Overview:
I reviewed the first episode of this when it was airing but ultimately dropped the show because it wasn’t really my sort of thing, plus I had a lot of other shows in my line up last season. However, I picked it up after it completed airing to watch through. The story follows Kotaro and Akane as they muddle their way through their first real romance.
Review:
I’m keeping this short because there isn’t a lot for me to say on this that I haven’t already said elsewhere. This is a really sweet story, but it is also really slow and full of characters who are so busy being shy and cute and relatable that it sends this story into the overly sleepy category where I find myself getting frustrated just by watching. That isn’t to say there aren’t some great moments in the story but watching the inbetween as they go about their daily lives, consult with friends, message each other, wait for a message from the other; it all just bored me a little too much.
The other issue I had with this series is the art itself as all the characters are excessively shiny and the shading on their faces is at times outright distracting. Okay, that’s my personal view but I found myself watching where the light spots and streaks would move as the characters did rather than reading the subs or listening and then I’d have to go back again and rewatch a conversation that ultimately I wasn’t too interested in.
However, that isn’t to say I wouldn’t recommend this title. It really is a cute romance and for people who don’t want explosive fights or fast paced action or dialogue, this is a very real story. It looks in depth at the genuine trials of being young and the first time you fall in love. And most people find it a very beautiful anime to look at.
There’s some pleasant surprises in the story. They don’t take the whole season to get to a confession or start dating. They actually progress to that point fairly early on considering how incredibly shy and uncertain both of the main characters are. They do introduce rivals but they don’t stretch this out to far and it is actually dealt with in a reasonably direct and mature manner. The support cast feel like real classmates and the like rather than tropes and they add some real substance to the story.
But of course there’s also the usual standards that we need to go through with this kind of story including miscommunications, jealosy, uncertainty, tears and stubborness. None of these things are bad as they are standards in the genre for a reason and they are, for the most part, handled well. Just every now and then it seemed like they were adding drama just for the sake of trying to stir up the story a bit though.
Ultimately, I’m glad I watched it through but I’m not going for a rewatch of this one. Neither of the main characters grabbed me in a way the cast of Kimi ni Todoke or similar titles did where despite the slow pace I found myself really looking forward to the next episode. However, if you are into romance and you haven’t checked this one out yet, it is probably worth your time.
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Thanks,
Karandi James.
