This is a very emotional love story about youth and adulthood, hopes and dreams, heartbreak and unforgettable connections. I loved the discussions of fate and of space. It did a beautiful job of taking inspiration from the song 'First Love', and the song itself was incorporated beautifully and made me tear up. The cinematography was stunning. That roundabout, the tree, the snow.. so much beautiful imagery. There are a lot of lovely details, some that you may not understand the significance in the moment.

There's a secondary storyline with Tsuzuru and Uta, and it worked really well to add contrast & to inspire nostalgia for the leads. The supporting characters are memorable, too. Yae's colleague Taro, Harumichi's sister and best friend, Yae's mother. Even Tsunemi, who I was prepared to dislike, was ultimately quite relatable.

The ending was satisfying, although I do wish that we'd seen some of the supporting characters one last time. I'm rating this so high because it brought me joy & succeeded in the story it wanted to tell.