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First and foremost, let's get this out of the way: the animation in Words Bubble UP Like Soda Pop is simply meticulous--- I have no words to fully express how beautiful each frame of this movie is. The striking vibrant colors of summer paired with the relaxed line-art made this an atmospheric experience like no other.

Artstyle alone, the color palette is reminiscent of the anime Tsuritama, while the line art reminds me of Masaaki Yuasa's works. The soft, heart-warming music is also its own standout-- my god, the climax with the music's crescendo is absolutely epic.


In terms of storytelling, I love how expressive this ... movie is without having an abundance of dialogue. The emphasis is on the visuals of the movie as well as the delicate words spoken amidst frames of beautiful scenery over a gentle melody. The written haikus littered across this movie's runtime feel like a precious treasure, and it's a shame that the subtitles aren't able to translate each one.

There's not much of a plot; it's very much of a slice-of-life anime where the focus is on the characters and how they experience the world around them. In that way, Cherry and Smile did not disappoint as the leads for this movie. At first glance, they appear to be different as night and day, but as the story progresses, you start to see the parallels between the struggles they go through. They're also just really endearing characters to follow.
Cherry is this socially awkward, extremely shy guy that wears headphones without any music in them to avoid talking to people, as well as being a poetry/ haiku enthusiast, always whipping away some pretty stellar 3 line bars. As for Smile, she's just like her name: cheerful, bright, and exuberant, and yet it's a little ironic because we never actually get to see her smile because she's really insecure of her buckteeth, and hides behind a face mask. Oh, and she's also this big influencer who live streams her life daily and describes everything as cute.

Overall, I'm so glad I picked this movie up. Since a year ago from when I saw this movie's poster, I was immediately enamored by how pretty the animation looks. I can now happily say that the contents also did not disappoint. Although, it's a shame Netflix didn't advertise this movie more; I feel like it deserves way more recognition than it's getting. In short, Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a vividly unique spin on a boy meets girl story that tackles topics such as social anxiety, body image, and the uncertainties of falling in love. An absolute must-watch.

Umibe no Etrange has a lot of heart, and the romance aspect is honestly so enjoyable to watch. Shun and Mio have a soft and gentle relationship that is impossible not to root for. And when I say "root for", it's not in the sense of a dramatic will they/won't they kind of way, but more in terms of how they will overcome their past trauma to open their hearts to each other. I love how the focus was on the characters and their growth, and not on some bullshit melodramatic misunderstanding. Shun and Mio felt so in place amidst the sunny coastal line of ... Okinawa; their lives intertwined delicately by their feelings for each other.

I will admit that the movie might seem confusing to someone who isn't familiar with the source material (there is a time-skip and flashback scene that wasn't given proper context), but as a reviewer who freshly just read the manga, I let this aspect slide (bias yes, but what review isn't?). Other than this, I thought the movie did such a great job adapting the original story. I felt like the movie really added something new to Umibe no Etranger-- it wasn't a lifeless scene-by-scene adaptation nor did it completely rewrite the story to something unrecognizable; instead, it was able to stick to its roots but also build on the setting through animation and music.

Little things like hair blowing in the wind and subtle blushes and vibrant flowers and shining ocean water brought this story to life. Everything that could not be conveyed through manga panels was capitalized for the movie in order to truly give fans an adaptation that truly felt necessary.

Ultimately, Umibe no Etrange is a story about two boy's journey on acceptance and learning what it means to selflessly love, and this theme was beautifully carried through.

Wow, I loveee sitting through a romance anime where the main couple is not compatible whatsoever. Sigh.

Say "I Love You" is incredibly disappointing. The romance is lackluster with the typical perfect guy falls for the unpopular girl. The couple has no chemistry, they barely have common interests, and their communication is non-existent. Alas, welcome to the world of melodramatic high school teenage bullshit!


Characters 1/10 for the MC, 8/10 for everyone else
Here lies the main problem I have with romance animes: having an insufferable female lead. And good lord, Mei Tachibana might take the cake of being the most boring, plain, and insecure MC I've ... ever had to witness. Her personality is as interesting as a stale piece of white bread. She's cynical and meek, and is probably socially retarded in some sense. She's the epitome of what I hated about Bella Swan, except Bella was actually nice on the eyes. In every aspect, Mei is the type of character that simply can't carry the show by herself, and it's painful to watch her mull over her feelings and act all melodramatic and shit.

