Michelle Sudarsono

I personally enjoyed the 3D look. The animation still looked flawless, the comedy was there, the music fit its mood/style they were going for. Ppl seem to dislike her manipulating adults but at least she did her part. It's a totally normal "I do something to get reward". Also, she does her chores. She did her part. When she flattered the Orphanage Lady, she offered to bring her bag. She's not one-sidedly manipulate without effort. She works hard and doesn't give up. Seriously, I prefer the positive Aya than the constantly moping girl from Marnie Was Here. I didn't like that movie (and her motivation to be a jerk to everyone) yet ppl liked it because it's 2D, it's pretty, it's Ghibli. I also prefer this style that the barely colorful, painting-like style of Kaguya. But people liked it. Because it's 2D. Yet they took liberty of the Kaguya story, adding stuff. Sure, the ending left me itching to see more but it's based on a novel and the author died after writing that one book, so it makes sense that there's so many unanswered things. There are other movies like HP's 7th movie, Twilight's pt 1, and even Hobbit that split a book that had no "real" ending that ppl managed to enjoy. I feel like the hate is the fact that "Ghibli made it 3D" because that's all that I'm reading. "it feels computer generated" Dude, that's what CGI is! That's what Goro wanted to do. Since when that there's a rule where all Ghibli movie needs to be 2D, and uses Joe Hisaishi orchestral music for every movie? Also, for those who complain about the plot, well, a lot of Ghibli stories are an adaptation. The novel was written by the same person who wrote Howl. If it doesn't feel "original" it's because it's not. If it doesnt feel Ghibli-esque, well, Wind Rises and Spirited Away are two completely different stories yet no one minded either. If you want 2D, then make everyone stop watching anime for free so the industry can improve and animators can get a decent pay, instead of slowly losing talented individuals from working to death. Anyway, I love the voice act (except Sherina's mom moment, I dont mind her singing though). Goro wanted this style and he delivered. He said he understood why Aya manipulates ppl and I did too (sort of). I laughed at the comedy. Sure, nothing "fancy" or "magical" happened like Spirited Away. But the credit scenes was much entertaining than any other Ghibli movies previously. Sure, there are some unanswered questions, but does Marnie, how did she hallucinate? Or why was Porco Rosso a pig? Why did Yubaba and Zeniba become estranged sisters? Who's the baby's dad? I really hope these "bad" ratings won't affect Ghibli's future 3D project. I hope Goro can continue to manipulate the adults to do his bidding (and putting in effort) whilst keeping a positive attitude if they don't. I like the design and how different they are than the characters we almost always see in every Ghibli movie, the short-haired female, the mustache grandpa, the plump lady, and the hair that rises when angry. At least these characters have 2 hairstyle. Hair up and hair down. The last time someone had more than 1 hair style, it was either "dry vs wet" or Sophie/Howl but that's because the plot needs it to be so. Also, remember that they had limited staff for this movie! Yet they managed to pull this off. If you don't like 3D, then hate all the other 3D movie. But don't hate this Ghibli movie just because it looks different from what you expect.

As a movie itself it was good, entertaining sort that addresses a lot of problems that we seem to be going towards: escaping reality through game, becoming a introvert and not living in reality, the earth dying because we ruined it. The actions are pretty fun, the OASIS intro is cool, the world they built seems legit, the actors are great, the riddle is--though fleeting--seems pretty hard? At some parts, it's a touching tribute to the old school era with a lot of reference to new ones too. So many. The Jade Key challenge was fun. The reveal at the end was great! I love Simon Pegg! I liked I-rock too. TJ Miller is funny even as a badass. As a book-turned-movie: Wow... How many things were they planning to change?! I get it, they're trying to fit in a supposedly 2hr clip and the book had so many things, reference, time skips they'd have to do without. But to change Shoto's motivation for revenge? Yes, I said Shoto, not Sho or Xo. Yes, I do get that the challenges might not look interesting if made into a movie. But Wade was supposed to be the smart one. He was supposed to be behind everything. The risks he needed to take in reality was so much more scary than what this movie made it seemed. They gave it all to Sam, who was awesome in the movie btw, very pretty. I like Daito. He's cute. The term High Five wasn't addressed in the movie and they just started using it closing to the end so that might be confusing to non book readers. Knowing the coin was coming made the film lost its magic when it was revealed but Og's role was there to fix it. Thankfully I only read the book a few days before watching, so I didn't have an attachment to it yet. I could imagine those that do would go ape-poopoo.