Tugs at the heartstrings more like a spasmadic puppeteer than a tender love story. Though the time traveling structure of the piece promises much, it delivers very little.

Structurally, the story intrigues. But what ever it gains with the originality of its premise it loses with the sheer inability to mold that into a cohesive, emotionally dynamic story. The characters remain sessile as the story washes over them.

Pale colors and an expert use of stills provide the groundwork for a distinct animation style, but, a lot like the story, none of it really amounts to much.

Tempered acting on the part of the English cast captures the Japanese essence while the script itself is a type of bland consistent with the initial story.

Adult scenarios and a peak of flesh. ADV gives it a standardized anime rating of 15+, though the emotional sophistication of the film should demand a bookend rating of 21-.

DVD. Responsive navigation gets you through the bare minimum of features. ADV has also included six previews of other titles.

The chemistry between Kyosuke and Madoka flatlines before it starts. The only real sparks happen in a dream sequence. The rest of the time Madoka is as artificial as her diet soda.

Hikaru auditions for a musical very much like "Cats" -- so much so that it could be "Cats." A disappointment since the scenario lends itself to a wealth of joke possibilities about the tastelessness of the modern American musical scene. How about Andrew Lloyd Webber's "For Whom the Bell Tolls," or a Cameron Mackintosh production of "Hiroshima: The Musical?!"

Love it? Hate it? Buy it.