What a lovely yet tragic story! Death is never easy, the one concept no matter how much you pretend, you could never fully comprehend. Living with a fatal disease isn't easy, and you don't know how you'll behave at all. Hence, I didn't find the optimistic attitude of Sakura to be too odd at first. And as the movie continued, we could finally see how much of that was pretence rather than true optimism, and just like she said no one's doing that to lie but to keep the others' from worrying too much. And I truly feel that sentiment, I never like others to be worried sick because of me. So, despite her and Haruki feeling like an odd combination at first (they are totally opposite), it works out. He may not be dying but Haruki isn't truly living either, so both of them in their time together, helped the other get better with their own selves. Haruki became more open and expressive; no longer thinking of social relationships as chains tying you down, and Sakura learnt to love herself and not keep the mask on her face. She changed his world, and he changed her. In true sense they're like yin and yang, totally opposite but perfect together.
I really love both of our main characters, they may seem to be the stereotypical romance characters at first, but over the course of the film they grow. The character development of Haruki is really subtle and never felt rushed, thanks a lot to the pacing and the dialogues (which never seem to bombard your cognitive process). Moreover, it's their relationship that I really enjoyed. It developed alongside them, and just as Sakura said, their relationship can't be described as neither romantic nor platonic, its a breed of its own. I really appreciate the film for bringing out that kind of relationship to life. Apart from them, the supporting cast isn't anything note worthy. I actually felt slightly annoyed by Kyoko, I understood her reason for feeling frustrated but still her behavior came off as too overbearing and rude. Regardless, the protagonists are strong enough to outweigh a weaker supporting cast.
The animation is pretty good, it's not grand but I think that works in the favour of the movie; since it gives a slightly more grounded look. But that doesn't mean the visuals aren't gorgeous; the lighting is beautiful and certain scenes do look really stunning. The character designs are pretty decent, nothing extraordinary but they work. The soundtrack and the sound design is really good in this movie. Most of the music used is strings, and it stays mellow for most part reminding us constantly about the impending death. And when it's time to go off, it does go off with the swelling of the strings but still maintaining that odd and dark sense of impending doom in the back. Some of the scenes don't use any music, and that works quite well to give the scenes a far more raw feeling. I really liked the insert song, and the ed was pleasing to the ears as well (thanks to the booming voice of the singer). The voice acting is quite good.
So, if I had to give an overall opinion, it's really good. Is it perfect? No, there are some obvious plot devices (in the 3rd act) at play, and the supporting cast isn't quite on par as full fledged characters. But that being said, the movie did evoke emotions from me and I shed a few tears at the end. I never knew I'd say that death could feel so heartbreaking yet fulfilling. I would for sure recommend this movie to others.