itsshou

This show portrays traditional Chinese drama perfectly - in animation form! The director made the plot simpler by putting all the flashbacks into one season, instead of the way the novel did it. All the characters are elaborated perfectly. Would've had a 10/10 if they kept the relationship between Lan Zhan and Wei Ying... But we all know that's not possible since it's China :/

I really enjoy this anime! Each character is elaborated, and has their own unique personality. The plot is quite cheerful, while adding in a wave of tears towards the end, right after you get attached to the characters. Very inspirational too! Definitely recommend for people who are feeling some drama and J-Pop.

I must say, amazing animations!

HOWEVER,

There is zero development on the side characters. ZERO.

In the manga, each side character is explained and has their own backstory, and I think that adds much more meaning to the entire plot.

Yuzuru is such a wonderful character yet only 10% of her concern and love for Shoko is shown in the movie. They never explain why she took photos of dead things. They never elaborated on her actions and words.

Each one of Shouya's friends has their own backstory, however it's all thrown out the window and all we get are characters with random actions.

The entire story would be better if made into a short series. A movie is simply too short to explain everything.

Please just read the manga and don't watch the movie, you'd get a lot more out of it.