I felt this movie was well written, perfectly animated, superbly edited, and had some amazing naturalistic voice acting.
But the one thing that irked me a little, besides giving me a damn good laugh, was when Taeko finished talking about the first time her father slapped her...
...and then she does the E.T. finger thing with the girl.
What on earth? It's hilarious! Yet, so out of place.
No, I don't think it was out of place. watch it again: She talks about the 1st time her father slapped; then they talk for a minute or so about Naoko and her own problems; the finger thing feels like an act of bonding.
shareIt's relating to the pop culture of the age. The whole movie is gloriously soaked with it. That particular bit of pop culture, however, was a bit more well-known to Western audiences.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpXwPdJIOJY
Best thing ever.