In this review I won't use hard vocabulary and complicated theories do describe my opinion to help you best understand where I'm coming from.
There may be small spoilers but I think you can read this without watching the movie.
First of all I think it's most important to talk about this movie as a sequel. My impression of the anime "beyond the boundary" was good, but not the best. The show had inconsistent pacing, some slip ups in writing but overall I think it laid the perfect foundation to make a good sequel with a movie. That's exactly what the studio did. In the movie not only do we get to see more character emotion, but also how they act under pressure, their feelings for each other.
It's definitely fair to say that the main theme of the movie is kind of sad. At first it's even annoying to see how the mc acts in the situation given, but we cant really disagree with his actions at the same time. The whole movie the mc acts out of protection and care, it was sad to see how the fmc couldn't do the same for him obviously. From prequel it's definitely a refreshing experience to see so much connection between them that we didn't get to see in season 1.
As a sequel that most people would want to see after the anime "beyond the boundary" __I would rate it a 9.3-9.5 depending on opinion.
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"I'll be here - future" is amazing in terms of a movie. First of all the pacing, concluding with exactly 1 hour and 30 minutes long, you may think its quite short at first, and yes, maybe I would like something like 2 hours myself. However, in those 1 hour and 30 minutes, we get to see all the stuff we need in terms of emotion and information. I dont think it even had 1 minute that I zoned out on, in fact maybe only to think about the plot, thats it.
Then the visuals, we can all agree the visuals is one of the most important aspects in a movie, maybe not in an anime where you get to see 12 episodes of the main plot, but in the movie it's definitely a deciding factor.
The visuals are fair to say one of the best I have ever seen, If not the best, for a movie. The movie is literally gorgeous to watch all the time, contains flawless animation from Kyoto Animation of course, and the best thing about it is how they use it. The visuals are clearly used to help deliver the emotion this movie contains, that's one of the reasons for the very high rating.
The characters, there is nothing that special about the characters except the mc, all of the side characters act according to their persona from the prequel. However, we get to see mc's character development the most. The main character turns from a small boy into some figure of a man by the end of the movie, we very clearly get to see that.
As a separate movie I would rate it a 9.2
Writing, there isnt exactly very much to say, I guess one of the cons would be that its kind of easy to predict whats happening in the movie, but I'm not sure if thats a factor to count in for the anime beyond the boundary. If we speak just about the emotions, it's not flawless, but it's kind of close. We get to see an amazing amount of emotional scenes in the movie, describing each of the character's decision making and personality overall. "
What I didnt like exactly about the writing is the whole "should we tell her" thing, it's a really basic concept in anime, almost too much animes decide to at least put one of the situations in the anime. Well I think the movie's focus should have been a little different, maybe it was better to put that sort of thing in the anime. Again, it's a really opinion based thing, I have seen too much animes with this so maybe I'm just annoyed to see it over again. But, what I did like the way they resolved it, well you see In most anime's they would just tell her, however, here they rather showed her with emotions.
Throughout the story, the characters struggle with painful memories, mistakes, and parts of themselves they wish they could erase. However, they learn that running away from the past only keeps them trapped. By facing their memories and accepting who they are, they gain the strength to move forward and build a happier future. The movie shows that our past, both the good and the bad, shapes who we become, and understanding it helps us grow stronger.
Another lesson is that the support of others can help us overcome even our darkest moments. The characters face loneliness, fear, and uncertainty, but they slowly realize that they do not have to carry their burdens alone. By trusting the people who care about them, they find the courage to keep fighting and to believe in themselves again. The movie shows that strong bonds and genuine care between people can give someone the strength to move forward, even after experiencing loss and pain.
It's certainly very hard to give this movie a direct rating, since first of all it's almost entirely opinion based. If I had to give it my opinion, a good 9.4 as a movie. For me this sequel was better than the anime itself and really a perfect ending to the series. All the use of emotions and pacing really made up for any disadvantage you could think. My opinion as a movie, 9.4.
But, if I put my emotions aside and focus on the writing on the movie it's probably around a 9.2 to be fair. The ending doesn't really END the whole series and leaves us on a blank. Maybe what would be more fitting is a 2 hour movie with an additional final fight, we got to see that in the anime however as a separate movie it would be better. So if I had to give it a rating purely unbiased and putting every emotion aside, I would say 9.1 - 9.2. However, that's an unfair rating as well.
Total fair rating in my opinion: 9.35/10
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