This review is based on me watching the movie first and reading the manga second within a few hours apart from each other. Pardon the comparison.

To start off, and it may even be a contradiction to my prior statement, the movie and the manga feel like two different stories. The movie leaves out details that have bothered viewers that were faithful to the source material. However, the movie works around these changes and in turn change scenes accordingly, and it feels justified.

My point being. the movie is better in a sense of value, the amount of time spent vs the enjoyment received from it.

Spoilers ahead.

One of the main problems that I have with the manga is the fact that some of the supporting characters are not fleshed out and fail to redeem themselves.

Take Miki Kawai, the narcissist of the supporting characters, we discover that she is one of the people watching and laughing along with shouko's bullying. When she mentions to stop the bullying they are halfhearted and are said just for the sake of saying it. Which is fine and in fact makes sense for a child to do so. However, when the scope of the film is for not only Ishida's redemption but the reflection of the other characters wrongdoings, I find an issue where this character finds nothing wrong about herself throughout all this time. This character is not only a blight on the movie but even in the source material itself which is unforgivable. There are moments where its clear that she cares for the misfortune that befalls the main characters Ishida and Shouko but its not justified. There are at least 4 other supporting/minor characters that fall victim to this. I'd rather they just be cut from the plot in general....

There are details within the manga that I desperately wanted in the movie, they give context to the actions the characters take, but I think in general the movie took a better approach than the manga. .


The ending, the manga is a failure for closure, not in the sense that leaves me wanting more but rather I felt neutral about how it ended.

Why is the movie satisfying?
The movie uses its time well, cutting even some crucial moments out of the manga to make a believable and coherent story. Although there are still faults that are shared between both mediums, the movie is a superior experience.


Sooner or later, I will make a more fleshed out review of both the Manga and the Movie, but for now these are whats on my mind. Thank you.