Gokinjo Monogatari

Mikako Kouda is a 16-year-old girl whose sole ambition is to establish her own clothing brand. To this end, she attends the renowned Yazawa Art School alongside her childhood friend Tsutomu Yamaguchi. Although the people around them interpret their closeness and constant bickering as signs of budding love, both Mikako and Tsutomu deny it, as they cannot see each other as anything but friends.

However, everything changes when Tsutomu starts to resemble Ken Nakagawa—the vocalist of the popular group Manbou—and gains popularity among girls. Suddenly, the childhood friends find themselves wondering about the meaning of love, friendship, and the true nature of their relationship.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kouda, Mikako Main

Shishido, Rumi Japanese

Yamaguchi, Tsutomu Main

Yamaguchi, Kappei Japanese

Kanzaki, Risa Supporting

Niiyama, Shiho Japanese

Nakasu, Mariko Supporting

Touma, Yumi Japanese

Tashiro, Yuusuke Supporting

Morikawa, Toshiyuki Japanese

Saejima, Midori Supporting

Oota, Mai Supporting

Yamazaki, Wakana Japanese

Oikawa, Ayumi Supporting

Minaguchi, Yuko Japanese

Sudou, Akira Supporting

Kouda, Ruriko Supporting

Kawanami, Yoko Japanese

Shimizu, Junji Director

Umezawa, Atsutoshi Director, Episode Director

Yabe, Akinori Episode Director

Oka, Yoshihiro Episode Director

Reviews

Mar 11, 2010

Kokujin-kun

Recommended

I might as well write a review of this anime since I was the one who provided (most of) the raws, translated it and reviewed each episode at least three times before it was released, which in my opinion counts for at least something.

Well, as much as I am loathed to put labels on what are clearly three-dimensional characters, here we have a show where Ai Yazawa pretty much presented us with what could be a psychological profile of a tsundere before such a term even came to existence. She's brassy, full of herself and can sometimes be unfairly cruel, but that is ... just a front she she feels she has to put up in order to shield her vulnerable side.

Yes, it would be convenient to say Mikako is the way she is because of the childhood trauma of a divorce (and what her Mom did afterwards). But alas, the reason behind her disagreeable personality is artistically anticlimatic. That is simply the way she is, as is evident from the flashbacks from her childhood and later when she becomes "honest with herself." This is the place where I feel the anime succeeds because we become too used to seeing the lead female character who is cutesy, klutsy, timid, moe or whatever stereotype that is supposed to appeal to the regular anime audience. She is truly one of the more variated full-rounded characters you'd find in any narrative.

The main drawback from this show, like a lot of the shoujo anime that aired around that time (Marmalade Boy, Kodocha) is the number of episodes. I really believe they could have more effectively told the story that they presented if they instead aired around half the episodes. Of course I am talking about filler episodes that sometimes introduced inconsistencies (***spoiler****e.g. why would Mikako be unable to sell her wrong-sized clothes at the second flea market if she was able to sell out all those exact same clothes at the first flea market?***spoiler***), but that is a minor quibble compared to the parade of episodes that occupied the middle featuring a love triangle between three supporting characters. They could have easily settled that matter in a handful of episodes, but they stretched it out over at least ten episodes, padding those with situations based on uselessly masochistic self-abnegations so contrived that my suspension of disbelief almost never recovered.

But thankfully, it didn't overtake the main story of the show, which was the real draw in the first place. It's clear the creator had a lot of fun with her inaugural anime adaptation and it shows through her somewhat unconventional artwork and character designs. The whole thing sort of reminds me of "Doug". The animation certainly shows its age, although it's pretty solid for what was shown at the time. For those who are expecting the quality put into Yazawa's other two animes by Madhouse Studio, be warned that you've been spoiled.

The music, mostly provided by Mikako's seiyuu Rumi Shishido might be an acquired taste for some (for those who don't like unsteady singing voices), but it grows on you, at least it did for me. The story, as long as it focuses on the two main characters, is pretty solid-grade work as it navigates you through the ups and downs of a teenage girl trying to cope with her contrary personality. As for enjoyment - well I wouldn't have spent at least 62 total hours going over the series if I didn't enjoy it. So in the end it would have received a higher grade for the story and characterization if it weren't for the mostly repetitive fillers.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 26, 2020

haydenluvsanime

Recommended

Ai Yazawa, known mostly for Paradise Kiss and Nana, has been a prolific figure in the world of shoujo manga for decades with her mature themes and more realistic approach to character development. Gokinjo Monogatari was my introduction to her.

What initially drew me to watch this show was the very unique art style. Everything is done completely with flat colors which made me think of '70s cartoons. It's definitely a peculiar look, but fits the show to a tea. There's a perfect balance between being tastefully retro and progressively modern. Thankfully nothing is really lost with having such beautiful artwork either. It's similar to Sailor ... Moon in the sense that the art style at its core is so strong and appealing that the limited animation isn't as much noticeable, though, that's not to say that it doesn't also look great in motion, because it does.

