Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
ToxicTodo
Can you imagine the emotions that can be conveyed in just two short minutes of animated advertising? Allow me to tell you about a masterpiece that exceeded all my expectations, captivated me, and left a long-lasting aftertaste of admiration in my mind.
"Cross Road." Yes, that's the title of this animated work that overturned my perception of what quality advertising is. Despite its miniature size of timeline, it left an imprint on my soul comparable to the impact of classical masterpieces.
Animation. This precious gallery of visual impressions was crafted with such mastery that it seemed as if each frame was a work of art. From meticulously detailed backgrounds to the dynamic movements of characters, the entire timeline breathed life and energy.
I cannot fail to mention the musical acco…
Read at the sourceCorsairFrosty
*Spoiler warning!*
This was a visual masterpiece!
Story 7/10 - Not much to say, it was a short 2 minute plot, which was surprisingly realistic, showing two kids working hard to get into a college! Enjoyable, but nothing special.
Art 9/10 - Stunning, even though this was 2 minutes, it was absolutely beautiful, visuals and art style were amazing. Reminds me of Your Name and Weathering With You! There was 1 scene that was a little choppy though. Other then that, amazing! Sound 6/10 - Not much to say about the sound.
Characters 8/10 - They were surprisingly realistic, both of there personalities from what I saw were similar. They each remind me of regular college students, working, having fun, etc!
Enjoyment/Overall 7/10 - It was a good 2 minute short-film, there wasn't much to review…
Read at the sourcePhoenivs
Firstly, to appreciate this masterpiece it is necessary to watch it after 1:30 am, as your last remaining neurons are struggling to keep you awake.
With this basic point in mind, we find here not only an excellent animation, but a metacritical analysis to the generic isekais and the Japanese educational system, demonstrating all the mental, physical and socioeconomic abuse that students suffer to simply obtain a higher education diploma.
Unfortunately, the show loses points due to its open ending and the characters, which are relatively generic, including one of the protagonists as an aboriginal triplet woman would be more inclusive and current.
In short, watch WAKFU.
9/10
Read at the sourcePingPongYa
Was so disappointed to find out this 'trailer' was nothing more than one-shot special. It would have made an amazing movie!!
Story: 5/10
There isn't much of a story, due to it being only 2 minutes long. Though it was very cute for what it was. Two high schoolers trying their best to get into college, destined to meet. I would have loved to see this be turned into a full movie. It's kinda similar to Kimi no na wa, and possibly the movie was inspired by this.
Art: 10/10
As always, Shinkai's productions have top quality art and animation. It was beautiful to look at, the colours and the fluid animation were breathtaking.
Sound: 10/10
The song that played in the background was beautiful!! Definitely catchy and I would love to hear it again.
Character: 5/10
This has a low rating solely due…
Read at the sourceraferi
i'm still patiently waiting and hoping for it to actually become a movie..... after 6 years it was uploaded. well yeah, you can say Kimi no Na Wa is inspired by this commercial but hey, I probably want another Kimi no Na wa I guess
it just has an outstanding animation, the art is amazing as always Makoto Shinkai
Such a shame its only a commercial, the anime version will simply have me buy a ticket right after a movie is announced.
The potential for a movie is there to be honest, I already liked the characters, even the story itself has potential.
Well of course there's no movie for this but u bet my ass I'm gonna wait and still hope for it
Read at the sourceSidewinder51
Rate a 5
English Subtitled
Struggle, best describes both anime as well as my review. Both elicit points of potential as well as disappointment.
Introduction depending on follow through can be seen as rather abrupt. Although it isn't. Like most things in this age rely on electronics which from time to time can cause input delay. Which is why it is essential one must re-watch anime pieces before posting. What i mean to say is upon first view anime seems to have hit a fast forward button for a brief moment. In reality it was an odd placement meant to calm the viewer. For example, say i wanted to do an artistic piece on how life progresses in what is seemed to be a fast cycle. I might have the piece showing an elevator progressing rapidly down. A viewer might question to what came before i…
Read at the sourceshacklesburst
So, anybody watching this in 2017 will immediately think one thing after watching this short: "So *this* was the beginning of Kimi no Na wa, huh?"
City boy and country girl, kept apart by distance, yet with their lives strangely interwoven, searching for something that had been missing until now in their lives. It's the exact same shots from the later movie as well, only this time it's for a 2 minute commercial for the Japanese Online Cram School Z-Kai.
