Chalk-iro no People

Seizou Watase is a particular author in the Romance field. He will not attempt to entrance you with narratives capped off by grandiose conclusions or complex character studies. If these are what you are looking for, you are knocking at the wrong door, most definitively. As such, "Chalk-Iro no People" does not dramatically diverge from his habitual body of works. For all that, You still get what is advertised in the title: tales around a picturesque chalk colored appartment block, populated with the romantic turmoils of its residents and visitors. The barren formality of the artstyle and animation is going to deject you, if pure ... technicality is what you mostly hold in high regard. Indeed, 3D co. does not seek to eclipse the serene aquamarine poetry with needless distraction. This anime is, by all regards, spiritually akin to a haiku, only knead with more of a Hepcat than Japanese traditionalist sensitivity. More than anything, "Chalk-iro no People" is a bittersweet and wistful sequential experience, offering you a windowscape into lives that won't come to be perfectly fulfilled. The wife of the divorced father will not experience the joy of motherhood, the love interest of the barman manager will not rekindle her old love, the resident painter will never approach her brother's tenderness as closely as she was during a fleeting moment and the jazz band will always mourn in music their missing member... The haunting ambiance is well complimented by the nagging performance of guest Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, Kan Ogasarawa and Ken Shima. The essential of this title's appeal is its sad and yet oddly emotionally restorative atmosphere. It does not try to deliver more than that in a most minimalist way and, in my view, manages to aptly transcend the form through the substance. If you subscribe to Heart Cocktail's motto, "Chalk-iro no People" will extend the experience of this other franchise substantially... Think of "romantic peek into slices of life, under the time it takes to finish a cigar, instead of cigarette"!

..| Colophon |..

This section is dedicated to content indication in order to inform audience in a practical way, about the usual objectionable content. I decided to leave out the "Pro VS Con" from my reviewing formula, from now on...

.. Ketchup meter: CnIP is fundamentally a non-violent anime and even the only on-screen death is not exactly depicted in the most brutal fashion.
.. xXx meter: It is a mature Fantasy Romance anime, not an Ecchi or a Hentai! It wouldn't accomplish much, given its minimalist visual flair, anyway.