Overall a bad movie.
May be worth a watch if you're:
1. looking for novel experiences as opposed to strictly good experiences
2. not too easily dissapointed by a weak second half.
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The first half of the movie is great. Sweet, slow-paced, true to life. It seems like a story you could learn and absorb things from.
The second half is like an episode of eastenders: Hollow, forced, and grating. Melodrama angst and pain for their own sake, without much sense, logic, or justification, either from a narrative standpoint or of plausibility.
Sounds, reductionistic but the second half is so rushed it's like watching a mid-season recap. The story pivots 90 degrees without any transition, drags on at the new angle for a while while you try to retain hope in the story (and probably succeed, because what came before was original and enjoyable ), then after a while just goes ahead and pivots the other 90 into full on self-desecration.
If the film was 4 hours, long maybe they could have done something with the outline of the second half.
As is, huge developments happen (for example characters suddenly being revealed in a drastically different light, characters suddenly turning on each other over nothing, the MC tumbling from his new world and new life back into the old one) without any care. Where before the pacing was endlessly patient, somewhere around the 60 minute mark it becomes like watching an abridged series.
As an example, when the MC returns to the human world for the first time, It happens suddenly, by accident, and out of nowhere, with no indication that the MC can return to the world of his foster parents.
Then Suddenly a waifu appears.
Then in two seconds they are close.
Then in three more seconds they are inseperable- ...thanks to a convenient violent situation which the MC can use his newfound powers of violence to resolve.
If the movie had continued at the previous calm slice-of-lifey pace, such developments could have taken another hour by themselves.
When the topic is "boy meets girl", it's not so bad to be clumsy and cack-handed: you are rushing, but rushing through something that every viewer understands. So much is inoffensive, and while it tests the viewer's patience, does not actively detract from the movie.
But unfortunately it's ALL ruthlessly rushed from here to the end of the movie.
And unfortunately it doesn't all nearly make as much easy narrative sense (read: any sense whatsoever) from here on. In fact there are a lot of weird, bizarre and seemingly downright stupid developments, which simply do not work for an intelligent viewer without a thousand times more context and justification than what they were given.
And in some cases directly detract from things established in the first half of the movie.
In short, where before everything was deftly and subtly done, with a beautiful touch of true life, from this point on it just throws shit at you and hopes it sticks.
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In short, the author tried to 4 movies in the space of 1, ran out of space half way, and then tried to cram the last three in 60 minutes anyway.
Negatives: second half of film is a slap in the face for the kind of viewer who would love the first half. All of the care, kindliness and patience shown in the first half of the movie is thrown out the window. It's like watching a mid-season summary. It's hard to meet the movie half way even if you want to, because you're really given nothing to work with. Where the first half of the movie is warm, kindly, patient, realistic, and full of life, the second is cold, callous, empty, hollow, and without plausibility.
Positives: The art is nice, the choreography is strong, and the first half of the movie is really nice and heartwarming. If you can seperate a great sequence from a bad ending, the first half is worth your time. (In fact not only good, but original and uplifting.)
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I would recommend this movie for:
(A) those who don't get too dissapointed when a movie lets them down gretly after starting strong.
(B) Those who watch films less for a good experience, than in order to mine for cool ideas, images, constructed memories, etc.
(C) Those who aren't too picky how they come by their emotions. If you like trashy soap operas, ignore everything I said about the second half of the movie.
