Hanamizuki

Wow, that was long. And yet almost nothing happened in those two hours. I've seen stories like this at least a hundred times. That's why you have to put something more into it to make it stand out from the rest. And that didn't happen here. Plus, their relationship seemed awfully cold to me. The actors were mediocre. The music was nice, but that's about it. This was definitely a bad choice for me... 2 stars. (22.06.2015)

For how the beginning charmed me and seemed beautifully natural and pleasant (I was grinning at the interaction between those two), the ending was fake, drawn out, and altogether disappointing. Honestly, the characters played by Mukai Osamu and Renbutsu Misako just felt like they were added to the headcount to stretch it out and add drama. A beautiful start, where I never doubted I would give it 4 stars, was ultimately spoiled by a weak ending. (And yet the scene where the two see each other after the wedding and the dogwood petals start falling... that was great from both an artistic and an emotional perspective.) It's slow, pretty, and mediocre on the whole. There’s no harm in watching it. (29.10.2013)