I initially gave this a 7/10 when I watched it. As time passed and I recalled some of the scenes and had time to think about certain aspects of the movie over the course of a few days, I decided on a 7.5/10. As I kept rewatching, I eventually landed on 8.5. I can confidently say this is my favorite student/teacher media - and I'm pretty sure I've seen almost every single one listed on mydramalist.

STORY: The story is quite simple, but what elevates this above many others in the same genre is you can completely understand why and how the two characters fell for each other. It's structured very meticulously and gives the characters ample time (for a movie) to get to know each other and interact in something that slowly and organically increases their feelings for each other over time. It's very easy to line up the scenes between our main characters and track the relationship alongside it. A lot of the time, in student/teacher movies, I'm almost confused about why they like each other in the first place, but not here. I do have some gripes, like how I would like to see *even more* scenes to build to and take place before the kiss, but it's a movie and has limited time, so I can't fault it too hard there.

ACTING/CAST:
SUPPORTING - the ultimate highlights were the protagonist's best friends, Chigusa and Kousuke! Great banter between them, a source of humor and happiness in the slightly somber moments, with love stories of their own! They really feel like friends, and like they care about the protagonist. The actors definitely captured the manga characters.
MAIN - Maybe this is a strange thing to say, but Ito-sensei in this movie feels realistically attractive? When I started the movie I wasn't sure if I would like it because he wasn't handsome to me and looked a bit old, but as the movie went on I found myself liking the fact that he wasn't immediately gorgeous and that his appearance grew on me as his character did. I like it better this way! The actor did a really wonderful job at keeping a teacher-like distance as well as accidentally forgetting to keep that distance.
Shimada Hibiki is slightly peculiar, in that I didn't really know what to make of her after my first watch. I found her a bit weak and childish because the latter half has a lot of sad moments, but upon further review I think the more accurate evaluation is she's simply quite honest with her feelings and doesn't hold back too much. The best word to describe her is probably 'pure'. Her feelings are relatively open and honest, despite her more reserved nature. If that seems contradictory, a good example is her facial expressions: they're the opposite of theatrical, but she doesn't hide her feelings; they're just... subtle, sometimes. I watched the movie before I knew it was based on a manga, and at multiple points I thought she was the perfect image of a pure/first love type manga protagonist. I've read a few chapters now, and the actress did a great job.

MUSIC: When it comes to movies like this where a standout soundtrack would feel out of place, I think minimal, mood music works better. It works for what it is.

REWATCH VALUE: Liked it at first, but liked it better after a rewatch, so I'm giving it a 10 for rewatch value. Will probably want to rewatch specific scenes later. In fact, I already have! Good stuff. I'm editing this on 20-06-2021 and I can confirm I still rewatch specific scenes sometimes, and I'm always trying to goad my problematic shoujo loving friends into rewatching this with me.