I say this with every fiber of my being, this will go down as one of the most beautiful and perfectly crafted short films in the history of the medium. This is how you do any adaptation. I already loved and was completely moved by Fujimoto's original one-shot when I read it on a random Sunday morning. This short story is full of so many relatable anger filled moments, then moments of sheer euphoria and glee for our main 2 girls, then to utter and sheer depressing moments that then get balanced with moments of believing in the good of life. There's just so many gut-wrenching and heartfelt moments throughout the entire story and takes you for a ride, and so many different meanings and lessons to take away from it as you think about life, passions, friends, and what they all mean to you.
I was fighting tears the entire film up until the final montage when the floodgates just burst open, something that didn't really happen when I read it originally. I teared up a bit when I read it the first time, but the combination of animation, voice acting, and gorgeous mute piano accompaniment just made it into one grand, fantastic piece. The music especially is so incredible, it just finds a way to swell and build up through simple piano to display and show a wide array of emotions. And the final choir that sings over the final lasting shot of the movie as the credits roll will stick with you for years to come. Both voice actresses were brilliant in their performances. They both felt so natural and like genuine children finding their way together through adolescence. The conversation that they have in the middle where they have their first disagreement was so moving and sad to see play out and the anger of denial in Fujino's voice just hits so deep. The animation is just breathtaking as well. The fluidity of the characters and camera that then can contrast the sharp lines and edges of Fujimoto's art style make for such a fresh look that immerses you into the world and captures you with it's beauty of the mundane through the use of wonderfully drawn backgrounds, which ties in perfectly with the character motivation of Kyomoto. I went into this expecting a decent adaptation of a great work by one of my favorite mangakas, Fujimoto, but what I got instead is a work of art that was so lovingly handcrafted by a talented team that just truly got the point of both the original work and Tatsuki Fujimoto as a person, that it became something so much more. This is what I look for in adaptations, something that can elevate the source material to even greater heights, and share the vision of the original creator with even more people across multiple mediums. Fujimoto was already one of my all time favorite storytellers, and I'm glad his work is getting even more recognition through this story. I do not say this lightly, that this film, truly was a masterpiece and a work of art that will stick with me until the day I die. 10/10, perfection.
