I have to say that I'm not a big fan of the whole "rotoscope" thing that are getting popular nowadays, but the characters themselves make up for it and the "strange rumors" talked about in the synopsis are not just little teenage rumors; they're rumors about possession and weird, cult-ish activities.
I really liked this movie because Arisugawa Tetsuko (Alice) was a very interesting character. I guess some might say that there wasn't enough character development for her, or that the movie often strayed away from the main issue (which I assume is the investigation behind the school rumors). But in all honesty, the story deals with something bigger (such as the aftermath of divorce or the relationship between other people based on fundamental trust). I just thought that the whole mysterious rumor thing was to keep the story running at some pace. The people Alice meets along the way, though they might not be necessarily related to the "investigation" that she does, are related to her issues that she had of her moving and living with her mother in a small town that's seemingly boring.
Alice's struggles weren't really boring, in my opinion. It sounds boring, watching a girl just live her everyday life and facing mundane problems, but I think what's important to look at is not the plot, but the people themselves. The way her mother is, what she works as, and what Alice says to her, I felt, told a story itself. How she interacts with her father and Hana (her shut-in neighbor) told separate stories about each character as well. I think this movie follows a linear plot that's a bit weak, but the relationship that Alice makes between others reinforce it.
Overall, I would suggest watching the movie. It is silly at some points and some parts are a bit unrealistic and the rotoscoping is a bit heavy, but the characters themselves are rather well-rounded and I enjoyed watching the story unfold greatly.
