Getting the obvious out of the way, this isn't as good as "A Silent Voice". As the trailer boldly proclaims, it is made by the same director and composer as that great film. And looking at the characters, you can tell there are some visual similarities in the art style. Naoko Yamada is able to focus on the nonverbal nervous ticks that speak volumes about the characters perspective and state of mind. Instead of showing the person talking, it will show them holding their hands behind their back, and her staring at the ground.

The movie entirely takes place within the school and the cast, minus 2, are all entirely the female students in their school uniforms. We don't get a glimpse of their parents, or life outside of school.

The story is very simple, and the stakes are very low. This is a character driven internal conflict of a story. If you are a huge band geek, this would be the movie for you. Most of it is about the two leads trying to play the titular song.

It is a sweet and simple little story, and it is music to my ears.

If you want a film that gives you tons of action, an incredibly complex story, or a dark tale, this isn't the movie for you. However, if you're in the mood for a stunning character piece that tells a simple but superb story than this is a movie for you. It tells it's story partially through the stunning body language displayed by the characters as while you might not hear what the characters are thinking all of the time, you can certainly gauge it from how they have their arms and legs positioned, expressions that briefly flash across their face, or how they are postured. Liz and The Blue Bird requires you to pay attention and it rewards you for doing so. It also uses music (It is a music anime) to give the most emotional moment of the movie that is soon followed by it's most enthralling part. The voice acting also carries the move to the next level as each actress gives an outstanding performance that gives further depth to their characters. You also don't really need to watch the series to get the characters as they were only side companions to the main story. But here, they take center stage and honestly surpass their predecessor in every regard. So yeah...go watch this movie.