SPOILERS TAGGED I wasnt planning on writing a review but when I noticed nobody else had I figured I might as well. So here we go. This review should still make sense even if you dont read the spoilers. I rewatched this movie recently on impulse and let me tell you. It does not get any less confusing the second time through. Well ok it might actually have made a little bit more sense if Id rewatched the entire series and not just this movie but I was still pretty confused. This movie had a lot of potential. Three masterminds as the antagonists with an interesting direct conflict meant there were a lot of good places this movie could go but I feel like there were some issues with execution. First off this movie was more confusing to me than Howls Moving Castle. That was the first ghibli movie I watched and I was quite lost so for Dead Apple to confuse me morethats a real accomplishment. I think after watching the first time I was able to piece together more of what happened through reading several different summaries but I cant say I feel like doing that again I have a very poor memory so I guess Ill just forever remain confused. I mean I understand that there were three masterminds coming together to outwit each other but still If the story isnt written and explained in a way for the audience to understand whats going on then whats the point? To me it seemed like they tried to explain some things but there wasnt enough context or information given for it all to click. Plus they didnt even try to explain everything at least not that I caught. There were just too many missing pieces to make this movie enjoyable for me. A complicated plot with complex characters is no reason not to explain crucial elements of the story. Another issue for me was the animation. In some parts it was great but in others it definitely seemed like they were working on a low budget. I know Bungou Stray Dogs isnt known for its outstanding animation but a lot of moments were lacking where thats concerned. I did appreciate however their use of Deadly Drive Reason Living and Bokura during various scenes. Now although a lot of the philosophy and motivations went over my head there were still a lot of beautiful parts of this story that I was able to catch. Also the second time around I noticed a lot more of how different colors were used. I loved some of the contrasts created using color and who doesnt love Dazai in white. TLDR: there were problems at the base of this movie. The premise though interesting did not get enough justice in its execution it was a hard story to follow in some places since many aspects were left poorly explained or unexplained altogether. The animation was poor in many places as well. Some parts of the movie were beautiful but were they good enough to overshadow the ugly? Not for me. Still despite numerous execution issues I have to applaud the thought that went into crafting this story and plot. 8/10 overall. an 8/10 on my rating scale is amazing but less enjoyable