Totsukuni no Shoujo (2022)

Fans all over the world gathered to bring this piece of art to life. I was one of them! We have waited for a year for this to be released, and man...it was worth the wait. For me it really was. I started reading this manga a few years ago and I consider it my all time favorite, so I had big hopes for this movie.

As for my review, first off however, people who are familiar with the mangas might feel a little empty after watching it at first; the plot is gradually changed, however the very essence you feel between Shiva and Sensei(what the ... manga is known for) is still there. A lot of the 11 volumes story has been scrapped to be fit within a 1 hour long timeframe. A lot of the details misses or even some of the big parts, but I think that is actually fine.

Instead, we got an hour long movie about the acceptance and understanding of two individuals who were lonely, but find each other's company and warmth to live on for. The acceptance of a strange monster, shunned by the outside world...yet a small little girl that led herself into its heart - a forbidden love and friendship, presented in a very magical and colorful way. Wit Studios really did well to bring Nagabe's world and artstyle to life.

This is the base of the story that was still kept which the manga readers enjoyed about this series. And some of the smaller yet pivotal parts are still there a well.
So despite the many cuts and alters, it still left me satisfied despite wishing for a bit more details in there, but that is entirely fine as I said.
For an hour long movie, understanding the essence of this story which Nagabe created, it did really well.

They really should have made a short series instead of just an Ova. I struggled even giving this a score of 6

This adaptation doesn't make much sense being that it's so abstract, the whole point and mystery of the story which everything is tied together, is lost. All the content that is specific for comprehensive world build, had to be completely removed. Visually appealing but the story is just lacking. Shame cause what's presented in the manga is so uniquely interesting, that there isn't a manga out there quite like it that I'm even aware of. 😕

If one has watched the Ova and ... found the basic premise of the story mildly interesting I recommend reading the manga series where everything is more fleshed out, and has the technical structure of a beginning, middle and end without any pacing issues to speak of. My score given to the manga was a high 9 and there was no struggle for me to rate it so generously.

All vibes, no substance.

This adaptation inserts just enough major plot points from the manga to call itself an adaptation, but forgets to include the reasons these events happen.

Sensei does not stop whining about being cursed, Shiva cries about being abandoned. There's no Aunt, there's no threat, no one is really chasing them. They just go around, checking off major plot points for no good reason, go to Mother in the lake, receive an answer not heard by the audience and set off into the sunset, happily ever after.

Shiva's VA has decided to portray her with a pitch so high that it makes the character lose ... depth. The ED song just sounds infantile.

The animation moves at about 2 frames per second and can show off a few beautiful moments - all of them were in the trailer, which made a better job of adapting the manga than the film itself.

Overall, the characters are there, and there is some semblance of plot, and there is animation. And not much beyond that. A poor excuse of an adaptation, done by people who give the impression to either not know or not care what the source material was about. If you gave your money to this Kickstarter project, you tell yourself whatever you need to justify that choice, but we both know this was one big, 22-million yen, 70-minute nothing.