Fragtime is easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I admit I went into this movie assuming it would be some sort of mature and serious romance between two girls (the likes of which is rare in Anime as a whole) but that still doesn't excuse the massive letdown it is. Aside from its poor story and poor characters it also features a disgustingly high amount of fanservice, as if a relationship between two girls was just a concept to please the male eye.
Where do I begin? Misuzu Moritani can stop the time at her own volition for 3 minutes a day. Not the most original concept, but you can make something out of it. Sadly, Fragtime doesn't. Misuzu uses this power to escape uncomfortable situations but one day she decides to stop the time and look under her classmate Haruka Murakami's skirt, only to find out that Haruka is not frozen in time but can actually see what Misuzu is doing. I have seen worse introductions to other stories in other movies, but this has to be among the worst.
Misuzu and Haruka eventually start coming closer together because of Misuzu's power but the pacing of their progressing relationship is way too fast. Not even 10 minutes into the movie we find Haruka and Misuzu going on a date already because that is apparently the appropriate reaction to someone who sneak peaked under your skirt just a day before. And of course they go shopping in an underwear store because why would they even think about going anywhere else?
From there on, the movie basically revolves around Misuzu messing around with her power. If this was the basic idea of the story and there was some kind of "lessons learned" at the end where Misuzu grows as a person and learns to not abuse it, it would have been fine. But none of her actions ever have consequences and there is nothing be learned. Misuzu stops the time during a test, Haruka starts stripping her clothes down and they have sex (it's implied at least) in front of everyone. Is this what I came to watch this movie for? Really this?
The characters in Fragtime are painfully bland and stereotypical; none of them has any personality. If you want to be generous, you can attribute some personality to Haruka but that's as far as it goes. Most of the characterization happens in the last 10 - 15 minutes where ever so slight bits of Haruka's personality are brought to light. However, it doesn't make any of her actions any more believable as any person with at least some sort of common sense or dignity would have done things much different from her. This movie does a poor job at creating believable characters that anyone would care about. They are just a blank slate and an excuse to show some underwear on screen.
If you are looking for an actual romance Anime, this is not the movie you should consider watching. It's a light-hearted scifi ... drama, I guess? But even if so, then barely. The movie focuses less on the actual relationship between Misuzu and Haruka but more so the way she handles her power to stop time. If the concept of time manipulation is something you are interested in, then you are better off watching Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo and if you are looking for a serious yuri relationship drama, then you are better off watching Aoi Hana. Fragtime is just a disgrace for the entire yuri genre. I can not recommend watching this.
3/10
