So... it was confusing. Starting with what this film did right, I think it nailed the tone on the head pretty damn well. It felt like a mixture of Steins;Gate and Your Name, both in mood and story. One thing I found lacking in the main series was the way the story was structured. It either felt like side stories or rushed material a lot of the time. For whatever reason, despite its issues-- which I'll touch on in a minute-- this film was paced quite well. Everything that happened seemed to happen at a decent rate with fair amounts of screen time given to each moment.
That being said... the explanation of the story itself was far too vague, and sometimes even nonexistent. At times, it felt like I understood the circumstances without understanding the outcome, and at others, it was as though I knew where the story was going without knowing where it started. Now, some of it could be boiled down to my lack of deduction skills, but certainly not all of it can. Especially considering the fact that there were times something would be mentioned in the plot, but it was never actually confirmed if it happened or didn't, which left me confused as to what reality I was watching at that moment. The story definitely had direction and it knew what it wanted to do, but it didn't tell me what its plans were, you know?
The plot itself was quite amazing, actually. I'd recommend it to anyone who loved the first series, because it took me back there immediately. My opinions haven't changed on the amazing character work, and the art is just as gorgeous as it was in the main series. It just didn't explain itself well. Had it taken a few extra minutes to explain some of the phenomenon in layman's terms or added a few extra scenes (especially at the end) so that the viewer could understand the exact state the characters were in, it would've been a lot easier to digest it all instead of trying to fill in blanks that can't be supported by plot.
All criticisms aside, I love this world, I love these characters, and I still cried. So, it got me. Bunny Girl Senpai is always gonna get me. I highly recommend it, just be prepared to have your thinking cap on the whole way through.
