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Jan 7, 2019
What's in a name? Japan has the unnerving tendency to create titles more akin to horror stories as opposed to a story in the Romance/Slice of Life genre. If (like myself) your hard-pressed decision in regards to whether or not you decide to watch an anime (or in this case a movie which in all honesty felt less like a movie and more just a prolonged episode of an anime), is based upon comparisons with other well known animes. Then your perfect comparison would be none other than Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso (aka Your lie in April).
A beautiful and lively girl named Sakura
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Yamauichi who's already come to terms with her terminal pancreatic cancer, happens upon a socially awkward unnamed protagonist who accidentally finds her diary and learns about her illness. Sakura subsequently forces the unnamed protagonist to spend the rest of her days crossing off various enjoyable tasks on her bucket lists alongside her new found friend.
The joyous essence of Your Lie In April lay within the progressive relationship between Kousei and Kaori and in my own humble opinion this has been mirrored, (or perhaps even improved upon) within Kimi No Suizou Wo Tabetai. The stunning visuals (particularly in the now infamously jaw-dropping fireworks scene) uses a soft palette of colours, perfectly accentuating the mood throughout the film. Furthermore the OST produced for Kimi No Suizou Wo Tabetai is utilised at very particular points throughout the movie, heightening the emotional impact brought upon by the individual scenes with brilliant effect.
Being shown the ending of the movie within the opening few moments provides a feeling of continuous nervous trepidation as the viewer awaits for the inevitable to occur. However Sakura's character is such, the film is more a story of her celebration of life as opposed to her inevitable and unpreventable death.
One phrase we all happen upon during our lives is “opposites attract,” and this theme is played upon continuously throughout the feature. Calling the unnamed protagonist the Yang to her Yin, Sakura and her new friend have unexpectedly humorous back and forth exchanges simply due to their opposing perceptions and conflicting attitudes in regards to spontaneity and their approach towards building relationships, as well as the importance of relationships within our lives.
One negative trope which I'm slightly loathe towards was Sakura's friends hating/mistreating the unnamed protagonist due to their belief that Sakura's popularity and good looks meant she was way “out of his league”. Though Sakura obviously refuted this misconception, the intensity of their mistreatment towards our protagonist seemed disproportionate and slightly over-the-top. However side character development is substantially more difficult within the short time frame of a movie as opposed to within a full length anime series and therefore I can forgive the producer for this somewhat small misdemeanour.
Having no supernatural or incredulous happenings, (like in Kimi No Na Wa for instance), substantially increases the viewers relatability towards the characters as we feel these are all situations or experiences which could easily inflict us at some point or another within our lives and for me that's where this film thrives. Relatability means that we become emotionally invested in the trials and tribulations of our main protagonists and therefore you should inevitably expect tears of sadness and joy to be at a premium.
For me however the best scenes (similarly to Your Lie in April) were when we see the true emotions of the characters as opposed to portraying how they wish others to perceive them. Therefore the Truth or Dare scene whereupon the unnamed protagonist refuses to answer simply replying “dare,” is a testament to his own progression and the positive change brought about within him by befriending such a wonderful person.
Do not watch Kimi No Suizou Wo Tabetai and expect the unfathomable levels of character development seen within some of the best animes such as the Monogatari series or Oregairu, their simply isn't the time available for that extreme level of character development to occur. Instead sit back and enjoy the character interactions, the emotional developments, the stunning visuals, the awesome sound-track and finally a truly well built storyline allowing us to become slightly infatuated with the beautiful Sakura Yamauichi...Even if it's only for a very short period of time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Nov 24, 2018
Allow me to ask you a few not-so-simple questions. How do you define the undefinable? How do you describe the indescribable? How do you compromise with the uncompromisable? Not so easy is it?
Yahari Ore No Seishun Love Comedy Wa Machiggatieru (better known as Oregairu) is the anime adaptation of Wataru Watari's masterfully written LN (you anime watchers would definitely love) of the same name. The questions I asked above are simply hypothetical, the answers of which could simply be debated on endlessly.........In a similar fashion to Oregairu.
Oregairu is centred around three main characters (the three members of The Service Club): We have our main
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protagonist, the self proclaimed intellectual loner Hachiman Hikigaya (also known as 8man). Hachiman's previously unsuccessful interactions with members of the opposite sex, coupled with a staunch belief towards the unnecessary requirement of social interactions and procurement of friendships or bonds inevitably moulded Hachiman into a highly mistrusting, weary and socially awkward (but admittedly hilarious) individual.
