This movie was one of the greatest pieces of film I have seen, that probably sounds weird but I don't think a director has ever had that much of an iron grip on my heartstring. I'm won't lie when I say I am more emotional than most people of my gender and age group. I have only cried 3 times because of some type of media, all of them were because of the immense emotional attachment I developed with the characters as I watched the movies/series (legend of Korra and how to train your dragon 3 for those who are interested).
That being said, I don't think I've ever cried this hard because of a movie before. Everything in the movie was brilliant, and it was a really fitting end to the first season of the anime, I think. I loved how each and every character was brought back to the movie to play an integral role in the movie. I originally already was impressed at how every side character in the anime had such depth and complexity to them, and seeing them all back together again- each one having a role in the movie was so wonderful to see. Not only that but they stayed true to their original character and did what each of them, individually, did best. Having them all play a role in the film I think is impressive and one reason why I really loved the film.
Another surprising aspect of this movie that really struck me was the surprisingly complex time-warping mechanics. Although it was a bit confusing at times, probably the movie's greatest shortcoming, it was still really interesting. I really liked how they really pushed the puberty syndrome to the next level with this really creative representation of it.
As a smaller but maybe equally important point, the music and animation are really pretty. The studio continues with a tradition of clean animation and a very nice, although maybe a bit unremarkable soundtrack. Following that up, the character designs in bunny girl have always been my favorite and although not many new characters were introduced the movie still acts as a great showcase of these great character designs.
Finally, I just really enjoyed the relationships in this movie. All of them. Not just Mai and Sakuta, but all the friendships are so fun to watch. If anything, the relationships are why I love this series so much. The writers really seem like they understand human relationships and connections. Maybe from experience or something else but it all feels so real at times. The yearning for someone to see beyond just your exterior, the yearning for someone that is out of reach, the yearning for someone to be by your side when times are tough; its all so touching.
In the end, this was one of the most important and impactful movies I've ever watched and I am looking forward to immersing myself more into the universe.