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After almost a year of avoiding any kind of spoilers and resisting the temptation of asking my friends on their thoughts on this critically acclaimed film in full detail, I finally got the opportunity to watch "Kimi no Na wa." a few months ago when the Blu-ray came out in all of its 1080p glory.

And, well, let's start with the good stuff first.

(Anyway, there's a TL;DR in the end if you're too lazy to read everything)

Art - 10

Do I even need to explain myself here? The art and animation in this movie was gorgeous. Every shot, every background image, the character movement. It was beautifully ... rendered and executed. I found my eyes sticking to our television because of how pretty all the colors went and blended with each other. Some of the shots looked so realistic that I had to make sure if I was watching an anime or not.

Really though, most of the frame in this film can serve as a good wallpaper. That's when you just know how amazing the art is. Props to Makoto Shinkai for giving us an extremely memorable cinematic experience.

Sound - 10

God, I totally LOVE the soundtrack for this movie. No, not just the more popular ones like Nandemonaiya, or Zen Zen Zen se, but every track in the OST album. In fact, the only other reason why I really wanted to watch this movie (aside from its great popularity) is because I heard all of its OST from my friend's phone. The dramatic instrumentals which consist of pianos and other stringed instruments (Kataware Doki being my favorite) just made a huge impact on me as someone who also plays piano and a bit of violin on the side. But, honestly, all the instrumentals are really good to listen to.

RADWIMPS was the perfect choice for the tracks with vocals. I honestly can't imagine any other band singing Sparkle or Yume Tourou.

When I heard these songs playing in the movie, it just made me feel happy. They fit so well, especially when you know the meaning of the lyrics. They resonated so well with the scenes that it just makes you feel a mix of emotions that you can't explain.

And here I am a year later, listening to this same OST on repeat while writing this review. You know, just to give you an idea of how much I love the music in this film (as if I didn't make that clear enough).

Story - 7

...okay.

This is where things start to get a little, uh, rocky.

Although I thought the end was wrapped up pretty nicely, the whole story in general was a bit lacking in my opinion. To give you all a basic summary, this is how the story goes:

Mitsuha and Taki are both teenagers living completely different lives in completely different locations in Japan. Mitsuha is a country girl who lives near the mountains, while Taki is your typical city boy. One day, they, for some reason, have the ability to switch bodies at random times when they wake up first thing in the morning. As time goes on, they decide that they want to meet each other. And, well, there are twists along the way.

Nothing new, honestly. Although, the twists did do a good job of surprising me, but that's where it ends. The ending also left me with a bittersweet feeling.

Characters - 6

Now, the constant problem with films is that they usually don't have enough time to flesh out characters to make them memorable enough to the viewers so they won't forget their names after their scene is up.

Kimi no Na wa has that same problem.

Alright, I challenge you to give me a name of a character from this film that's not Taki or Mitsuha.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Granted, the main focus of this film is that its primary focus is solely on our two main protagonists. However, the film manages to fail fleshing out the characters of these two main leads that they become quite one dimensional.

Little spoiler, but that one scene where Taki finds out about Mitsuha's past was a little underwhelming. It felt to me like it was just put there to make the audience know more about Mitsuha in a span of a few minutes. Spoiler alert, it doesn't work that way. But, hey, at least the art in that scene was beautiful.

Just who is Mitsuha? Just who is Taki? Does Taki even have a backstory to back up and justify his own actions in the film?

I may have missed something while watching this, but I don't think I got clear answers to these questions at all.

Personal enjoyment - 8

Despite all of these flaws, I still enjoyed watching this film. Although, it was more because of the soundtrack and art rather than the characters and the actual plot.

Does this film deserve the praise it's getting? Well, yeah. But how about the massive popularity it has achieved? We may have differing opinions, but I don't think even Makoto Shinkai expected this film to reach this level of popularity.

Overall, I give this an 8 out of 10. Great film if you want to watch something with amazing animation.

TL;DR
+ Amazing soundtrack
+ Just as amazing art and animation
+ A great cinematic experience
+ Great to watch if you just want to watch any random movie
+ The twists were pretty surprising

- The movie fails to flesh out the characters despite only having their primary focus on two of them, making them feel one-dimensional
- Story isn't anything new, really

While I was looking for anime to binge watch for my summer break, I stumbled upon this show. When I first read the synopsis, I didn't expect much at all. It only looked like a comedy anime that revolved around cute girls doing cute things. However, I ended up watching Gabriel Dropout anyway since I had nothing else to do. That was a decision I don't regret making.

Story - 6
Well, the thing is, there is no actual story.
In the first episode, we are to introduced to the main character, Gabriel, who is graduating to become a full-fledged angel, and is apparently the top angel ... in their class. As a final test for all the future angels, they are to attend high school in the human world to closely observe humans. Many people placed their hopes and trust in Gabriel, telling her that they knew that she was going to go far and achieve a lot of heavenly things.

Eventually, Gabriel arrives at Earth as an angel in disguise, but when she gets exposed to the human entertainment that is video games, her personality does a full 180° turn. Instead of helping people out, she now spends her time locked up in her apartment playing video games. Instead of calling herself an angel, she now calls herself a "faillen" angel.

The anime tells the story of the wacky things that happens to Gabriel and her just as wacky companions in their everyday lives.

Art - 7
There's nothing special or unique about the art and animation in this anime, in my opinion. I mean, I haven't really seen anything amazing from Doga Kobo, the animation studio for this, yet. We've seen something like this before, so there really isn't anything to gush about. Although, it does successfully manage to set the tone for the show and deliver the message, "this is a comedy anime!" to the viewers loud and clear. The art and animation does its job, and that's most important.

