Her Blue Sky

Mari Okada / Tatsuyuki Nagai. A match made in heaven. One of my favorite pairings in all of anime. I don't know a single thing I've disliked made by the combination of the two of them, and Mari Okada specifically is one of my all-time favorite writers. I had such high expectations for this movie...which perhaps was the mistake I made, because boy was it such a disappointment. I should have expected this from Cloverworks, who did Bunny Girl Senpai along with the movie which clearly wasn't movie quality, much like this. Ultimately, I feel as though "Her Blue Sky" would have worked much better asa 1-cour series and it honestly does seem like it was cut down to a movie due to budget constraints, although obviously that's just speculation. Story: 4/10 There is absolutely nothing original about this story. That doesn't mean it's bad, it just... well, like someone else said, exists. It wasn't really confusing to follow at all, but the main issue was that too many characters were included, too many things were going on, and the focus was spread out far too much for a less-than-2-hour movie. Half the time it felt like a slice-of-life story, a quarter of the time it felt like a supernatural mystery, and the other quarter felt like a romantic drama. Not all even in any specific order; interspersed throughout, which led to a distinct lack of atmosphere and connection to the characters. There were too many random shots of people playing music, scenery, and nothing plot-related that it felt like they were trying to find things to fill the time which is just super confusing to me because the story that they were trying to tell in the first place felt rushed as it was. The lack of cohesiveness in tone and atmosphere throughout the story really led to me feeling absolutely nothing during the climax of the movie, what was supposed to be the most emotional point - and then, the story just abruptly ended. I guess it was trying to tell the story of not giving up on your dreams and realizing that even after time, what your heart most desires can come true - but that was just one subplot for one or two of the characters. What was it trying to convey to us - what was the story for the protagonist? What did she get out of it? When you can't even figure out what the plot was about in relation to the main character of the damn story... I don't know what to say. It felt like we were following around a protagonist and yet nothing in the story was actually meant to be about her and she was just a device used to serve the story of the two other mains. I don't even know what I'm trying to say at this point, other than the story felt almost non-existent, that things were just happening just for the sake of happening. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good, and it failed at creating an atmosphere where I cared about what was happening or felt drawn-in. Again, I really feel as if it would have worked better focusing entirely on only the main characters, cutting out the side characters, and making it entirely character-driven with no other real events occurring. The way the plot was, in order for it to feel realistically developed, the story definitely needed way more time than what was granted for the movie. Basically, the plot had potential and failed mainly because there wasn't enough time to adequately tell the story they were trying to tell. Art/Animation: 4/10 There are definitely some beautiful still shots here. Extremely realistic, and full of life, a sharp contrast to the plot. Sadly, like the premise of the movie, the art is fool's gold. I'm almost positive that at least half the shots in this movie, if not more, were photographs passed through filters made to seem like they were drawn or painted when really they were just pictures taken. There's just too much detail, too much distinct lettering and small items in the background shots for them to have been all drawn. But it looks visually stunning! Because it looks realistic!...because it's actually real images that aren't drawn. Because nothing in the backgrounds were actually moving, i.e. the backgrounds were all just stills, it leads to even more credence in my theory. In Shinkai's films, all of the backgrounds are alive. Here, the backgrounds are just static. The only things really animated at all in this are the characters, which are drawn very inconsistently throughout the movie with such a clear discrepancy in detail between them and the backgrounds, that they feel jarring and clash with the backgrounds. Even if all the backgrounds *were* hand-drawn or painted, the design of the characters style clashes stylistically with them. There are shots with characters' faces not even attempted to be drawn-in because they're at somewhat of a distance away - yet inexcusable for a movie to not have faces drawn in because it was 100% possible for them to have accurately been drawn-in. There are shots with characters off-model with little-to-no detail in their clothing. Why would the studio go the extra mile for beautifully-hand-drawn, ultra-realistic backgrounds yet drop the ball hard on character art? I don't know. I don't think they would have, but I'm not going to through out baseless accusations that a lot of the backgrounds were photographs; only state my personal suspicions that they were. Sound: 6/10 Sound design was fine. The instrumentation was cool - meaning the actual instruments that were played by the characters in the movie. The soundtrack did not stand out in the least - not a single track was memorable for me. The voice acting was probably the strongest part of the sound. It's hard to go wrong on sound and at least the music choice was fitting. Character: 3/10 The protagonist felt like a plot device for a story being told about the side main characters. The movie clearly wasn't about her yet it tried to make the emotional climax about her and it failed miserably because I felt nothing for her because the story wasn't focused on her. She felt very one-dimensional, I personally saw zero development in her character throughout the entire film, and she didn't gain anything from the events that took place in the film. Further, some of her actions felt groundless - mainly including her personal feelings towards one of the other characters - which I am attributing to the lack of time to properly show development. It felt like her particular feelings towards the character went from 0-100 in no time at all without any real interaction between the two. How she specifically acted towards that character - after 3-4 scenes with that character, practically no time at all - felt unbelievable and unrealistic. Regarding the other characters, the other two mains - I don't really get how their feelings for one another occurred either, especially considering how the one character was behaving and his attitude for most of the first half of the movie. Furthermore, I just don't get how over a span of 13 years apart, things could have realistically developed again. Lots of things change over 13 years, what ended up happening just felt forced yet again because there wasn't enough time for adequate development. As for the side characters, they're important enough to have screentime and lines, yet not important enough for anything they say to really have any impact on the story. Like, they were there, yet they played no role in the story other than being there. They had lines and moments, yet none of what they did impacted the development of the story or even how the main characters acted. I didn't see the purpose of a lot of characters and the narrative could have been much tighter had the movie focused solely on the main characters. Enjoyment: 5/10 I wasn't bored enough to drop the movie, it had my entire attention throughout, yet I felt absolutely nothing for it or any of the other characters. I enjoy things the most that pull me into the world through worldbuilding and development, both of which "Her Blue Sky" did not succeed at properly doing. I think I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more had it been an entire series. There was simply too much going on and not enough focus to have me connected to the story even though I was never actually bored. For this reason I give "Her Blue Sky" a 4.5/10, the definition of mediocrity for me. Good premise, just not fit for a movie.