As for the other characters, I actually enjoyed them very much. I loved Aiko's "I don't give a fuck" attitude, Asami's bubbly exuberance, and Nakanishi's playfulness. I absolutely adored the growth Kai and Megumi went through (their characters definitely stole the spotlight). Then we have Yamato, the love interest, who was an overall swell guy. The only problem is that he seems to have the "demigod syndrome". See, the guy is perfect.... too perfect. He's suave, gorgeous, nice, rich, smart, athletic, etc etc etc. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if they introduced some kind of outrageous hidden "heir to the throne" plot. In this regard, he reminded me of Takami Usui (from Maid Sama); although, he's not as overly ridiculous as that other guy. In the end, Yamato got his character development and was able to admit his mistakes and be there for his friends. With that being said, I'm just baffled how the writers were able to write such likable and interesting characters but decided to give Mei the short end of the stick?

~Oh, and what the hell was with that pacing? Sometimes relationships are developing too fast or too slow with barely any middle ground. The friendship with the side characters just...happened. No progression; instead, Mei who had no friends and had severe trust issues suddenly became friends with Asami overnight. And Aiko, who hated Mei, just...forgot about her bitchiness? Like, try to make these relationships somewhat believable, geez.


Romance and Plot 5/10
Because I found Mei so damn intolerable, I really couldn't root for the romance. Usually, when there's the cliche of a pairing of a popular and unpopular character occurs, the "popular" one always seems like they're dating down. Or at least, that's what everyone else thinks, but the audience secretly knows that the "unpopular" character actually has an amazing personality, and that's why the "popular prince/ princess" couldn't help but fall in love with them--- right?

See, I don't mind this kind of plot because, in some twisted way that abides by a social hierarchy, this trope tries to showcase the characters as each others' equals. That the popular, perfect person had a reason to fall for the social outcast. Say "I Love You" doesn't do this. I was racking my brain out to come up with any plausible reasons why Yamato might fall for Mei. What I concluded, was that Yamato was so shocked that Mei didn't fawn over him the moment they met, and the chase was what kept him on his toes.
Honestly, all of the girls that were a "threat" to their relationship, truly were all relatively better than Mei in every single way. They were better at communicating their feelings, they were courageous, had strong personalities, and knew how to style their hair so it didn't look like a rat's nest (I guess May never went to that salon, huh?). Suffice to say, Mei as a character is horrible. But Mei as a girlfriend is even worse. Homegirl expects Yamato to read her mind because she's mute for 90% of their interactions. Really, there's no other way to say it: Yamato deserves a lot better.


Art and Sound 6/10
The art is mediocre. It's very obvious that it was adapted from manga since it retained the source material's style very closely. I didn't hate it; I didn't love it. The animation could've been more fluid in some scenes (haha remember that running scene?), and there could've been more facial expressions for the character. Like I said, very mediocre.
The sound is probably the most positive thing I have to say about this anime. I liked the recurring piano melody that played in the "emotional" scenes, and the OP and EP are bangers. No complaints here in this department.


Overall 5.5/10
Look, the romance genre is very hit and miss for me. And Say "I Love You" definitely missed its mark. If you're up for teenagers who are boring and stupid navigate their romantic relationships in the most melodramatic way possible, then this is the anime for you! It's not a complete waste of time, but I would still recommend you to skip it.

For quite some time, anime series have been unable to capture my interest for more than a couple of episodes at once. I haven't felt the urge to fully binge-watch a series-- until Your Lie in April, that is. Oh man, where do I even start with this incredible series?

