Story: 8/10
It's basically as the synopsis says: a high school student named Takao who has a passion for shoemaking decides to skip school on rainy days since he loves the rain so much. He happens to meet Yukino by chance, who decides that she'll skip work whenever it rains, and the two meet up every time as a result of it.
At first, they are distant, which is expected of a high school student and an adult (she's 27 I think), but they soon bond in a platonic and natural way. They don't suddenly love each other because of some tragedy or because they share a common interest, but because both of them are alone in that they are not accepted by those around them: Takao is judged for loving shoes and Yukino was bullied by her own students, and she has a taste disorder as well. In this aspect, I loved the story since it wasn't love at first sight nor was it sudden love; it was the kind that develops from simply being with each other.
However, I only gave it an eight because frankly such a romance story cannot be told in such a short amount of time. It could just be my preference, but whenever romances are rushed, they lose much of the anticipation and emotion that they're supposed to embody. The story starts to really pick up near the end, but then it just ends, and although it's a decent bittersweet ending, I wish the rising action could have just been longer so that we as the audience could have legitimized their love; quick romances give the feeling that the two lovers are just fooling around instead of truly having feelings for each other. I'm not saying you get that feeling from this anime, but in general romances need to be slow-paced, and that's really what this story lacked.
Art: 10/10, but I wish i could say 11/10.
The artwork is just absolutely stunning. Watch the first 30 seconds and you'll immediately understand what makes the artwork in this movie different. I have never come across such detail to color, texture, shading, shadow, and perspective when it comes to animation. I would have enjoyed the movie just for the animation itself even if the story was terrible.
Sound: 10/10
The music did what it needed to do: manifest the emotion that romances have.
The sound effects themselves though were outstanding since a lot of the movie features nature, so you'll hear a lot of rain sound effects and what not. It really complemented the animation to create stunning scenes.
Character: 9/10
You'll definitely like Takao and Yukino. Takao is kind, ambitious, and he loves Yukino for who she is, even if she's broken. He stands up for her when others mistreat her, and at no point does he try to push her to do anything; his love for her is truly platonic. If the movie had been longer, his character could have been more developed, but the allotted time only really reveals these things. So while he is a likable character, he is a bit cliche and not original.
Yukino has an enjoyable personality as well; she is a helpless woman at first who eventually learns to stand on her own, not just by taking control of her life, but also by no longer lying to herself and confessing her love back to Takao. So unlike Takao, she shows growth, but once again the film was a bit rushed to really have time to show substantial growth.
Enjoyment: 9/10
I'm gonna be honest, much of my enjoyment came from the stunning artwork. It really is incredible. If not for such brilliant animation, I probably would have given it a 7 or 8 at best.
Overall: 8/10
I think the problem is really just the pacing. The characters all have amazing potential: there is a lot of room for them to grow and for their relationship to grow, but 45 min doesn't do them justice. The story is told well, but I wish I could have seen more of it.
Overall, if you're looking for a good romance, but not expecting something too lengthy and elaborate, then this anime is for you.
