Suki ni naru sono shunkan wo is cute, but lacks context if viewed alone

Suki ni naru sono shunkan wo (translated as 'the moment you fall in love') is an anime movie currently showing in SM Cinemas. Before I start with the review, a little background first.

This movie is the second film in the Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai (Confession Executive Committee) series. This is a project by a musical group named Honeyworks that composes songs that are sung by Vocaloids. 

This project aims to adapt Honeyworks' most successful love songs into anime. Yes, the source material for this movie series is a bunch of songs (and a few light novels) about high school love and confessions. The songs themselves detail the intersecting relationships of numerous high school students at Sakuragaoka High School, where everyone is in love with someone else and everyone has no idea how to express that love. 

This movie in particular concentrates on a set on songs written for one character, Hina, who is in love with a shy but bishounen senior. She then decides to study hard for her high school entrance exams and get into the same high school as him. Meanwhile, Hina's childhood friend, Kotarou, has a huge crush on her but is forced to step aside after seeing Hina crushing on her senior. Despite this, his feelings remain.

It's a massive understatement to say that a lot of context is lost if you watch this film blind. In fact, I recommend watching the previous movie in the series, Zutto mae kara suki deshita (translated as 'I've always loved you') first, then going back to watch this movie. That's the biggest problem with the movie in my eyes: it barely stands on its own. Even without context, the film tries too hard to shoehorn in tons of exposition and backstory into one hour of running time. For example, a particular character's motivations are glossed over and presented in the space of five seconds, with no foreshadowing or buildup.

The plot is full of romance anime cliches, such as the childhood friend, the unreachable or unrequited love (that predates our own hugot by a bit) and the dependable older sibling. Taken together it's all quite cute, but nothing new as far as anime conventions go. As expected from an anime tackling relationships and confessing love to someone else, the movie shows us all the myriad ways where making a love confession to someone can fail badly (or succeed!) 

And when the film ends, it ends abruptly, leaving you hanging, and wishing for closure. An after credits sequence is essential viewing for people who want a little bit more closure to the story.

Suki ni naru sono shunkan wo should please fans and people familiar with either the other movie in the series or the songs the movie is based on. Otherwise, it's cute, but it will all be a bit confusing for newcomers. As a standalone film, it doesn't quite work and is probably better served as a series on TV. And if recent reports are any indication, with a TV special on the way, that seems to be the natural progression of things.