Spoilers mostly in the second paragraph, but you already knew those would be here.

Belle is my favorite movie. I was just eleven when I first saw it in theaters, but I was already enthralled. I've petitioned to rewatch it with many of my friends for years now, and no matter how many times I go through it, it never gets old. The world of U is so beautiful to me. It seems like the perfect execution of a metaverse concept, and nothing else I've seen can beat it. The characters are so loveable, and I'm so heartbrokenly sympathetic with their (and especially Suzu's) struggles that I've been brought to tears by the

Spoiler, click to view

"A Million Miles Away"

scene more than once. Many people have said that the movie doesn't execute it's ideas well, and leaves things floating, but I think that personally many of the things left unsaid allow the viewer's mind to wander and make up their own ideas. The soundtrack, in both Japanese and English, is also gorgeous, and I applaud both of Suzu's VA's, the casting team, and the three composers for putting it together. Finally, the animation is so seamless between the extremely well-executed and complicated 3D world of U and the simple, slow, painting-esque earth that it alone makes this movie worth a shot.

Now, onto the many flaws of the movie. Starting off strong, the plot starts from nothing and has an awful message.

Spoiler, click to view

After the beast attacks Bell(not Belle, that's technically a nickname)'s concert, we basically immediately jump to Suzu and Hiroka trying to find the guy. There is absolutely no reason for this. You either take this as Suzu having "love at first sight" for a fanged monster being hunted by vigilantes, or she just wants revenge for the Beast invading her concert, which doesn't fit her character at all. This plot of trying to find out and "unveil" the beast, as well as Suzu's unveiling at the end and everything else, portray internet security and secure identities awfully. I think perhaps Hosoda was trying to tell a story of self-acceptance with this movie, with Suzu relinquishing the mask of her perfect AS self at the end to do that, but if that's what this movie was going for, they sure don't show it. Other than that, my issues with the film are too minor to even mention here.

More random positives to close it out, the sheer amount of character designs that were fully 3d modeled as insignificant background characters blows me away. My favorite characters are Hiroka and Shinjiro, mostly because I relate with their crazy confidence, over-the-top personalities, and will to back up their friends(and also glasses girl is usually best girl). The thing I'm most impressed by in the movie is that it strays away from cliches, even ones that the characters themselves fall for.

Spoiler, click to view

The moment where Suzu says "which one is the real you" to the beast and angel implies that Belle thinks they're the same person, and though she knows the body-sharing would make that impossible, she assumes it because it seems like the think that would happen in a movie like this. The other one is the assumption that the beast is someone we know, obviously assumed by most to be Shinobu, but is actually a seemingly insignificant character we meet many hours back.

This subversion is clearly intentional(I mean, I hope it was intentional and I'm not yapping about nothing) to set the movie apart and catch those that seem like they understand it off guard, but I can see why many dislike it, as it can make the film feel scattered.

Thanks for reading, and I don't get pissed off by your opinions, so don't get pissed off at mine.