Story:
Given its length which is 45 minutes, none can expect a very good story to come out of it nor a story that will keep you awake for the night, thinking and reminiscing its beauty, generally speaking. So is this movie part of the majority? Frankly, yes. The story is about this young boy named Takao meeting a woman whom he has no clue about - age, name, and position - in a Japanese-style garden. The catch is, he only meets her during rainy morning days for some reason. Now, you're gonna ask me "is that it?". Of course not, but telling more about of the plot will just ruin your enjoyment of the show.
For a huge chunk of the show (maybe around 20-30%?), the narration style is - silent. Yes, no dialogues and monologues. Body languages, shots of different places, and an awkward silence between two people created a mysterious calm atmosphere within me which monologues and dialogues can never give to me.
The structure of the story was just like I expected. It started calmly, with almost nothing happens, then the character development starts, and soon enough, you can probably see it approaching miles away, the drama kicks in. The resolution is quite short, but that is expected.
To summarize, there's nothing too special about the story but it doesn't mean that it is bad or better off not watching, it definitely surpasses many romantic shows out there by a hundred-fold.
Art:
In this category, all that I can say is "wow". I'll be rampaging and cursing my life if the art and animation isn't good as it is. The character designs are definitely good and fitting for each character. The background art is really something. There were times that I actually paused for a moment to appreciate its beauty. It is so detailed and sharp. The animation is smooth and I can find no fault in it. If we'll be talking about camera positioning and panning or whatever they call it, it is perfect. If you say otherwise after watching it, please tell me so I can consult my ophthalmologist.
Sound:
Piano pieces, raindrops, silence - they are all placed in scenes where I see them most fitting. They brought the atmosphere the director wants us to feel. If it's a calm one, he prepared us the sound of the raindrops on a normal rainy rain with the sound of the pedestrians walking and chattering. If it's monologue and a dramatic event, a piano piece will be played with the right tempo and key for the right mood and time. And if it's the very important conversation between our 2 main characters, the silence treatment is given. (well, sometimes there's a music being played) The music pieces played are not top-notch or memorable, but the genius placement made up for its lack of musicality.
The voice actors have done a wonderful job in performing on their own respective characters. The emotions that should well from each character for the given scene are wonderfully brought out. Nothing feels too irritating or out of place. In fact, I can listen to them speaking all day long without losing my head.
Characters:
Akizuki Takao, a 15 year olde highschool student and Yukino Yakari, a character that will be explored on the later parts of the movie, starts their relationship from being a "seatmate" in that little "hut" of theirs, to peers talking about their most random things to come to their minds, and to something everyone expected to happen in a romance genre. For 45 minutes, those transitions between their different relationship didn't feel slow nor fast. It was right on track, and thinking about it now, I hope I can pull-off that kind of character development in the stories I'm writing. (If you want to read it, sorry, it's written in my native language).
About the characters themselves, Takao is not your average wimpy romance MC found in almost all romance anime. He actually had done something that I wouldn't even dare to. He also has dreams of being a shoemaker which was followed consistently throughout the movie.
On the other hand, Yakari is the mysterious one. The viewers and Takao's only knowledge about her is that she's older than him. She doesn't talk about herself except for her confession about her skills in cooking. Don't be disappointed about this, as her character will be widely explored during the later parts.
Of course there are also side characters like Takao's family and friends. Except for his 2 friends who became a plot device, none of these side characters are truly important and none of them are worth writing for.
All in all, my reason for writing such short descriptions about the characters is either because any further statements will ruin the show or I actually don't have anything to say about them.
Enjoyment:
Personally, I enjoyed it, but not that much. I was not awestruck-ed nor felt trolled.
Overall:
Love it or hate it. It didn't met my expectations but I definitely didn't regret watching it. If you are a fan of Shinkai Makoto, this is must watch obviously. But if you're looking for something that will bawl your eyes and shatter your heart, please look for another one. The story is short, not complex. It is something that you'll forget sooner or later.To be honest, it had left me a bit hanging in the end. I didn't feel satisfied on the conclusion. It looked to me like nothing happened. As for the art, it is something that I will remember for ages and one day hope that this kind of art will be a regular standard for regular TV anime shows.