Art 10/10
The first thing that caught my eye was the absolutely stunning animation. As a lover of Makoto Shinkai and Kyoto Animations, I felt like Your Lie in April was a perfect blend of both. Its beautiful color palette isn't just gorgeous, but it's used with purpose. Mirroring what is literally happening on screen with the ... internal thoughts and feelings of the characters, the colors of this anime seem to have a language of their own. The first half of this anime, which is the light-hearted part of the anime, was paired with the most vibrant spring colors that seemed to leap across the screen! But then we have the later episodes, and their jarring contrast demonstrated how much darker and emotional the story got.
And the more I think about it, the more I realize how Your Lie In April's visuals plays such a vital role in its storytelling. It's not just "pretty," but especially intentional. Everything felt like it was done meticulously to drive the plot forward because what this anime did right was how it showed us the story, instead of telling us. Its imagery of a piano submerged under dark, murky waters tells us more about Arima's traumatic childhood more than a monologue ever will. And when Arima is finally recovering and able to move on, there's no need for us to be explicitly told that, rather his piano playing shows us that: it is tinged with golden light orbs like a million twinkling stars in the sky or a field of sunflowers in the summer. Without needing to express anything in words, we understand the hope that is awakening in Arima's heart. In addition, flashback scenes are shown in obscure angles, usually hiding characters' faces, so as to give to emphasize the feeling of the memory rather than the events occurring.

Sound 9/10
I mean, it is a music anime, so this department was well-done too. The op is great; it's catchy and creates a good contrast with the anime's more classical undertones. For the overall ost, I love the soft, melodic piano scores; they embody Kaori and springtime so well. Honestly, I don't have much to say for this category of Your Lie in April except that it was wonderful and definitely something I'll be listening to in my spare time.

Plot 9/10
I would also like to mention how amazingly paced this anime was. One word I would describe it would be "gripping"- an even more special feat since this is a slice of life. And yet, that's exactly what it is. The plot is solid and well thought-out; therefore, there's no unnecessary filler (one of my biggest pet peeves in the SOL genre) in this tightly packed 22 episodes anime. In every episode, something important was happening.
Your Lie in April also seems like a show that is meant to be rewatched. There's a ton of tiny foreshadowing in the visuals and dialogue upon my first viewing, but I do think I still missed quite a lot of the tiny details woven in, as I was focused more on the general storyline.

Characters 9/10
Oh, finally, a slice of life anime where the characters are not involved in a shitty love harem fiasco. Yes, there is romance in Your Lie in April, you can even argue there's somewhat of a love triangle, but it's so minimal to the story. This is not an anime where two girls are competing over a boring MC, it's much more than that, and I appreciate the romance subplot to take a backseat on this one.
And because there's less focus on romance, there can be more focus on the development of the characters. To me, this seemed like a great test to see if the characters are able to stand on their own: are they properly fleshed out, three-dimensional characters? Or are they just recycled stereotypes, utterly useless without romance and drama? Well, not surprisingly, Your Lie in April passed this test with flying colors. Lo and behold, we got to see some amazing character arcs.

Overall 9/10
Your Lie in April is everything I love in a life of life anime. If you're hesitant about picking this anime for whatever reason, don't be. I promise you, it will be worth your time.

To say that this was a "mindfuck" would be an understatement. Rather, From the New World managed to flip my brain on its head and then jam it back but with a whole new perspective for me to reflect on. I questioned everything throughout this anime: my morals, beliefs, ethics-- I agonized over the choices the characters made, and I contemplated endlessly on what the blurry line is between justice and what is justifiable.

To be honest, I don't think I'm qualified to write a review for this anime because I don't think I can authentically capture how incredibly thought-provoking this series turned out to be! ... There are so many ideas to chew on, so many gritty themes that I feel like I'm unequipped to explore on my own. Essentially, it's an anime that requires you to turn your brain on because From the New World poses some really interesting questions that should not be slept on.


Setting 9/10
From the New World tells a dystopic tale set 1000 years later in Japan where instead of a technologically advanced civilization, humanity has regressed back into a lifestyle that is similar to those of small-town villagers. To compensate, humanity has retained the ability to perform psychokinesis (another name for it being Cantus), a superpower-like ability that allows the person to control certain things with their minds (like levitation), and because of this immense power, humans are the dominant species and are regarded as "gods" by their "subordinates", the Queerats.

