Story: 6
Easily the weakest part of an amazing movie. Suspension of disbelief is mandatory:
>Some characters could actually be removed and the story wouldn't change very much (Like, say, Tsutomu, Okudera, and Mitsuha's father). Taki and Mitsuha as characters were never developed enough to require so many characters anyway.
>The concept of body swapping is never explained, and the rice wine scene not only complicates things, but also feels even more contrived. And we haven't gotten to the scene where they meet up. So much time wasted trying to figure that out.
>How did they not check the date differences while in each other's bodies? It was very clear they still remembered who they really were, even if they didn't remember spending time in each other's bodies. The part where the messages delete themselves is even more ridiculous, and why does Taki keep a cord that a stranger throws out for him?
>There's one part where Taki doesn't write his name in Mitsuha's hand, letting her forget him and nearly walk away from him at the ending. Honestly felt like a forced attempt at making the audience question if Shinkai was going to pull another 5 Centimeters. Wouldn't have worked perfectly either way (Still would've enjoyed it though).
Art: 9.5
Not much to say, other than praise. Absolutely amazing art. The comet and the lake were honestly some of the most surreal and incredible things I've seen in anime. The only gripe I have is the character designs.
It's difficult to describe how I feel, but to put it briefly, the characters do not feel endemic to the movie. If one were to take the characters and place them in a forgettable slice of life romcom, they wouldn't really be that out of place.
Sound: 8
Music in this movie is not that memorable. However, some parts where the music played was absolutely spot on. The use of rock music doesn't take away from the movie at all. The voice acting was also spot on. Mitsuha's voice is strangely pleasant to listen to, and I hope she does more anime roles in the future.
Characters: 7
Many characters that were in the film itself were almost completely unnecessary. Taki and Mitsuha's lives are glossed over, and the film had characters that led almost nowhere. Mitsuha is shown having problems with her father, but they never get resolved. Okudera and Tsutomu could've been removed from the movie and barely anything would've changed.
Enjoyment: 10
And yet, despite all it's flaws, I greatly enjoyed it. I would still recommend this to people who are bored and looking for something to keep them for a while. Still, I can't help but feel as though this movie should've been an anime series. If they had put more emphasis on Taki and Mitsuha's backgrounds and took the time to explain the body swapping, this could've been a masterpiece.
