Pretty good for a film based on a manga from an author whom I do not necessarily care for. You can sympathize with both characters at times. Good casting I think.

Presumes that the audience will be familiar with the source material. (I am, and I still found it annoying.)

I found character of Hachi almost unbearably obnoxious. It mimics style of manga well, but treating characters in live action movie as it was animation doesn't work too good. Plot is run-of-the-mill romance and friendship story. Cast is interesting, and overall it is pretty solid manga adaptation. But not much more than that.

Populist fluff, but I've never had a better time. It's got Aoi Miyazaki and it's got j-punk. I don't ask for much more out of a movie.

"The film is most impressive as that rarest of creatures: a crowd-pleaser with a genuinely artistic touch." - Rob Humanick