Our two other main characters are the socially awkward (yet highly intellectual), beautiful, deeply caring and slightly uncompassionate Yukino Yukinoshita (younger sister of the beautiful, well known and incredibly talented Haruno). The other being the well loved, slightly ditzy, naturally gorgeous and always willing to help Yui Yuigahama.
Much of Oregairu takes place in The Service Club, an atypical club whereby other students are able to ask members of The Service Club for their personal assistance in solving various personal issues; These range from helping with festivals, reading books or even helping with relationships. Furthermore the main teacher/adult role model of the show (Shizuka Hiratsuka aka Hiratsuka Sensei), sets a “Battle Royale” of sorts between the members of the club pitting them against each other, the winner being the member whose methods provide the most positive outcomes. Sadly the hugely differing methods chosen between the staunchly unwavering personalities of Hachiman and Yukino, inevitably leads towards emotional conflicts.
Unlike season 2 (Oregairu Zoku) which takes on a more serious tone, the intelligent comedic humour in s1 inevitably occurs during the hilarious back and forth insults between Yukino and Hachiman. Now what if I was to say to completely disregard any of the above comments? Because that's what truly sets apart Oregairu (and the Monogatari series) from any other anime created. Classic movies such as Shutter Island, Memento, The Sixth Sense, Se7en, The Usual Suspects and various other movies with a clever “twist narrative,” are highly layered films, entrenched with very small details which become more visible upon the second or third viewing; In a similar fashion upon your initial viewing of Oregairu you maybe wrongly inclined to label this brilliant anime as simply a comedic high school story with the typical love triangle development....However you'd be incredibly wrong.
The greatest TV shows, movies or animes are those which incite intellectual debate long after its procurement and with Oregairu you could correctly or incorrectly argue the intricate specificities behind the characters motives, possible directions and most importantly their true inclinations towards either a positive or negative outcome (whether they're acting purely selfishly with their own goals in mind or if they're working together in order to produce a singular outcome). The characters tone of voice, body/eye movements, inner monologues, flashbacks, character interactions (both hidden and in public) can all indicate a characters hidden agenda and this is true for nearly every character in Oregairu at some point during the anime. The incredible detail provided by Wataru Watari within these character interactions is extremely easy to gloss over, and therefore you may find yourself questioning more hardened Oregairu fans whom may have a better grasp in regards to understanding the true meanings behind carefully implemented words or phrases.
Though season 2's opening OP (Harumodoki – Forunesia Ft Nagi Yanagi) is the stand out in the OST, the accompanying music throughout Oregairu (particularly Kitto Kanojo) are beautiful renditions perfectly providing the mood and tension whenever required. However as is regularly the case, the OP is littered with spoilers and therefore you may wish to avoid reading too much into the intricacies behind the translation of the incredibly well produced OP.
The naturally humorous Eguchi Takuya performs an astounding job as Hachiman (forever labelling him as the one true Hachiman), whilst cute Tsundere roles have now become a natural fit for beautiful Nao Touyuma (Chitoge anyone?). Furthermore Hayami Saori can often overshadow all other characters with her powerfully moving renditions as Yukino Yukinoshita, regardless of the atmosphere present. Whether utilising ice cold sarcastic humour, or emotionally charged denigration, you can guarantee scenes involving Yukinoshita will forever be memorable. (Subsequently her role as Yukinoshita is surprisingly similar to her role as Shiraishi in Yamada Kun and the 7 witches which was released roughly around the same time and therefore her transition into Yukinoshita is carried out with a seamless perfection).
I could go on and on about this gem of an anime however your time would be better spent elsewhere (like watching Oregairu if your yet to do so). Upon completion you'll be provided the luxury of endlessly debating within the YouTube comments section or having fiery debates on Reddit, or just sitting back and twiddling your thumbs until season 3's Heavily anticipated release.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 22, 2018
WARNING this review will contain spoilers for “Your lie in April” throughout. If you do not wish to read any spoilers than please don't read ahead, you have been warned!!
In these deeply frivolous times perfectly characterized by ever waning concentration levels and the absolute requirement for high octane, instantly absorbing dramatizations. Two opposite methods for critiquing have generally become populous amongst the generic anime fan-base: The first being an over-critical and over-the top scene-by-scene demolition of thoroughly enjoyable animes, (even those animes utterly undeserving of such incredulous levels of criticism).
