If you want a film that gives you tons of action, an incredibly complex story, or a dark tale, this isn't the movie for you. However, if you're in the mood for a stunning character piece that tells a simple but superb story than this is a movie for you. It tells it's story partially through the stunning body language displayed by the characters as while you might not hear what the characters are thinking all of the time, you can certainly gauge it from how they have their arms and legs positioned, expressions that briefly flash across their face, or how they are postured. Liz and The Blue Bird requires you to pay attention and it rewards you for doing so. It also uses music (It is a music anime) to give the most emotional moment of the movie that is soon followed by it's most enthralling part. The voice acting also carries the move to the next level as each actress gives an outstanding performance that gives further depth to their characters. You also don't really need to watch the series to get the characters as they were only side companions to the main story. But here, they take center stage and honestly surpass their predecessor in every regard. So yeah...go watch this movie.
Plot summary
Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki are a pair of best friends in their final year of high school. They're both obsessed with the school's brass band club. With Mizore on the oboe and Nozomi on the flute, they spend their days in happiness, until the club begins to practice songs inspired by the fairy tale Liz und ein Blauer Vogel - "Liz and the Blue Bird". Immersed in this story, Mizore and Nozomi begin to realize that there may be no such thing as being together forever.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Kyoto Animation's Masterpiece
For the Diehard Fan
Unless you're a diehard fan (trans: you have to be near death to not like ...) then this is really just slowww movvving poorly developed characters with a confusing script (i.e. relations between girls; background on individual personalities) that could have been much better. Plot: A bluebird becomes a human and friend, but friend has to decide if bluebird is better off as a bird vs. as a human friend. Problem: Humans, let the bird decide. Rest of it: Animation quality is typical poor 2-D flat unmoving painted backdrops with single (sometimes two if simple) moving foreground figures which usually move in an unnatural stilted way. Animation of foreground main characters are simple line drawings with no detail. Females, as is typical in animé, are sexualized w/big eyes, small chins, and unhealthily super skinny bodies. To further support that theme there are lots of shots of short skirts in motion.
Empty girly film.
Starting with backgrounds that are so dull. It's just classrooms, classrooms and classrooms... the environments are so repetitive that I wouldn't be surprised if they reused the same backgrounds multiple times. Yes, there are a bit more locations than classrooms, but the main setting is very dull.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I even understand this film. I'm not even fully convinced if the relation between the two main characters is an extremely passioned friendship or just plain lesbian romance.
Anyway, the film is totally girly. Conversations like "Do you think she hates me?" is definitely not my thing, and the whole film is all girly talks. They just make up these supposedly "big" problems out of thin air to make some cheap drama when there should be none. I couldn't relate to it at all. The characters are very immature, clearly dependent on each other, no self-respect at all. Their relationships felt way more like a creepy obsession of wanting to be loved than cute or inspiring.
The similarities between the book and the real life relationship has been explained so many times in the film that I don't see how the "big reveal" could be subtle at all. It seems that creators were possibly inspired by Clannad, but took the only thing I really disliked about it.
All in all, I could not find a single thing to like about this film, felt like an empty shell.