The most important requirement for a series dealing with time, space, and related sci-fi elements is that its in-universe laws/principles stay consistent and the plot holes remain minimum, ideally absent. Some series manage to explain such complex phenomena relatively well ( Steins:Gate ) while the rest focus more on other aspects and only use the sci-fi elements as an underlying base to save themselves the trouble of explaining each and every “law” ( Erased ). Kimi wo aishita tries to go with the former route by framing and explaining laws for parallel shifts/inter-dimensional travel, but fails at it horrendously.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Kimi wo aishita’s plot holes become more pronounced after watching its counterpart Boku ga aishita, having the same characters set in a parallel world. However, the author actually forgetting his own plot points or in-universe principles is truly mind-boggling. Maybe the author who wrote this version of the film was from a parallel universe…
Plot hole 1 (more like a very convenient premise): The fact that the two kids instantly decide to jump the gun instead of talking it out with their divorced parents about the marriage is absolutely hilarious and unrealistic. Even with their teenage hormones raging within them, their desperate attitude doesn’t hold up seeing the relatively chill attitude of their parents, the plethora of options available before them to marry each other legally, and the time available before they became adults to make such informed choices.
Plot hole 2: It has been clearly established in this movie ( and even more clearly in its movie counterpart “boku ga aishita” ) that users swap their bodies when a parallel shift occurs. By this logic, the parallel world Shiori (let’s call the parallel world 1 and the original world 0 ) should have inhabited the body of Shiori 0. Since Shiori 1’s body died in her own world and Shiori 0 was turned into a ghost, what happened to Shiori 1’s consciousness? No answer from the series…it simply gets away by saying that Shiori 0’s body went into a coma, which can’t be possible in the first place if Shiori 1’s consciousness still remained in that body! A fine example of subverting your very own plot laws.
Plot hole 3: Towards the end, we get to see that the ghost Shiori was “reborn” as a real human in the 85th parallel world after Koyomi’s sacrifice. But then what happened to the original 85th parallel world Shiori ( or Shiori 85 )? Again, no answer or even a mention.
These plot holes are not minor-they contradict the very basic principles on which the plot is set and can’t be dismissed as “minor details”. And in addition, the convoluted way in which the movie meanders towards the middle through a combination of flashbacks and parallel shifting worlds doesn’t help in alleviating the plot and only serves to confuse the viewers more.
As for some positives, the art is good for a non-action movie. OST is nothing remarkable and the VAs are all right (but Koyomi’s VA performance as a kid felt out of place with his deep monotone voice). I, personally, did get enjoyment from watching it as long as I was watching it with a closed brain. But these cannot whitewash a movie with a poorly-thought-out plot with sci-fi elements in it.
