A completely wonderful film, one of my recent favorites. I watched it last month not knowing anything about the story (other than deducing from the name), and it was one of those great pleasant surprises that really stay with you and always make you smile when you remember them.
The mood is wonderful, the musical score beautiful and absolutely loved the dialogue, it was terrifically written. I've been urging people to watch this film since then, it's one of those films that make me happy I watch anime. Maybe a thread will bring to even bigger attention.
Screens you could put in the first post:
I also watched the old live-action movie of the book and while delightfully old, it was also very dodgy. A wooden female lead, terrible campy special effects and I was rooting for the other guy. It was mostly interesting to watch since you realize it explains what happened to Makoto's aunt.
The whole thing was handled wonderfully subtly in the anime, since they only hint at her past, instead of underlining it. I definitely recommend watching the anime at least first, then possibly the LA.
Jam it back in, in the dark.