Sometimes keeping it simple is the trick, and Doukyuusei -Classmates- does just that. It's a simple and beautiful story of two young men falling in love with each other. I sometimes don't like how relationships are developed in films since they've limited time on their hands. This film manages to develop the relationship and the characters alongside, with the jump in time. We get the jest of how they are faring and in which directions they are heading next. As they fall in love with each other, Kusakabe and Sajou face problems like doubt, self-deprication and other relationship issues. And the filmmakers handled those issues quite well, nothing too melodramatic and even though at times it may seem they resolve issues quite easily, they do it in a realistic manner. Doubts are resolved through communication, even if one of them tries to avoid the situation. They dealt with some of the more common issues people face in a relationship really well and kept the resolutions realistic. I loved the scene with ribbon; yes, at times a relationship may be at the brink of death but if both partners try they can still save it. Yeah, it won't be the same as before, but who says a little difference is bad? Those struggles will make the relationship stronger for future storms they may face.

As for the characters, we've our two protagonists, Kusakabe and Sajou. The former is free and fun-loving, while the latter is shy and keeps to himself. The way they fall in love is kind of generic, but their innocence and pure love for each other makes up for it. Often times, the popular guy is a player but here it's not the case, and I'm quite thankful for that (Even though Sajou thinks that isn't the case sometimes). They learn from each other, grow with each other, and watching their relationship blossom through the impediments is a delight. As for other characters, we've Hara sensei; Kusakabe at first thought Sajou had a crush on him but thankfully that wasn't the case. He's a catalyst in reaching a lot of resolutions, and he helps the protagonists in different manner (I won't deny I thought something different when he called Sajou to his room, but thankfully it didn't totally go there). We also have Kusakabe's bandmate and friend who keeps on asking about his relationship with Sajou. His questions lead to some problems in the relationship and his main purpose is for reminding Kusakabe that Sajou is his first true love, so basically he is a plot device. So, yeah it's a two men movie.

I won't say I'm the biggest fan of the artstyle or animation, it's highly stylistic for sure but really simple too. They could do more than featureless faces. I will give them that sometimes the background looked good, especially the fountain area, it's simple but to me it feels so nostalgic.

I noticed the ost was very minimalistic as the movie progressed, and the music piece for Kusakabe's band was average at best. But, the song that was played with the credits was really beautiful and it stuck with me. The voice actors did their work quite well, they expressed well without making it melodramatic.

So, all in all I enjoyed this film a lot. It has two decent characters, highly stylistic animation (and simple), and a beautiful innocent love story at the core.