Sound - 8
To be honest with you all, the only music I really paid attention to was the OP. I thought it was extremely charming in its own way. Go on and give the OP song a listen. What do you think about it? Yes, it's energetic. Yes, it's loud. But more importantly than that, it sounds like everyone singing is just having tons of fun. Heck, the lyrics make it seem like they aren't even singing at all! Read the English translation, it sounds like the four main characters are just having a normal conversation with each other. Honestly, I think this is genius and amazing. Sure, this may not be the first anime song to do this, but I really liked how did it in this OP.

The voice acting is great, really. A huge part of why the comedy works is the excellent voice acting. If it weren't for that, then I think that the comedy wouldn't have such a strong effect.

Characters - 9
The four main characters: Gabriel,Vigne, Raphiel, and Satania, are extremely lovable and really naturally funny.

You have Gabriel, the shut-in angel turned into "faillen" angel. Vigne, the demon in training that is more angelic than demonic. Raphiel, the angel who makes questionable decisions when it comes to having fun (most of which involve a certain "archdemon"). And Satania, the archdemon who is just a total airhead.

There isn't a single dull moment when these 4 are at the same place at the same time. The way they interact with each other is really entertaining, and, of course, funny. Call me immature if you don't appreciate this kind of humor, but I found everything really funny. I would constantly just smile and laugh like an idiot during every single episode.

Personal enjoyment - 10
I absolutely loved every single second I spent watching this show. All the jokes had me laughing out loud at every moment. I wish the anime never ended, sigh.

Overall - 9
If you're looking for a chill comedy anime to watch, then I recommend this show. You might like it, or you might not like it. It depends if the humor in this show is the kind of humor you actually like. It's a hit or miss kind of situation, really. I know people who thought the humor was too immature for their tastes. I just so happened to be the type who likes this kind of comedy. So, if you're anything like me, then you're sure to love this show just as much or even more than I do.

(ONLY 4 EPISODES HAVE BEEN RELEASED AS OF THE TIME I'M WRITING THIS. RATING WILL MOST LIKELY CHANGE TOWARDS THE END OF THE SHOW.)

Having read the manga, it's needless to say that I was totally hyped when an anime for Kakegurui was announced to be in the works. I still remember getting so excited for episode 1 that I ended up waiting all night just to watch it. Of course, there were still doubts on the back of my mind. What if this adaptation turns out to be disappointing? But the thing was, I didn't even need to worry about that stuff, because this adaptation ... didn't disappoint me at all.

Story - 9
This is basically a high school anime in which high school students are required to gamble each other for rank, status, and popularity. If a student finds himself in a huge debt, then it's anything but good since those who are in the bottom 100 are to be labelled as "housepets", the lowest of the low. This is the situation that one of our main characters, Ryouta Suzui, finds himself after losing in a gamble with another main character, Saotome Mary.

It is said that if you find yourself in the housepet position, then it's impossible for you to get your status back. Suzui thought so too, that is, until a gambling maniac by the name of Jabami Yumeko suddenly transfers into the school.

This anime mainly follows Yumeko as she gets involved in various gambles with a lot of people, with her goal being the cause of the gambling madness: the student council president.

The pacing in this anime is good. It's not too fast, and it's not too slow. In my opinion, it's just right.

Art - 10
I absolutely adore how this is animated. It perfectly captures the atmosphere of certain scenes. For example, the anime is in a normal school life kind of part, the animation is more normal and calm, but when a gamble begins, then the whole feel of the show changes because of the way the animation slightly changes. The whole scene suddenly becomes more tense and gripping. This is most obvious in scenes where Yumeko becomes truly mad in gambling.

Also, special mention the OP animation, I think it's just gorgeous and sets the tone for the show.

Sound - 9
I immediately fell in love with the OP and ED when I first heard them both. But I have to say that I like the OP more. How should I describe it, I wonder? Well, Kakegurui [i]is[/i] a show about gambling, and, this OP is, for lack of a better word, jazzy. A perfect match, if I do say so myself.

I have no issues with the voice acting. Everything is exactly how I imagined it to be, especially with Yumeko and Mary. Yeah, Yukino, the always calm and collected high school girl from OreGairu, she's a gambling maniac now. Feel old yet?

Character - 8
Now, what I consider to be the weakest aspect of this series is the characters. Yes, all of them are interesting in their own little ways, but I find it difficult to point out characteristics that
make them unique, and as a result, they're quite forgettable. Well, except for Yumeko, I guess. She has the "going crazy in gambles" thing going for her, so good for her. However, the other characters aren't as memorable. Especially Suzui (who is ironically a main character), he's kind of "just there" all the time so the viewers have someone to explain what's going on to them.

Personal Enjoyment - 10
What were you expecting? The Kakegurui manga is in my favorites, so I still would have given this a 10 based on personal enjoyment even if it did end up being a terrible adaptation. I've been hooked since episode one, and I can't wait for all the future episodes.

Overall - 8
Honestly, I'd give this a 10, but I think it's still too early to give this adaptation a final verdict. All I know is that I'm really enjoying what the Kakegurui anime is offering us right now. (Will most probably change overall score as the show progresses.)

Even if you haven't read the manga, or aren't into this kind of anime, I still recommend trying to at least watch the first episode. Who knows? You might just come to like it too.

EDIT: I finished watching this a week ago. Don't believe everything I said here. The original ending turned this potential great anime into a piece of shit. Go read the manga. My final rating is a 5/10.