First of all I would like to recommend watching this anime if you're looking for a short and sweet story, not if you're looking for an anime with a deep development. This reviw CONTAINS SPOILERS!
I wanna start of by saying that the animation was none other than magnificent. The sounds were able to blend well accordingly to whatever scene was currently happening, and the characters were all very likable and none of them worth hating on......except....that one boy.
Now given the short 45 minutes length of the anime, I was suprised at how well they were able to fit in and arrange the development between the two characters, Gin and Hotaru. Their friendship was deepened more and more frequently everytime Hotaru would visit Gin every summer since she was six years old. But keyword: Friendship. This is what bothered me the most in the anime. Although it was implied that Hotaru and Gin would later on fall in love with each other, all throughout the film I felt like they were just good friends. If Hotaru was introduced as a high schooler, then yes, love would've been the right word for me. The same goes if Gin was also introduced as a younger spirit when he and Hotaru met. But because they started off witn an older Gin and a younger Hotaru having fun, I saw no love development whatsoever, except the will and their want to stay together. But even so, this thought of mine didn't get in the way of how I liked this movie, it was just a note that was stuck on my head which was in me towards the end. Which I will talk about now.
I know most of us would've loved it more if Gin dissapeared from a kiss with Hotaru, but the anime certainly wasn't going for that direction. Instead we got a rushed ending. Don't get me wrong the ending was absolutely beautiful as the effects and music playing while Gin was dissapearing was amazing, basically the whole atmosphere during that scene was perfect. But the way it was setup shocked me. The pacing at the start was definitely great but the ending gave me the expression of "It all happened so fast that it surprised me". I felt like there was no proper conclusion between the two, but then again it certainly gave Hotaru an easier job of moving on, which is what Gin wanted. We all knew Gin was eventually going to dissapear at some point, but I wish the anime could've had a build up towards his imminent fate. Overall, I can say that the movie was able to portray a love that just couldn't be possible, quite gracefully. I couldn't help but smile everytime I see Hotaru and Gin just having fun together and the ending certainly touched my heart despite of my negativity towards it. The anime had minor problems towards the end but the development (given the 45 minutes) was played out pretty nice, with a plot that was very interesting. If you enjoyed this review, please feel free to read my other reviews :) thank you and have a great day. Message me if you have anything to talk about.
