This one is a decent take on a storyline that had been remade from its original material so many times (at least 3 times in TV alone). What I really like is that it strikes close to my heart and conveys the message in the original material quite well. The vivid cinematography works are also serves very well, especially whenever a dish made by the eatery is introduced.
In my books, both actresses in question are very good young actresses with really distinct acting styles. Matsuhon is fantastic in this movie and carries the acting load of much of the show, of which she's truly capable of. As I mentioned at times, she is already a competent actor but sometimes she was unable to tone down her quirkiness at times, especially when it's needed to pull calm scenes. This time around, it seems she is finally able to 'tune' down such trait. Nao is also decent here but I wish more of her screen time though.
She has proven to be more than able to deliver in well-directed, well-written and layered roles, for example Kaidan Botan Doro 2019. Since those characteristics are absent in romcoms save for a few ones, deploying her too often in such shows could simply squander her potentials.
The strong point of this movie is that it shows more grounded perspective into a family of cult followers. It doesn't even blatantly demonize these characters (particularly the parents and even the cult organization) and instead it chooses to see through more neutral viewpoint, which is very different than other shows with similar theme (for example WOWOW's 'Eerie'). For example, Mana-chan's character development is very gradual - no sudden head-butting against her parents who are fervent believers of the cult. Mana-chan herself does really well, I think it's her acting that keep everything together and could've fell apart if the lead choice wasn't right.
The ending could have been more conclusive though and for me it's a bit of a letdown, because the premise it chooses is full of potentials to make it a great movie.
Edit: You gotta be kidding me. In all fairness, Hamabe is already way, way too overpushed and from what I've heard she is at the brink of breaking point. Even worse, it seems she learned little if not almost nothing even though she's been acting along side competent actors like Okada Masaki (in Talio) or in Shinjisou. Overpushing like this just simply won't work, look at Gouriki and Takei Emi. I hope after this one she gets some much-needed respite.
I don't get it. What's the drama that Okayama Amane starred in?
You can check his discography though. Seems he almost always gets paired with cute actresses, particularly after I"s. That's why you can see him referred many times in this page lol, the parallel with Taiga's character in this drama is just so uncanny.
2 
In my books, both actresses in question are very good young actresses with really distinct acting styles. Matsuhon is fantastic in this movie and carries the acting load of much of the show, of which she's truly capable of. As I mentioned at times, she is already a competent actor but sometimes she was unable to tone down her quirkiness at times, especially when it's needed to pull calm scenes. This time around, it seems she is finally able to 'tune' down such trait. Nao is also decent here but I wish more of her screen time though.
8.5/10
The ending could have been more conclusive though and for me it's a bit of a letdown, because the premise it chooses is full of potentials to make it a great movie.
8.0/10
Edit: You gotta be kidding me. In all fairness, Hamabe is already way, way too overpushed and from what I've heard she is at the brink of breaking point. Even worse, it seems she learned little if not almost nothing even though she's been acting along side competent actors like Okada Masaki (in Talio) or in Shinjisou. Overpushing like this just simply won't work, look at Gouriki and Takei Emi. I hope after this one she gets some much-needed respite.
https://kisskh.at/34118-little-songs-of-love