Art and sound are pretty good, but, on account of it being that very 2 minute commercial, obviously there's not much to be said about "story" or characters. Overall, it's a very decent commercial, but if given the chance to watch either this or Kimi no Na wa, I'm gonna pick Kimi no Na wa 10 out of 10 times.
Like, don't let this review ke…
Read at the sourceANGRY_CRITIC_BOY
7/3/17 reviewed by CriticBoy
Okay, to be honest I really dont know how to start... LOL. I do my best to write this review... well here goes nothing. ;D
MY APOLOGIES FOR THIS LATE REVIEW
Story - 10/10
Not bad, good and simple 2 min video.
I should start by the Summary of this video -
What i understood from this video is that two students Miho and Shouta, are literally, like literally working DAMN hard to get into college. When they worked damn hard, they passed their Mid School exams. But they still need to work hard and they also need to do their college entry exams or test... whatever its called. They left their own homes and finding their own college by themselves.... When they found their college again, they successfully passed their College Entry exams. around the last part like…
Read at the sourceCha_Mango
What is this anime about? Makoto Shinkai made it so it must be good right?
Actually, sorry to disappoint you but this short little advertisement is for an education company called Z-Kai. However, Makoto Shinkai does not disappoint us even through advertisement!
Story is simply about two students with different lifestyles applying to enter the infamous Tokyo university. The university is highly competitive and requires students to do well in the entrance exam, cram school is usually a popular thing to do as it will increase their chances.
This is where Z-Kai comes in as it allows the two students to send their work via mail to the same place to be corrected.
Characters are unknown, we just know they are applying for Tokyo University with the assistance of the company Z-Kai throughou…
Read at the sourceMrJaytato
First of all, This is not a Movie, This is more like a commercial. (The Trailer pretty much cover up the entire short)
Where do I begin, Makoto Shinkai, You beautiful bastard. You came back with another stunning short/commercial that left me in awe. As you can see. Makoto Shinkai has placed his "signature" or "style" of story telling. Showing the characters crossing paths. Also, theres a train. Makoto Shinkai must love trains.
Overall, I enjoyed this 2 minutes of beautifulness, Wished it was longer but this will do
*cough* I am expecting this to unexpectedly appear out of nowhere as a real film, Yea, Dreams are nice.
Read at the sourceTheMysteries
A lot of the other reviews have already spoken about the story, art, and so on. I feel that the other reviews have already said that there needs be said. However I would like to give my opinion as a student.
As a student who will be taking the Korean version of the SATs in 4 days this anime resonated deeply with me. Over the past 19 years, my fellow peers and I have been studying for the one day, the day that one could say is the last stop in the adolescence of a Korean student. During my final year as a student I've sometimes have studied to the best of my ability, dove into the anime scene, and also learned more about myself.
The biggest point I took away from this short anime was this quote: "Some place beyond, there should be the place where I want to be.".
I want to emphasize the…
Read at the sourceKrayFan
I never have rated an anime a full 10 before, especially for a 1:59 anime. I wish this was a full anime but this is all we got and its freakin amazing.
All I have to say is, well done Makoto Shinkai, well done.
I highly suggest you to watch this. PLEEEAAAASSSEEEE watch it for the love of god.
The animation is so good. One of the best animation pieces I have seen to date, and its not even an actual series.
The music is, just awesome!
The characters, I don't know but I feel that I can relate to them, studying hard to get into a good school. It adds a good sense of realism which I really like. No matter how much I like giant robots fighting each other or magical girls in skimpy clothing get dominated by fan service, this anime, even if it is only 2 mins long, is the best 2 minutes I have…
Read at the sourceCombohero
Two whole minutes of pure motivation of character development. Its is as if you start off at the climax of an anime, and end at the climax. The story focuses two people who strangers (teenage boy and a girl), that strive towards a similar goal and eventually crossing paths. Every moment of this short animation had me rooting for the characters. But it was the worst feeling at the end knowing that this is not going to become a full feature film since it is just a commercial... Nonetheless I still encourage everyone to watch this, even if it means procrastinating for two minutes. This short animation is for those who don't have the time, but still need that burst of inspiration to study, work, or reach your goals.
The song used also fit well, but did anyone notice the melody sounded exactly…
Read at the sourceayumi_xviii
I assumed upon stumbling over it on Tumblr that I would be having another break from real world but was a bit disappointed that this was just a commercial. Why? I mean why can you do that to US! It would be a very epic anime (or a manga) but still I will give it a fair rating of 10/10 because why not?
