Thoughts on Tamako Love Story (no spoilers)

This is the non-spoiler version of my thoughts on the film. The non-spoiler version can be found here: http://pastebin.com/Hy7qaW7r

Where do I start with the film? Let's go from the short at the beginning. "Dera-chan on the Southern Island" was a nice comedic inclusion to allow us as viewers to see the island again and how things have changed there. It's a cute start and provides some laughs to start the film and stands opposite it as pure comedy. Ishihara did a good job directing it.

The film proper starts with some comedy aspects and then starts to segway into more serious topics. The ratio really drops to be very serious, but there's some good comedy moments interspliced. This film really helped flesh out the setting much more than what we saw in "Market" alone and adds to the entire franchise beyond what the love story aspect did.

I could not think of a way that Yamada could handle the love story any better than what she did. The entire story left me in utter awe. Though love isn't logical, the developments felt so much in character that not a single action felt awkward. I'm highly impressed with Yamada and Yoshida on the script. Those two did such a fantastic job.

Usually I'm rather blasse on subplots in movies, but Midori, Kanna, and Shiori never felt shoehorned in. There wasn't a single moment where I said "oh, this character's showing up as fanservice."

Yamada mentioned in an interview that she truly admires Horiguchi's actions and gestures as an animation director. This film really sunk that in for me. There were so many light gestures that felt so natural and fulfilling. Though it's not an action film, she kept everyone on model easily. Props have to go to Kigami, who did most of the genga, and Ishidate, for some wonderful animation cuts.

I have to combine three departments together as the final product would not have looked as nice as it did without the fine work of all three. The coloring staff/photography staff/background staff combined nice colors, wonderful filters, and detailed background work to make the film really feel like a film and not something you see on TV. Seeing it on Blu-ray was a visual treat.

The sound director gets my major kudos for the audio portion. I've listened to the soundtrack many times on my computer, so I greatly enjoyed seeing the visuals to attach to the music, but the sounds just really felt crisp and clear. It's only a stereo mix, but it sounds wonderful.

Some people will point to Hyouka as the visual peak from KyoAni, but I find Tamako Love Story to be a better work overall. It never feels like anything is wasted; lines, angles, artwork, etc. It's something I not only highly recommend people watch, but something I truly want everyone to watch.