The worldbuilding (or what we've seen of it so far) was a truly remarkable feat in From the New World because of how they aren't afraid to breach its limitations. I initially thought the setting would be in the confinements of the human town, Kamisu 66 but boy was I wrong! A couple of episodes in and things begin to escalate at a very rapid rate: instead of only focusing on the secluded area of the human inhabitants, the anime dedicates just as much (or even more) time to explore what lies beyond the human walls. From mountains to caves to deserts, we have a very broad view of what the world has turned into, along with A LOT of outside politics. What we initially thought was the real danger, that being the precariousness of Kamisu 66 (the cult-like society, the suspicious authorities, the missing children "rumors", etc.), seemed almost trivial compared to the external dangers at play.

Basically, you'll quickly realize this will be one hell of a ride with all of the creative liberties From the New World' takes. It utilizes the full range of the animation medium and is, therefore, able to give us so many different settings to explore with mind-boggling supernatural elements to them (ex. impure cats, ogres, minoshiros, etc). The possibilities are endless and with how insane the plot goes; this extensive worldbuilding was able to properly execute the ambitious story.


Plot 8/10
This story could be broken down into 2 major parts: the first and second half. The first arc consists of establishing the setting (both of Kamisu 66 and the outside world) and introducing the main cast of characters: Saki, Satoru, Shun, Maria, and Mamoru, a young group of kids. We first see them when they're only 12, and as the series progresses, we watch them growing up and wanting to uncover the mysteries surrounding their home. The second half deals with a lot more outside forces and politics, I'm specifically referring to the Mouse Rat Rebellion.

I'm going to start off with what I didn't like to get that out of the way. For one, I think the pacing was convoluted and abrupt. While nowhere near SAO level of bad, From the New World seems like it was struggling to find its footing in the beginning. There are time jumps that happen throughout the story that reels you back because it's done somewhat out of the blue. From when the kids were the ages of 12, they cut to when they're 14 (not so bad right?) but then it cuts to a decade later when they're 26! The hell? And while I think this was necessary, it was done in a way where when you finish an episode expecting a direct continuation of what just happened but then bam! You're hit with a major time skip at the beginning of the next episode that just makes you dumbfounded for a moment. Now, on a positive note, after that initial shock of skipping years later into the future, I do think From the New World was able to pull off this idea since they managed to write the characters growing up wonderfully BUT that still doesn't pardon the inconsistency in the timeline that I wished was handled with more grace.


Characters 10/10
I believe the characters are the strongest aspect to this anime. There's almost no doubt to it. The extensive analysis that can be done on each and every one of them-- they are just so well written with an enormous amount of depth to their personalities.
From the endless themes that this anime can portray, I think the most prominent one being: does the end justify the means? And that's exactly why we need to look at these characters to find out. By analyzing Squealer, Saki, Satoru, and Shun, we can see all the different perspectives that this question can be answered from.
Throughout the series, every single character is tested. Their morals, principles, values-- everything they thought they knew and believed in thrown back into their faces. And as the series gets darker and the characters grow older, you see the child-like innocence slowly slip away from them until they become almost unrecognizable adults; hardened by the world around them.
Characters that you once loved do detestable things. There's betrayal, murder, genocide-- all the ugliness that plague humanity all unleashed before our eyes. And yet, none of this comes entirely out of shock. Although it's alarming, it cannot be deemed as "out of character" because the writers have so clearly established the character's psychology that every atrocious and vile act committed is understandable.

“Once the kiln is opened and the pottery inspected, all that is crooked or bear cracks are fated to be smashed. If all that awaited us was the fate of smashed pottery, then we decided we would rather run away in the hopes of finding a different future.” – Maria Akizuki

Also, can we take a moment to appreciate Saki and Satoru's amazing relationship?? They have such a special bond uwahhh (it makes my heart so happy that they ended up together- they really are soulmates, I would like to believe).