On the other extreme we have animes that for one reason or another have become
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so insanely over-hyped that words such as masterpiece or perfection, or even typically cliché phrases such as “transcending time and space” or “saviour of anime” become thrown around without a second thought or minute hesitation. In particular Makoto Shinkai's brilliant feature length film “Your name.” Though truly enthralling at times with gorgeous animations, intuitive main characters and a great storyline; Sadly consisted of far too many convenient coincidences, pointless side characters and glaring plot holes to every truly be labelled an absolute masterpiece.
I'll be completely honest and state that “Your lie in April,” is an anime I'd known about for a substantial period of time, having been on my recommendations list on Netflix and having seen previews on various YouTube channels or MyAnimeList. However I purposely avoided this anime due to typically unappealing plot summaries and furthermore the heavily divided opinion amongst anime fans in regards to how good YLIA really is. After finally taking the plunge, in my own humble opinion I feel that any initial hesitations were completely unfounded and I'd gladly recommend this anime to anyone who loves the Slice of Life/Romance/High school genres.
The word which personifies this anime for me was inevitability. From the first time you watch the intricately detailed OP until the heartbreaking final episodes, the various methods used to foreshadow the ending leaves the viewers hoping against hope that their worst fears won't eventually become reality.
Whether that be subtle hints: Such as Kaori falling down in the OP and being unable to stand again, falling with her eyes closed surrounded by feathers, the death of a cat, the light of a glow-worm disappearing coupled with Kaori's heart-wrenching words.
Or more in your face hints: For example showing all the medication Kaori was taking, her foreboding yet eloquently spoken phrases such as “I hope they'll remember even if I die,” her ever weakening state and towards the ending her declining physical exterior coupled with her emotional breakdowns in front of Kousei. Kaori's soul-destroying ending was sadly an inescapable inevitability.
You'd imagine that an anime centred around a child prodigy pianist and a naturally brilliant (yet slightly temperamental violinist) would have some unforgettable accompanying music, and YLIA definitely disappoint. Goose houses catchy opening op (coupled with the incredibly detailed op animations) was an absolute joy, whilst Wacci's – Kirameki (the ending OST) had a hauntingly reminiscent feel signalling the end of an era between the characters.
On the other hand the music utilised within the anime, (in particular the children's solo/duet performances) were mesmerising both audibly and visually. The seamless shifts between the pace and tone of music perfectly reflected the characters ever changing emotional and physical well-being as well as helping to progress the anime's efforts towards humanizing the piano. Music is treated as a viable outlay symbolizing the characters deepest emotions that their tender age and socially awkward persona prevents them from verbalising.
One of the main criticisms aimed at YLIA is in regards to it's side characters, (for instance that Watari and Tsubaki are pointless characters and the anime would progress just fine without them). Initially I had similar thoughts in regards to Watari, however after carefully scrutinizing the ending my perception of him has performed a complete U-turn. The womanizer persona who generally existed for plot progression in the first half of the anime, does indeed have irregular screen time and zero backstory however he has a very subtle importance. Playing the big brother guide towards Kousei on various occasions, but more importantly highlighting how every character is living their own “lie” in YLIA. Watari's lie was that he was substantially more caring than his outgoing confident womanising persona led us to believe. Crying in the toilet after losing the game, constantly visiting Kaori (even though he knew Kaori and Kousei liked each other) and finally staring solemnly towards a picture of him and Kaori at the exact moment Kousei reads Kaori's line in the letter “I'm sure Watari will quickly move on, I think I'm suited to someone more sincere.” Even if Watari will move on easier than Kousei, I believe no-one else except Kousei knew Watari's true character.
In regards to the criticism aimed towards Tsubaki, in my view it remains nothing short of incredulously over-exaggerated. Tsubaki remains integral to the story throughout the series and is provided with plentiful screen-time (particularly in the second half of YLIA). It's somewhat understandable that due to having two extremely strong and likeable main characters Kousei and Kaori) whose desires, limitations, fears, hopes and dreams act as the engine in driving forward this brilliant anime; Upon providing backstory for a side character, there requires deviation from the main story (In similar fashion to how Sasha was provided backstory in AOT). However Tsubaki's backstory and emotions in regards to Kousei are what heavily develop Kousei into the finished article we see in the final episode. In regards to Tsubaki being a homewrecker and receiving hate as she prevented Kaori's love confession towards Kousei......It's too childish a comment to warrant a response. Tsubaki has spent years together with Kousei and therefore her developing romantic feelings towards him is completely natural. Kaori is such a brilliantly empathetic character that she chose not to hurt her good friend Tsubaki, (especially as in her own words she was but a passing emotion).
