The first trailer for Trapezium caught my eye when it came out all the way back in April. Besides the obviously beautiful visuals from cloverworks it was another story about a high school girl chasing her dreams and discovering herself the exact kind of story I tend to gobble up. Oh and Hoshimachi Suisei sings the OP too? Sign me up Unfortunately...after walking out of the theater today I cant help but feel like the film has left a lot to be desired. Our story centers around Yu Azuma a young ambitious firstyear student at Joshu East High School who then recruits three other girls from the West North and South of the region which would later form their idol group called NEWS. At the beginning of the film Yu goes out of her way to their schools to find these girls initially under the guise of just wanting to make friends even though her actual plan is to form an idol group with them. Nonetheless fast friends they become and soon enough theyre hanging out as a group together. We see some regular cute slice of moments okay so far so good. Then the jump from this friend group just being a friend group to actually BECOMING an idol group is handled...poorly in my opinion. A lot of this probably comes down to the constrained run time but you can really feel the film rushing through so many events and as a result their first big debut doesnt feel earned. It doesnt feel like they struggled through any hardship or overcame any challenges so you see their first performance and just kinda go oh thats cool i guess. Not satisfying at all for what is basically the climax of the second act of the film. Then we move into the actual conflicts and third act which is...also handled pretty messily. The idea and message they are trying to portray here is one I agree with. The group starts falling out because they realize that idol life might not all be for them and this disconnect in passion and ambition between Yu and the others starts to form cracks as their idol career steams forward. While somewhat predictable this is a decent enough third act conflict to go through. Its an experience myself and many will probably relate to starting a passion project with your friends then realizing one of you is much more passionate about it than the other. But again these plot developments arent given enough room to breathe as weve just zoomed through them gaining rapid success. There is some minimal set up throughout for example we can see Kurumi looking uncomfortable before going on stage but this is brushed off so quickly that you could assume she just got over her fear already. On one hand the fall out is predictable but on the other hand it doesnt feel set up enough to be justified. The ending ties up all the plot lines well enough but is once again a bit half baked as the reconciliation of the four girls is also somewhat rushed through. We see them go their separate ways live their happy lives everyone achieves their dream and then it just ends with this lukewarm happy time skip forward. I cant say I outright dislike Trapezium since again I can feel the message it wants to portray that you and your friends should each pursue your own passions and chase your dreams and just because they are different doesnt mean you cant be friends and support each other This is a message that could truly have resonated with me if the film had enough time to develop its story and characters properly. Unfortunately in its current state all I can say is that its pretty forgettable and any plot points you enjoy in it are executed far better in other similar anime about chasing your dreams.