Animation 7/10
It's the weakest aspect of this anime, especially if it's comparing to everything else it has to offer, but in no way is it weak itself. The animation is nothing amazing but it does its job at curating a somber atmosphere, making good use of its dark and earthy color palette. As well, the backgrounds are absolutely phenomenal; they're extremely detailed with very interesting concepts and designs.
Really, the only criticism would be the character designs. They've very flat looking and the way the hair was drawn-- well, it looks like everyone had a bad day with hairspray (although it's nowhere as awful as Shiki's animation). Their facial expressions also weren't that expressive which deterred from the watching experience in some of the crucial scenes.


Sound 9/10
It utilizes classical music, specifically Dvorak's "From the New World," as a recurring motif throughout the show. And what can I say other than how it made me fall absolutely in love with this absolutely breathtaking piece of music.
There's a softness at first, then as the violins thunder and trumpets blast and the piano comes in, the tension rises fretfully- until it suddenly crescendos back into its somber state, and the instruments all die down with it. It's like the song itself is running on a ticking time bomb, always conscious of the seconds grazing by- there's no time and all the time left in the world. In itself, the piece sounds like a walking contradiction: beautiful but sad, hopeful but sorrowful, calm but anxious.


Overall 9/10
It's a brilliant anime that leaves an unforgettable impression. Go watch it if you haven't already.

Story 5/10
It's a simple story, but damn, it's such a letdown. At first, it seems like there's a set-up for the characters' flashback scene- but nope, what you get in chapter 1 is all you get. There's really no depth or even the pretense of any depth to the storyline and characters. It's boring and anti-climatic. Honestly, how disappointing.

Art 6/10
Ah, it's not that bad... but it's also not really good either. The faces are somewhat disproportional and the art style the author chose really aged the characters. Now, I'm aware that this yaoi has older characters for its plot (30s-40s?), but, like, they looked REALLY ... OLD. It just... didn't work here.

Characters 4/10
So, what you need to know is that the seme just up and left the uke with no goodbye, no message, no ANYTHING five years back. Yup. Typical asshole move. And then (of course) they meet again and this seme, who's inconsiderate as ever, decides to infiltrate the uke's life again. Take into account that this uke probably was scarred by his ditch and go move, and has severe commitment and trust issues now. Does the seme care? Nah. He's horny and wants to do it so what the hell right? (okay so I'm slightly exaggerating here, but this seme truly is an inconsiderate piece of shit who puts up a front of being the clueless "nice guy") Anyway, the uke obviously doesn't want anything to do with this guy, and he finally has gotten his life together so they both should just move on, right? Right?!
And that's when the joke happens. The uke, in the last chapter, for no reason, just decides YO HE GETS ME HORNY SO I'LL JUST GO BACK TO HIM EVEN THOUGH I FINALLY LET GO OF HIM A SECOND AGO. Ahaha, yes, this uke pulled the largest Uno Reverse card on us. Man, reading this was like the biggest bruh moment.

Enjoyment 4/10
Read my rant on the "characters" portion and you'll know exactly where I stand on this.

Overall 4/10
It's bad. The characters shouldn't have ended up together. Periodt.

I really, really wanted to love this. In fact, upon oggling over the gorgeous cover, then being immediately impressed with the real art and character designs on the first chapter, everything was great until . . . it was not. Bokura wo Hedateru Ao to Shiro went downhill from there.

Now, this manga isn't bad. But is it also isn't necessarily worth the read. First off, the pacing is pretty awful. The first chapter sets the scene wonderfully but by the second and third chapters, things are whirling around at a choppy, headache-like speed. Things either move way too fast or way too slow, with barely ... of a balance in-between.

This, in turn, also affected the overall plot. It became way too rushed, and the climax, well, wasn't really a climax. And although I know most yaois are pretty melodramatic (and that people don't really pay attention to this aspect when reading), but Bokura wo Hedateru Ao to Shiro's overly unsatisfactory and disappointing climax was almost impossible to ignore.

Lastly, the characters are pretty wishy-washy. They change their minds too often, and their personalities are inconsistent as a light switch. This hindered the romance- you stop caring in the end because the characters, who are supposed to be the heart of this manga, are not worth caring for anymore. Again, they're not extremely bad characters or anything, but judging from the first chapter compared to the last, it was just a huge letdown.

