I feel like this is one of the most interesting non-feature film Miyazaki oddities I've found since getting through all his feature films. It's basically a short film that seems to have functioned as a super short pilot (more a proof of concept) for what could have been a series called Yuki's Sun.

I hate to be against Miyazaki, but I can kind of see why it wasn't picked up as a series. Even judging it as something that's supposed to condense episodes of story into one five-minute trailer or summary, it's weak, relying entirely on narration. Surely there could have been a more interesting way to do this, and even with just five minutes, the "and then x happened and then y happened and then...." feels noticeably cheap.

But... it is also a proof of concept, and I have to imagine it would've flown a little better had it become a proper series. I don't think it's good for a few reasons, but I can't entirely hate on Yuki's Sun. The animation still looks nice, at least, and it's not like it's entirely lacking when it comes to things that could have happened in the series. But at the end of it all, slight promise and good animation can only get you so far, because watching this today, it feels like a weak pilot in a fair few regards.