Just Because Episodes 2 + 3: Imagine a Transfer Student Came and Nothing Happened

Review Episode 2:

It isn’t exactly news that I don’t much like slice of life or slow romances, stories set primarily in high school or anything that is particularly slow paced… and yet then there is my absolute devotion to Kimi ni Todoke which more or less hits every one of those criteria. And while Just Because doesn’t yet have anywhere near the charm or draw that Kimi ni Todoke has, I remember the first time I watched that I wasn’t particularly impressed during early episodes but I was strangely drawn to the show. And by the time the first season ended I was in love.

I’ll admit, I don’t actually expect Just Because to ever rival Kimi ni Todoke in my heart (given none of these characters have quite the same charm as the ones in Kimi ni Todoke) but at the same time, this is some pretty pleasant viewing. Certainly episode 2 has some lacking moments but the genuine charm and familiar interactions between characters just kind of keep drawing me in to this story even while it doesn’t exactly go anywhere.

I’m not getting my hopes up too high, but I am honestly enjoying this so far and I’m kind of hoping for some low key entertainment out of this.

Review Episode 3:

This episode gave me a very Haruhi Suzumiya vibe (hence the title of the post) except that it was kind of like what would happen in Haruhi if she didn’t actually have god-like powers. A transfer student has come and the photography girl is latching on hard but he’s pretty ordinary and not particularly interested in what she’s selling.

Otherwise, a lot of this episode went to Soma and his pursuit of the girl who seems pretty oblivious to anything resembling friendship or romance as well as the commentary or assistance of those around him.

Really, not a lot actually happens in these episodes and normally that would bother me, but the jumping between individuals and groups as more and more connections are revealed or formed is keeping this from feeling terminally slow and everything is charming enough to leave me feeling pretty happy by the end of the episode. I also kind of like Izumi as the transfer student even though he’s pretty much determined not to get involved in any of the relationship hijinks swirling around him. Okay, I just like protagonists who are low energy observers and I should probably just admit that outright.

All and all, I’m pretty happy with how this is going. The animation quality isn’t amazing but when the characters aren’t walking or running it isn’t overly terrible. I will admit, a few sequences have had me shaking my head but mostly it is watchable and won’t detract too much from the romantic/teen drama unfolding.

Thanks for reading.

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