But art only nets you so many points in your favor. I could also mention the music which is absolutely phenomenal and so good that it can almost be a little distracting at times. Take that as you will, I see it as a positive. But the characters is where Ai Yazawa shines and Gokinjo Monogatari certainly doesn't skimp out on that. Despite being one of her earlier manga, it works because it all feels very personal.

Every character in Gokinjo Monogatari is lovable and easy to empathize with. Even if there were a character you didn't particularly like or connect with at first, I guarantee you'll grow to love them during one of their episodes. Yes, while there definitely is an on-going narrative, for the most part it's pretty casual. There definitely is plenty of drama and romance, but it weaves in and out of relevance rather than being the main focus. And in between that you have a string of really wholesome episodes that'll tug at your heartstrings. These were some of my favorite episodes and really showcases the show's wide emotional palette.

With that being said, comedy is one thing Gokinjo Monogatari does not prioritize. Most of it comes from cheeky banter between the characters. It's more charming than anything, but you won't exactly be laughing out loud. Honestly I kind of like that though. Makes everything feel a lot more genuine. Every scenario feels like it could've been directly inspired from the creators' lives. It creates this very intimate bond between the show and the viewer. Gokinjo Monogatari is something you watch to invest yourself into these characters' lives. To see this group of friends figuring themselves out through the hard times, but ultimately sticking together out of mutual love for each other. While some moments hit very close to home and and made me feel the same guilt and anxiety as the characters, at the end of the day it encourages self-improvement and shows you that there are people out there for you. Is it anything life-changing? Maybe, maybe not. It's honestly more reaffirming than anything. Makes me feel more confident in myself. And I think that's something everybody could appreciate. Regardless of what you get out of this show, it absolutely will stick with you one way or another.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 27, 2020

CataOrShane

Mixed Feelings

I've watched Paradise Kiss back in 2010 and I enjoyed it a lot.
Ten years later I decided to watch the prequel (back in 2010, it was considered a parent story so I was in no rush to watch it).

The story presents itself as a couple of teenagers in love with each other but they don't know how to deal with it, on top of discovering their dreams and chasing them. I was into it and the characters are lovable, for the most part.

The name of this anime is Gokinjo Monogatari but "Flashback Monogatari" would be much more fitting. There are so many ... flashbacks throughout every single episode that it's insane. I kept skipping them because they're so common and repetitive that their job to create drama and emotion isn't possible to be fulfilled.

I also disliked the overall pacing of the story. After 10 episodes in, it felt that the anime was just dragging itself off while nothng major was happening to the characters, with a couple of exceptions after.

On episode 34, there's a spelling error on the english word "Paradise". This is funny considering that the sequel that would be released 10 years later would have that word in the name.

Everything from now on will be SPOILERS that affected my overall enjoyment of this anime:
1) Body-ko's character development was a mess. Everytime Body-ko was shown to have a solid personality, the next 10 episodes were presented like she was still the 1-dimensional character that she was introduced as.
2) The amusement park scenes when Body-ko realized that Tsutomu wasn't in love with her, including the whole conversation they had about their childhoods and life expectations was a joke. That sequence was interrumpted by dumb, unfunny "comedy" and it didn't have the dramatical impact it should've had.
3) When the old man danced with Risa and began imagining her as his ex-girlfriend, I couldn't help but get all these creepy vibes.
4) It makes no sense whatsoever that a 16/17 year old would still miss and adore her father like Mikako does, considering that she has no proof that her father has tried to stay in touch with her: no phone calls, no visits and no letters. In reality, it was Mikako's mother that hid the letters. It would be so much better for Mikako to be extremely bitter against her father and chase him for answers, only for her to learn the truth about her mother's attitude.
5) Yuushiro slapping the face out of Body-ko was extremely uncalled for. If he stepped up with a talk or even a yell it would still be meaningfull and without physical violence. This was a sweet romantic show about young people and their first experiences with love and suddenly it actually showed an example of domestic violence and presented it as being acceptable if someone's jealous or acting "crazy". It was such a let down and on top of that, not a single character supported Body-ko, quite on the contrary. I don't care how "crazy" someone is, violence is not the way to go.
6) It's extremely weird how Mikako's mother decided to visit her ex-husband's exhibition a 2nd time and also decided to check the visitors' record. There wasn't any hint or plausible reason that would make her think of checking the names.
7) Having Mikako's father propose and try to be with his ex-wife again was so stupid. They broke up because they were both too focused on their own jobs. In the 4 years they were apart, nothing changed in that regard but yet the first things out of that man's mouth in a hospital room is "let's try again". I understand it's a romance anime but a little bit of common sense and realism only helps.
8) Yuushiro's and Body-lo's relationship didn't evolve at all from the "tsundere-tsundere" couple. This was a wasted opportunity for some really good episodes.



I've watched other Yazawa Ai's works: Paradise Kiss and Nana and I loved them. I'm happy that over the years she got better at story telling, building drama and creating characters. Overall this anime is a 6/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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