Feb 24, 2019
As a prelude, I only read 2 chapters of the novel before diving in.
Okay, to start off, I'd like to say that I genuinely enjoyed myself. The main character wasn't the most entertaining, esp at the beginning, but Sakura is was very well characterized for the amount of time the directors were allocated to. The banter the two have is pretty entertaining sometimes, and I feel the MC's reactions to the whole situation is frankly pretty realistic.
Because lets be honest, how many of us are going to react positively when you randomly figure out a classmate you never talk to is going to die in
...
a year or two? Disinterest and an effort to avoid pressing further seems like a pretty reasonable response to me, he just happens to be a little more blunt about the whole ordeal.
Ok, lets start with Story:
Overall, I will admit that there's a good number of cliches, but the blending of "this is the reality of the situation" and the traditional romance cliches was very well done. I have to give props to the author for that. Everyone's that's watched/read a good amount of romance manga/anime/ln's has seen the the traditional "there's not enough room in the hotel, so you're in the same room" shenanigans go down. Normally it ends up with romantic or ecchi-filled tension, but in this case, it's made clear that the fact that the constant reminder of the girl is going to die fills the room with a very different sort of tension. You know, the tension of crippling mortality and an unwillingness to have lingering attachments when everyone parts ways. :)
You can pretty much expect that to hold true for most of the story. There *are* romantic cliches, but as I mentioned, crippling mortality lingering over the atmosphere is what really sets this movie apart from traditional romance animes.
Now I know what a lot of you are thinking: "Didn't Your Lie in April do it first?"
No no, it's true that they have similar preferences, but as one of the few that didn't enjoy Your Lie (plz don't lynch me), I really think Pancreas set itself apart. Sakura was characterized in 1h 48 minutes much better than the main girl of April was (what was her name again?). No, she didn't have any lofty goals, nor was she incredibly talented or glorified in any way. She was incredibly human, and that's what set her apart. Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you're going to die tomorrow or in a year. The unexpected happens, so it's best to live a fulfilling life for as long as you can. Yeah, April is going to get brought up a lot in this review. I mean, what'd you expect when main girl is confirmed to die soon? Oh wait, that's another thing. Cancer in April was random as fuck. You know from the start in this one.
Now lets summarize that!
+(from me) minimal ecchi distracting you
+a crippling sense of mortality
+doesn't have the pitfalls of Your Lie in April
-cliches
Art:
I think they did pretty good considering their budget. There's CG, there's montages, but we all know that they probably got shafted on the budget front, so I can forgive them for that. Considering the CG used, it wasn't terribly noticeable. Props to the animators for doing it low budget.
Sound:
One of my main cripes with April was that the music was hella good, so they threw sad anime music whenever anything even a semblance of sad popped up. It cheapened the whole thing when it actually mattered. Music here wasn't as good per-se, but it choices were nice and subtle, fit well, and it popped up when it mattered. I enjoyed it personally.
Character:
Yeah, I only read 2 chapters, but I have to say that this was lacking compared to the novel. Internal monologues from the MC in the novel facilitate *a lot* of his personality depiction, but that's hard on a screen. He had the personality of a brick for the first 45 minutes or so. Sakura was great. There was a lot of focus to the small things she does in the middle of their conversations that really adds personality to her character. The fact that she's about to die is often forgotten with how strongly her personality shines at certain times. Do i wish there weren't montages so that i could feel worse when the ending comes? Yeah, a little bit. Did I still feel like shit anyways? Yeah. There definitely could be more character development to both characters, but given the limited time, I think the animators and director did a good job.
Enjoyment:
Music and characters were what made the story for me. Some parts were a bit (or very questionable), but as a whole, I really enjoyed it. The weird scene where he pushed her onto the bed kind of caught me off guard, but it was clear on both ends that they were aware of how fucked up the situation had become. It wasn't glorified in any way, so i think that's fine. Ahh fuck, I need to finish the novel eventually.
P.S. When I finish the novel, I'll come back and update past this point if i remember.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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