Story: 9/10
This title does a great job of mixing drama and slice of life into one story, with a little bit of supernatural fun thrown in for good measure! The plot revolves around a young grade school girl named "Hiromi" and her dog "Junkers." Now Hiromi is the prime example of a bottled up child! Her parents are never around much, she doesn’t have many friends at school, and worse, she has a crush on someone she knows she can never have. Though the beginning of the film deals pretty much in the daily life of a sixth grader, a big chunk of the plot revolves around Hiromi's inner turmoil in her life, and sticks very close to it’s "drama" aspects mid way through. So if you’re not into having a good number of sad moments to go with your movies, then you probably won’t care for this one. However if you do like them, then there is no better movie out there to pick up. Now that's not to say there are no happy parts to this title of course, because there are a good number of them. In fact for the first half hour or so of the movie, it gears strongly to an everyday slice of life theme, and at this point you may be unsure as to where the story is even going. As the plot progresses though you’ll see little threads be weaved together to make a truly engrossing storyline. Where not all is as it seems (ie Junkers). The finale to this movie is quite well done, and becomes quite magical near the end. It is so charming and well put together that I honestly felt I was watching a Miyazaki quality film. It's the kind of movie that you can tell was made with love, and the writers really went all out to make the story as believable as possible, without over doing it with the supernatural elements. And merge the two like bread and butter!
Animation: 8/10
Well this is a movie that was made back in 1994, even so it doesn't look the highest of movie quality for even back then. The backgrounds look like an unfinished coloring book at times, and can come off as quite washed out. Where this movie really wins points on though, is with it's character animation and design! The character's themselves kind of look like a simplified version of "Kiki's Delivery Service." They are complimented with good emotional facial expressions, and move with very good fluidity! So if you can get past the sometimes bland looking backgrounds, you will enjoy the art style. I do have one question for the animators: was it REALLY necessary to draw Junker's groin area?! Ugh!
Sound: 8/10
What caught my attention most with the soundtrack, was not the actual character voices (though they are very well done), but with the actual sound effects. They sounded so real; from the opening of doors, to footsteps going upstairs, to the sound of cars passing by. All of it sounds so crisp and realistic. And the character voice were very fitting to each of their roles! You get a nice lite hearted song towards the end that matches the movie to a "T." The weakest link in the audio was the actual background music, it sounds very "mid-chip." It sometimes felt like it was being played on a Casio Keyboard, which at times came off as odd.
Characters: 9/10
The cast of characters they offer are so down to earth and real, that they perfectly bring the emotion they want you to feel. By the half way point I really cared for Hiromi, and wanted her to be happy in the end. Now at this point I feel I should talk about the "supernatural" elements to this. Enter Junkers the dog; oh but this is no ordinary dog mind you, for this dog can actually talk! In fact at the very beginning of the movie, you will see Junkers go into one of the men’s restroom, and actually use the urinal! O_o Now this actually turned out to be my biggest complaint with the movie, in that it was never actually explained as to just how Junkers could talk in the first place, nor does the plot actually revolve around him. At times he almost feels like a prop in the movie, and only seems to be there (most of the time anyway) as a comfort tool for Hiromi. I also felt the connection between them not of the highest caliber for a movie, but what they do have together is indeed quite strong and touching. Even the supporting cast is very likable, and I couldn't find one that came off as exaggerated or out of place.
Overall: 9/10
This movie really was a well put together project, you get a good range of genres (slice of life, drama, supernatural, comedy), everything that makes a well put together movie. If the idea of a "lite hearted and cute Miyazaki style film" sounds wonderful to you, then I highly recommend checking this title out. The heavier drama moments might kill some of the enjoyment for some, and it won't appeal to everyone. It is however, a movie I feel everyone should at least try!
