Without the animation of Shinkai, and the music of Kashiwa - this manga definitely feels a bit like a step down in enjoyment for me.

The plot line is ... there. The shoes thing seems shoe (hah) horned, and in the best case scenario it feels like I'm missing cultural context and in the worst case it just kind of feels a bit random.

The relationship between the student and teacher feels a bit icky at the first pass, but if you squint (or, alternatively, see past our artificially constructed bounds of relationship standards) you can see something that could be an incredibly powerful story about two people helping each other live life. Is it Shinkais fault we don't have an appropriate phrase for a loving relationship that has no indication of sexuality outside of a familial context?

Overall - I don't think I would be willing to recommend this to a friend because of the explaining required.