I've Always Liked You
Synopsis
Love is blooming at Sakuragaoka High School. Natsuki Enomoto has finally mustered the courage to confess to her childhood friend, Yuu Setoguchi. However, in the final moments of her confession, an embarrassed Natsuki passes it off as a "practice confession." Oblivious to her true feelings and struggling with his own, Yuu promises to support Natsuki in her quest for love. While Natsuki deals with her failed confession, fellow classmate Koyuki Ayase struggles with his own feelings for Natsuki. Despite his timidness, he is determined to win over her heart. Zutto Mae Kara Suki deshita.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai follows Natsuki as she dreams of one day ending her practices and genuinely confessing to Yuu. Meanwhile, close friends also find themselves entangled in their own webs of unrequited love and unspoken affections. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience Consensus
Audience sentiment is mixed. Some viewers found the movie to be a sweet and enjoyable high school romance with appealing visuals and music, especially if they were already fans of HoneyWorks. However, others criticized it for being generic, rushed, and lacking depth, with too many characters and unresolved storylines.
Strengths
- Cute art style and animation.
- Enjoyable music and sound design.
- Likable characters (for some viewers).
- Heartwarming and fluffy romance.
- Faithful adaptation of HoneyWorks songs (for fans).
Weaknesses
- Generic and unoriginal story.
- Rushed plot and character development.
- Too many characters and storylines crammed into a short movie.
- Cliffhanger ending.
- Shallow and meaningless (according to some viewers).