Juliet Utsey, Contributing Writer
This 93-minute dalliance is a wonderful morning watch. The structure is intentionally nonlinear, expressing how time can seem to stretch on and on when you can’t stop saying yes. However, the tight-knit cast of characters provides the film with structure. This feeling also serves the film’s overall theme of happiness being something you have to actively pursue. The animation is quite lively thanks to the wonderfully simple style, and most of the characters feature monochromatic color palettes.
The animation sequence that stands out most is the psychedelic climax, with its scrambling hoard of people and the flying camera. The understanding of space is exquisite. This section of the movie also served as an exploration of the deuteragonist’s feelings toward his crush (the titular girl), particularly his feelings of reluctance, which humanizes him outside of his determination to win her heart.
My only criticism would be how the film handles cross-dressing, as the cross-dressing character is not only framed as somewhat antagonistic for most of the story, but also deceptive within the framing of the romantic subplot, with a notably strange declaration: “I’ll be a woman for you!” In general, the film’s third act was slightly weaker than the others, as the couple the audience was supposed to follow seemed to come out of nowhere, and the plot only occurred as a result of a flimsy coincidence.
Other than that the movie is wonderful, a peculiar little thing you can put on whenever you need to be reminded of the beautiful spiderweb of life, 7/10.