. Director Shunji Iwai uses “rotoscoping,” in which the movements of live-action performers are captured on film and then drawn over by animators. (Rotoscoping is used to wonderful effect in the new Amazon Video series “Undone”). While the resulting animated characters aren’t as smooth or detailed as the typical anime figures, the technique makes the viewer feel like we’re in the room with them. Iwai also opted to record the dialogue not in a studio, but in restaurants, classrooms and other real-world locations. While the audio quality suffers a little, it enhances the you-are-there immediacy of the experience. You could easily imagine “Hana & Alice” being turned into a VR experience. that was interesting! i was wondering if the audio quality was intentional, that was very refreshing indeed, they captured the realism very well, amazing sound direction the characters were all very fun to watch (even alice's mother) i loved the relationship between alice & her mum. also really loved her interactions with mutsumi, really likeable characters! wow what a fun class that must be, i would've loved to be part of a class that does rituals & ceremonies as such that was hilarious to watch. a bit distressing tho when the boys chased after her & tried to restrain her i would've freaked out as alice did alice's a great MC i had a ball watching her beat up that loser who threw the chicken wing at her this makes me want to watch the 2004 live-action film! |
ꕤ but i’ll probably remember over and over again you were there and everyone else was there — the day we all searched for just one thing ꕤ |
Sep 21, 2020 8:49 AM
#50
More topics from this board
» anime movie recommendations that has similar tone to this one?Kayzzle - Jul 12, 2021 |
4 |
by iiKrina
»»
Jan 30, 2023 8:09 AM |
|
» Why does every 14 year old got to be whiny?Angry_Anime_Nerd - Mar 27, 2016 |
27 |
by Angry_Anime_Nerd
»»
Jul 12, 2021 9:48 AM |
|
» Preview & CastStark700 - Dec 11, 2014 |
8 |
by Lemon
»»
Jun 21, 2015 12:40 PM |