[magnuskn]

Yeah, I just went hunting for karice's translation in this thread ( 20 pages of searching ) and I've found the relevant section:

シェリルの目覚めについて
「実はそれに似た話は実際に聞くんですよ（苦笑）アルトがフォールドしたあたりから胸がいっぱ いになって、 何か見ているのに見えていない。本編を2回、3回と繰り返し観ているうちにわかってきた、とい う方もいるそ うです。エンドロールに登場するキャラクター達にもヒントがあるので、彼らの“その後”がきっ と想像できる と思いますよ！」

Re: Sheryl's awakening (NB: the setup for these comments is a conversation between a young lady and her butler after teatime. For this one, the butler comments along the lines of 'My lady, you really missed the hint at the end, didn't you? It may be because you just saw it once...' which then leads into Kawamori's comment)
"I've actually been hearing of similar experiences (wry smile). After seeing Alto disappear, [with the shock from that], they didn't see it even though they did actually see it. After seeing the film a second or third time, they realised. There's also a hint in the characters that appear in the credits, so I think you can imagine what happened to them afterwards."

I think the wording is actually pretty clear in that he returns, but that is of course left to interpretation. Unless the original wording is not as strong as karice made it sound here in the translation.

Here is one more hint from the interview with Risa Ebata:

Kawamori: For this, please think about what Ranka says in the epilogue, and watch the (small) video that plays during the ending. There’s a hint there, something of an answer. It seems that a lot of people unexpectedly missed that cut in the excitement [of their first viewing]. Even though we** made it disproportionately long (laughs).

So I think the hints are pretty clear in which direction they point.

Also, deja vú.

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Besides us knowing that Alto will return one day, thanks to Kawamori, Ranka pretty much already knew in the movie that it wouldn't work out, IMO. And when she was rejected at her confession, she took it surprisingly well.

Originally Posted by Dash_Hunter

Well, Kawamori didn't say it directly (and most likely he will never do it) but it's hinted, at least that's something, right?.

Originally Posted by magnuskn

As far as I am aware, he pretty much outfront stated that he was confused that people thought the ending bittersweet. Yeah, he never outright said "Alto is coming back", but you'd have to deliberately want to misunderstand if you couldn't take the hint.

Originally Posted by karice67

I'd have to agree with Dash that it's just a hint.

Kawamori only stated that he was confused that people thought that Alto had died. He clarified that he'd folded, but whatever happens from then on is up to everyone's imagination.

If you take into account what the three of them say at the start of the film, it really could go either way. And I think everyone should make up their own minds about it.

Originally Posted by magnuskn

To each his own.

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

I didn't think he died. But whether or not he came back... when? I think they should have shown him sneaking in to see Sheryl and her opening her eyes. At least something!!

Originally Posted by Heibi

The fact that Sheryl wakes up and the her and Ranka have a concert means Alto came back. Notice the final scene of Sheryl in the credit box. Her mouth moves and the earring shines.

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Pretty much that.

Originally Posted by Dash_Hunter

This is the most logical conclusion, or at least the one that I have seen most people to come to.

While I agree with Karice that it's up to the viewer's interpretation, it's not like Kawamori would point out those hints, or even put them in the movie without some purpose.
And he didn't talk about them just in that animedia article, in the interview from the "Kiss in the Galaxy" manga he even goes into further detail, saying that people need to put attention to what ranka says in the epilogue and to that little video in the credits in which apparently even the order of the scenes has some kind of meaning (I still don't get it though ).

Other example are the two little hints from the "Sheryl Visual Collection final", the first one is that image of Sheryl waking up with Alto, and the other the ending of the "A Day in Alcatraz" story.
I know these are more fanservice than hints, or that they are not as important as what it's in the movie or what Kawamori says, but the point is that the possibility is there and is high, and it's not just some fanfiction conclusion made up by fans.

Originally Posted by karice67

I took all of that into account too when writing my previous post. On the other hand, the skits in the 'Merry Christmas Without You' concert are rather...ambiguous... Admittedly, that concert took place before the film was completed...but still...

Either way, I still think it's something that people can and should decide for themselves, rather than the rest of us trying to persuade them one way or the other.

To put it another way, if anyone asks me precisely what I think via VM or PM, I'm happy to tell. But I'm not putting it on the forum.