This rating and review is strictly based on the movie and its representation of the original plot, and not based on the the original story.
The characters physical portrayal vs. anime:
The main characters looked very much like the original. This was probably the best part of the movie.
The characters and acting:
the acting was awful, particularly the actor for Hatchiko (Nana Komatsu). The actor tried to remain true to the anime character and one could see she was trying very hard. However she lacked sincere emotion. The true manifestation of the loneliness and state of desperation was a fail in coming across to me as a viewer. I was not convinced that Hatchiko was lonely. Just pretending to be a happy go lucky girl, and even so it seemed forced, but not because she was lonely but rather she just wasn't used to showing her emotions.
The plot representation.
The very basic storyline was well represented but it completely left out the message of youth, the recklessness of youth and the impact of fear of abandonment and loneliness during youth.
Score and music:
this could have made the movie. As it stands because of its absence, it broke the movie. The anime used music to transfer the emotion to the viewers. The movie could do something similar. Music is fundamental to the storyline and its a shame that it wasn't used to the fullest advantage, to connect with the viewers. The movie became cringe worthy because there were intense scenes that were so quiet i just kept fast forwarding because it just wasnt doing the scene justice.