All in all, it felt like a very sloppy and lazy story after the first chapter. But hey, it's an incredibly short manga and the art is quite good, so read this of your own demise. 5.5/10

From the very first chapter, I could feel tears streaming down my face. I should preface this by saying I'm a bit of a crybaby when it comes to any romance story, but damn, this one- this one utterly broke my heart. There's no tragic end if that's what you're thinking; instead, I simply mean that in the span of 6 chapters, I got so invested in the wonderfully crafted characters that it was impossible not to get emotional.

The plot is relatively simple: two best friends in high school grew apart because one of them confessed, and got badly rejected. Although, the story takes ... place 10 years after this event when the characters are all grown up. One is miserable, plagued by the guilt of hurting his friend; the other has moved on but is still trying to find love. They meet and, ah, I'll just say, prepare your heart.

See, the thing that makes this manga stand out from all the yaois out there, is the fact, that the latter character that I described (Maki) is so incredibly mature and wholeheartedly an amazing person. He is truly unlike any seme I've ever read about. When I say he's a "nice guy," I honestly, genuinely mean that. And no, it's not the "nice guy" cliche where you pity the guy so much for his unrequited feelings and how he broods over the other person until they realize how "nice" he is. No, I mean, Maki is an emotionally stable character that does not take advantage of his friend's vulnerable state, and that he understands boundaries, he knows when to hold back because there's a time and place for everything, and he actually communicates his feelings- like a goddamn decent human being.
Now, that's not to say that Maki is some kind of flawless character, he, of course, has his own faults, but the fact that when sees his friend hurt themselves, he says this: "I don't know why you're doing this, but you were a person I once loved so I would never want you to do this." Wow, my heart- I mean, his friend hasn't even apologized to Maki, but that's not the point, isn't it? Maki said that he has forgiven him and moved on- and HE ACTUALLY MEANT IT. It's such a healthy response that I find so rare in yaois nowadays.

As well, at the climax of the story, the thing that shocked me was how the two characters didn't *shag* once they bared out all their emotions. Why? Because it really wasn't the time and they knew it.
And that's what so many yaois out there get wrong. When a person is emotionally vulnerable and heartbroken, consent is a very hazy line. It's the same as using someone else's sadness to take advantage of them in their vulnerable state. In any other yaoi, I'll bet money on how the seme will pressure something to happen. But like I tell you, Maki, who's an actually decent human being, know's that he shouldn't be the one to make the first move and that his friend needs to heal. He realizes this and ACTUALLY FOLLOWS THROUGH WITH IT. No bullshit excuse of how "he can't hold back."

To top things off, this manga's art style is utterly gorgeous. There's no way around it. The character designs were immaculate, the layout and dialogue flowed so well together- Really, there are no complaints whatsoever in the visuals department. Overall, it's a great manga with well-rounded characters and beautiful art that you should definitely pick up. Highly recommend :)

If this cover isn't indicator enough for how raunchy this story gets, well, this title pretty much sums up what you'll be signing up for, and that is a bunch of fuc-- I mean, shagging (for a better euphemism).

Look, I'll cut right to the chase: this manga isn't some super deep, thought-provoking, literature masterpiece, and it's definitely not something that you'll want to show your English teacher or mom anytime soon. But you know what this manga unabashedly is? It's raUnchy. It's gritty. It's a lot of orgies. And abs. And sweat. But despite all this, don't be fooled, because this manga will get you ... balling by the ends of its 8 chapters.

You see, this manga just hits different. While the premise at the beginning is almost laughably silly that seems like just an excuse for a whole lot of sex scenes, in the end, this manga was able to soccer punch you right in the feels. How? Well, it was the characters that brought this home-- they the ones that sold this manga to me. Both of the main characters, Rio and Akanishi, felt entirely fleshed-out to me in only 8 chapters. We get backstories, monologues, and interactions that seamlessly work together so that we thoroughly get to know who these characters are-- and I realize that this doesn't seem all that groundbreaking since most mangas (especially recent BL or yaois) frequently use these plot devices, but what I'm trying to say here is that Fuck Buddy was able to utilize these devices to their full advantage to deliver us a very, very satisfying story.