although this anime seems like the full plot is about time travelling, honestly the time travelling part barely felt relevant until the end of the series Story: 7/10 the plot was just,,, well blend. the story was almost boring, and it felt like the plot could have included more, and the story had so much room for improvement, and the characters could have been better developed, but sadly this was not achieved. however, credit has to be due to the way the romance aspect of the show was handled during this series, giving you a smile on your face towards the end of the movie, character 8/10 thecharacters were all interesting, but was not allowed to be developed in this film. the characters all had their flaws presented in the early stage of the film, but some were never fully addressed overall, i would not recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a romantic musical anime, but if you are just looking to spend some time with your significant other or just chill in your room and kill some time, by all means go ahead

Just writing my review right after watching this movie. THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW, BE WARNED!!! (Almost Spoiler-free) Story: 4/10 The story is really confusing at the start until that red-haired character showed up later in the movie. Just imagine the same person meeting each other but they are in different timelines. (This is some time travelling stuff) The main point of the story is falling in love with the same person who you had relationship with before. Personally, I don't really like the story so that's the main reason why I gave it a 4. Art: 9/10 Art is exceptionally good in this movie. On par with Your Nameand Weathering with You. People who likes anime with good art should try to watch this movie. Sound: 7/10 Sound is somewhat good to me and gets a decent score from me easily. I won't get into this because I don't critique music well. Character: 6/10 Character development is pretty okay. All the characters are pretty interesting to watch, especially the red haired guy. I won't get into this because I only know the character for only 1 hour+ and may have to rewatch this sometime. Enjoyment: 4/10 If I don't enjoy the story, I also won't get to enjoy the movie. Trust me, some decent Korean dramas have way better plot than this. Overall: 5/10 I will cut it short. - If you like good art anime, this movie you should give it a try. - If you like good plot anime, avoid this movie. - If both, I recommend avoid.

From the trailer, Her Blue Sky looked decent enough. A well-produced and animated coming of age story with aspiring musicians that was helmed by key members behind Anohana, a solid, rather melodramatic, tearjerker. Instead of rising to the level of the aforementioned series, Her Blue Sky instead imitates the mediocrity of the team's other work, Anthem of the Heart. One thing all three productions have in common is a fantasy element. While I didn't have an issue with this in the other two titles, it felt unneeded here, exploring feelings of the past that would have been better relegated to subtext. In fact, Japanese films andanime have a rather tiresome penchant for injecting rote fantasy elements into an otherwise ordinary story as of late. It often amounts to adding boatloads of spice to a bland dish. The film is a typical slice of life about following your dreams (or not) and growing up. The two paths are represented by Shinno, the ghost with the same youthful ambition as the main character, and Shinnosuke, who isn't following his dreams. The latter is a gruff, unfulfilled musician, playing in a crappy enka band that no one in the show seems to enjoy, and I doubt many of the people watching this movie would either. Not only do we get to see Shinnosuke panty-chase after the main character's sister, but the main also had a crush on the old version of Shinno, and is like "Oh, senpai, I always loved you and wanted to tell you uwu, but now you're a creepy old guy about to marry my sister... NO!" when talking to the ghost. An unnecessary child character also tags along just to confirm to the audience that the main is not crazy. There's added "comedy" and animu shenanigans as she prevents her sister from walking into find ghost Shinno. The fantasy element was unnecessary and all of it could have been embedded in the subtext. As it is, it's no more than a distraction. The characters spend all their time rehearsing their music, but the buildup never went anywhere, leaving an empty feeling. The problem is that the enka music was presented as lame in the film and seemingly wouldn't have been satisfying as a conclusion or a pivotal scene, since it seemed to be a part of Shinnosuke having given up on his dreams (and the vocalist is awful). With the ridiculous flying sequence at the end and all the Shinno nonsense, there wasn't enough time for the characters to make any kind of alternative music. It really feels like if they cut out all the fantasy fat, then maybe Aoi and Shinnosuke, after finally settling their differences, could have gotten a band together alongside the enka music practice, having the film conclude with one of their very own songs they put all of their passion into. Not to say this isn't a cliche ending, for I've seen this in other movies and series, but this is just typical payoff for a movie about a band. Even if they decided this didn't work and wanted to go in a different direction, as they did, it's surprising that a movie so focused on music actually has very little GOOD music. I've never seen a film about a band that was so musically boring. Some of the character interaction is decent or quite good, but much of it felt rushed and underdeveloped. The main spends so much time talking to the old Shinno, resulting in her never really getting to know the real Shinnosuke. While the main's female friend was probably a good and needed inclusion, she never really has much to do in the short running length of the film, and I question if she also should have been excised or given a few extra scenes. In conclusion, this is an okay slice of life drama with an unneeded fantasy element. It's watchable, but Anohana or Ghibli films like Only Yesterday would probably be a better choice.