January 22, 2025

Solid & Enjoyable film

The bonds between the main trio were excellent (especially between the 2 female leads, there’s very heavy subtext, at least in one direction, unclear if both), and it’s great how supportive they all were of each other. I felt like the resolution of the central conflict was a bit anticlimactic, but not necessarily bad.

One thing I really appreciated was that for a movie set largely in a Catholic school, it actually felt very Catholic (in comparison to say マリア様がみてる | L27 or 青い花 S1 | L24 where it feels like more of a background thing/plot device, a lot of the time). I particularly enjoyed the younger Sister (nun) character, and the way she navigated supporting these somewhat straying off-the-path students, while still staying firmly true to the strict rules of the institution.

Belief is a central theme of the film, coming from the director's own interest - in general and specifically with mission schools in Japan, which she mentioned have this duality of being institutionally Catholic, while having students from diverse religious backgrounds (or lack of).

The musical element was also very enjoyable & realistically done. You could tell they put a lot of thought into how a mixed-gender high school trio would interact, what they'd realistically be able (and inclined) to compose, etc. Also it was great that they put the theremin to more melodic use, rather than being there for sound effects (something which the director also commented, in a Q&A) was something she was aiming for)

Gradings:10
1
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on March 21, 2025
on March 21, 2025
easier than詩季織々L27
on March 21, 2025
easier than君の名は。L28
on March 21, 2025
on March 21, 2025
similar in difficulty to五等分の花嫁*L23
on March 21, 2025
similar in difficulty toやがて君になる S1L22
on March 21, 2025
easier thanNEW GAME!L23
on March 21, 2025
easier thanホリミヤ S1L25
on March 21, 2025
similar in difficulty to五等分の花嫁∽L22