Not only do we get toe-curling moments that result in a very metaphorical sense of fAngiRL nOsEBleEdiNg, but we also get to see a wonderful depiction of the blurred lines between love and lust, as well as two broken characters find their way to each other. Did my heart just melt right there? Yes, yes it did. And yours will too.

So, if you're going to pick this up (which duh, you should) be prepared for both ends of the stick: a raunchy-as-fuck story that knows no bound, and a moving love story that will warm that little heart of yours right up.

Look, I don't want to be that asshole who says "the manga was better" but in this case, use that previous statement as a fair warning if you're even remotely interested in watching Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai: the Clouds Gather. Because man, the awful production value alone is enough for me to tell you to just skip this movie and read the manga.


Animation 2/10

Going right into this review, let's start off with the weakest aspect to Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai: its sloppy animation. Now usually, I'm not picky of art in anime-- yet for this movie, I simply could not turn a blind eye to ... how abhorrently unready it looked! One of the main issues was how unrefined the characters looked when put against ultra-detailed and high contrasting backgrounds. You see, the animators decided on a very simplistic style to draw the characters in (flat designs, blocky shading, sharp outlines, and dull color palettes) which would've been fine EXCEPT for the fact that they practically pasted these characters onto garishly colorful and precisely intricate-looking backgrounds that didn't mix well together at all! So instead of having beautiful backgrounds that blend seamlessly into the scene, they only acted as a jarring distraction to the viewer. Simply put: the characters and backgrounds just don't look like they belong in the same anime.

To further illustrate my point, I have to comment on the laughably bad lack of movement in this anime! Because my god, the body movements (even down to basic walking sequences) felt so stiff and awkward-- as if this was made by a bunch of amateurs from ten years ago! More so, what's up with the emotionless, and, there I say, deadpan fish faces? Such a shame because the manga had so much content to offer: subtle looks that convey a lot of what a character is feeling, but we lost all of that to monotonous facial expressions. Because in short, these characters just move, look, and feel like robots! To me, this was the worst offender of them all because what's the point of even making this into an animation if these were the results? The whole point of the animation medium is to bring life to the characters, to give them movement and dimension, so it defeats the whole purpose when they reduce their characters to mere mechanical automatons!


Soundtrack 5.5/10

If I were to judge the soundtrack entirely on its own, I would've given it a pretty high rating. I absolutely adored the ending song "Moratorium" by Omoinotake and the ost background music alone are some really strong and memorable tracks. Therefore, the problem I had with the soundtrack isn't its quality, but rather, its placement throughout the movie.

Basically, the overall mood of the soundtrack is kind of peppy and jazzy which doesn't fit with Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai's more or less somber atmosphere, so certain scenes had way less of an impact due to how conflicting and out-of-place the music felt. In the end, the soundtrack served to nullify my enjoyment of the movie, instead of enhancing it.


Plot and Characters (6/10)

Alright, so I presume this adaptation is the first installment in a series of upcoming movies because this movie only covers the first 8 chapters of the manga. It stays fairly close to its source material so not a lot of complaints here, except that nothing really takes place in these 8 chapters!

At most, you get introduced to the main characters, Yashiro and Doumeki: who they are, what they're like, and what their backstories are. And while I think the script executed in writing the characters well enough, the movie still felt too meandering and directionless because nothing else happens!

This problem could've been fixed if only the writers would've uncovered more of the chapters from the manga because as of now, this entire movie could've easily been condensed in 30 minutes or so. Ultimately, I just didn't see the point of making an entire movie that dragged on for 1 hour and 25 minutes long from only 8 chapters with not a lot of, well, anything.


Final Thoughts 5/10

This movie just didn't seem finished. If they had just pushed the release date to do polish some things (cough, the animation, cough) then I think Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai: the Clouds Gather could've had the potential to become a really great movie! Although, that was definitely not the case since it fell rather flat in its execution (to put it lightly). I just hope the upcoming movie(s) will learn from these mistakes.

Overall, if you're a fan of the manga then check it out to your own demise, but if you're a completely new viewer interested in the story, then I would strongly advise you to just go and read the manga.