It has lot of potentials. Okay, very GREAT potentials. I mean the sound, character, enjoyment, art & story. If ever they changed their minds and make this a full blown anime please guys don't forget to contact me. I'll keep my inbox open and my mind open for any possibilities.
*And this is my first review ever on myanimelist for almost four year (??) of being an active user because this mini-clip/commercial is just to amazing not be commented to. *
Read at the sourceAbsarNaeem
First of all, it's not a movie or special, it's just a commercial or promotional video for Z-Kai, a company in Japan.
The art is epic, the music is amazing. Everything is awesome until you realize what it really is, a commercial. One thing to make clear, don't think of it as the boring advertisements you see on TV. This really is an anime video and the link it has to the company isn't so pronounced during the airing so don't worry about that stuff.
Anyway, these are 119 seconds of your life you will be glad to have spent watching this because sometimes you just got to enjoy the little things.
Though this could've been an epic movie if it were made to be.
So, that's it. Do give it a shot. It's pretty nice.
Read at the sourceWinstonWingZhang
Once upon a time, Shinkai Makoto made a name for himself overnight with a 25 minute independent short. Following his playful debut work "She and Her Cat, the poignantly existential "Voices of a Distant Star" cemented his place as a storyteller and opened the doors to the industry for the fresh young auteur.
Fast forward a decade or so, and now he has amusingly been hired to create a commercial for a cram school company. The result is surprisingly touching as a bite-size narrative, and reminds us why Shinkai Makoto is a master of the short form storytelling. The impact "Cross Road" achieves in two minutes is greater than what lesser anime reach in thirteen episodes.
Now don't get me wrong, Makoto's films, which have continually matured visually and thematically, continue to awe and inspi…
Read at the sourceHuge_Willis
Okay so, this being just a teaser/promo for Z-Kai, I'll keep this short as well.
It's Makoto Shinkai. You can't go wrong. In just 2 minutes I'm attached to these characters. I've watched this little short probably 10 times now and every time I get this thrill in my chest (it probably doesn't help that I have a soft spot for college/uni settings, seeing as I'm there in my life as well).
All in all an enjoyable little short, and totally worth 2 minutes of your time. I can only hope that Shinkai actually has something more up his sleeve for Cross Road and that I can gladly get my heart ripped out through my sternum again.
Read at the sourceVClyfe
"This isn't a movie. It is a commercial. God damn it!" - anyone who saw it and hoped for a series AND then came to know about what it really is. I know that feel, bud. Trust me, I do.
Makoto Shinkai strikes again with another one of his visually stunning works - this time with a 2 minute commercial instead of a feature length film, however. And because it is *his* work, I'll actually skip commenting on the artwork in general. Because it is stunning, to say the least. And I don't know how else to describe it. I shall talk about character designs, though. They deserve a mention.
I sure wish he worked on this as a series or a movie, though. Why?
-Story-
Because this is a departure from his previous works in the sense that this is a very light hearted short story. No depressing shit here.…
Read at the sourcexbobx
"Woaah, what an amazing preview! When will it air?"
"Dude, it won't... that was a 2min one-shot."
Probably the most common reaction after watching these commercial cuts, and certainly the utter sadness for Shinkai fans.
Those who are already familiar with his projects, might have notice that from times to times companies from all kind of services come and asks him for short movies that will be used as commercials. All these movies have a optimistic and uplift forward-thinking look to them, caring some kind of moral or sense of ethics.
In this case, this could easily fit as a preview for a cute boy-meets-girl slice of life anime, character driven, one of those series that develop into a deeper drama/romance. Even though this is just speculation, it's awesome to see how a short commercial…
Read at the sourceAnimaniablog
First let me disappoint most of you who only saw the trailer without any prior knowledge. The trailer is the whole series, this was just a commercial campaign by "Z-Kai". Granted with huge names like a Makoto Shinkai and Masayoshi Tanaka it is a bit disappointing that we only get 119 seconds of amazement and joy.
I put the story 6/10 only because it's essentially a commercial and not a story at all, if this project were to be adapted to a full blown storyline I think it could have a lot of potential, but alas this is all we have.
Per Shinkai's other work (Garden of Words,Children with lost voices, etc...) the art work is simply amazing. It's almost worth the two minutes of your life just to be blown away by how amazing the art work is.
I won't comment on the sound too much because of ho…
Read at the source