~~~The First Kiss that Never Ends~~~

With a title like that (and having read the manga because I am a cheater) I think we all knew that this was going to be a little more rom than its usual romCOM style. Normally, when I think of this series, I think of the comedy. That is NOT to say that the romance and character development are bad, just that the comedy is pure, top tier genius, and in comparison the romance and character development can really only be called cute. Hopefully you all got that reference. Anyways. Even though this movie leaned more heavily into what is (in my opinion) its weaker side, it did it in a way that was very charming and heartfelt. It was a bit overdramatic for my personal taste at times, but what can one expect from teenagers in love who are still finding themselves and each other? It was very cute. Like cat-ear Miyuki in Kaguya's eyes level of cute. While I don't think it meets the amazing levels that were achieved by Ultra Romantic and previous seasons, it is still one of the best romcoms around and you simply can't skip it if you are watching this series. It is a critical part of the story.

Spoilers below

Spoiler, click to view

The War between these two was brought to an end. Kaguya finally decided to be the brave one and confessed her love. I remember reading this in the manga and thinking "Well what now?" and feeling slightly disappointed and happy and sad all at the same time because I didn't want this series to end there. It doesn't, by the way, thankfully.

The voice acting for this movie was (as usual) above and beyond what anybody would expect. Easily a 10/10.

The plot is something I want to take a few points off for,

Spoiler, click to view

just because of my personal distaste for the drama.

However, I will remove my bias and admit that it holds its own against the greats like Toradora. 9/10.

Character development is good. Likely one of the weaker aspects of the series, but what does one expect when you focus so heavily on the comedy? Still, it feels organic enough and believable. 8/10.

The animation is also one of the weaker aspects of the series overall, although with this series I don't think any aspect is particularly weak. 8/10.

The opening song was good. Still very in theme with the past three. However, it definitely felt a bit weaker than the previous opening songs. 8/10.

Even though the comedic aspects of this series takes a bit of a backseat in this movie, in comparison to its usual in the series, the comedy shines through and is as always, top tier. 10/10.

Overall, I laughed, I cried, and I felt extremely content by the end of it. The drama removed a small amount of my enjoyment, but do not let that deter you from watching this. I am just very relaxed about how my personal beliefs about how love should be and will not project that onto my scoring. GO WATCH IT.