Another criticism is that the characters act and speak as if they're substantially older then the 14 years attributed towards them; Firstly let's remember (regardless if your watching dubbed) we're watching something translated from Japanese and therefore you should always take the meanings of words and phrases with a pinch of salt. I agree to an extent that 14 year olds may not utilise the same vocabulary or eloquence of speech utilised in YLIA, however realism shouldn't be at the detriment of the interactions. The targeted audience will in general be slightly older and therefore will be able to attest and emotionally relate towards the brilliant interactions in YLIA, (lest we forget one of the most psychologically brilliant interactions in anime is Oregairu whereby the characters are only 16-17 years young).
For me, the brilliance of YLIA was in it's ability to emotionally connect the characters to the viewers regardless of the viewers knowledge in regards to Kaori's demise. I'll hold my hand up and say I knew the ending before watching, however that still didn't dissuade my interest nor make me feel any less emotionally attached, (in particular to Kaori Miyazono) but also in regards to Kousei's tragic past losing a highly misunderstood and deeply caring mother (who constantly referred to Kousei as her treasure).
I've watched hundreds of hours of animes and been utterly infatuated by strong progressive female characters over the years: Evangelion's Misato Katsuragi, Clannad's Nagisa Furukawa, Mirai Nikki's Minene Uryuu, Kill La Kill's Satsuki Kiryuin, Sailor Moons Hino Rei and many others. In all those years I've never become so completely overwhelmed by one character as I have with Kaori Miyazono and therefore never has a death hit me to such an extent. Kaori's continuous struggle against her life-threatening illness never dimmed her joyous and out going personality towards life, continuously pushing Kousei to struggle and succeed whilst keeping her romantic feelings hidden out of respect to her great friend Tsubaki. Seeing Kaori writhe and struggle in determination whilst in rehabilitation perfectly encapsulates her incredible persona, whereby she strived until the very end. In fact the small unravelling we see of Kaori in two scenes makes her struggles even more incredible; The “commit double suicide scene” and on the rooftop towards the end when she breaks down in-front of Kousei stating: “I'm scared, please don't leave me alone.”
These are the only two scenes where due to the overwhelming situation Kaori finds herself in and her understanding towards her inevitable death, she's no longer able to hide her true feelings out of respect for her friends. This relates back to my previous point in regards to the age of the characters whereby we can truly understand that Kaori really is just a scared 14 year old girl watching her own life being snatched away too soon.
In truth YLIA isn't the flawless masterpiece of the ilk of Mozaart's or Beethoven's memorable pieces portrayed so brilliantly within the series. However as Kaori longingly stated “What type of Chopin do you want to play?” YLIA isn't about being a masterpiece or even reaching perfection; This sometimes silly, gorgeously animated, emotional roller-coaster aims to connect to it's viewers on an emotional level. Pointing towards the fleeting and delicate nature of life and yet how the tiniest yet most incredible moment, can resonate with us long after we've departed.
The LN author stated how he felt this was an anime signifying “death and rebirth,” and these words are so perfectly symbolised in the final scene where Kousei imagines Kaori asking him “Will you remember me? Was I able to live inside your heart?” Whereby he replies with a resounding yes.
For me the weakest sections of YLIA came within its slightly random side stories, though I did enjoy the rivalry between Kousei, Takeshi and Emi. The arc with (for me the worst character) Nagi seemed a somewhat uninteresting and unnecessary deviation, which could have been better utilised towards increased development of the other characters. Furthermore I would have liked to have seen more development and interactions between Emi and Kousei. I quite liked Hayami Saori's brilliantly played Emi, the girl who idolised Kousei and unselfishly wished for him to revert back towards the heights of being the infinitely talented child prodigy who inspired her into the pianist she is today. Sadly she was pushed towards the back towards the final arc having no meaningful interactions with Kousei or any credible impact upon the story, which I found extremely disappointing.
On a final note please don't mistake my initial rant as being an overly-presumptuous mechanism towards impinging upon the anime communities right towards critiquing and objectively scrutinizing animes. However the key word remains objectively, criticism should always first and foremost take into account inevitable barriers created by the source material. More importantly (and this is towards the hardened and experienced anime viewers), we should never forget the reasons behind initially falling in love with animes. The ability to momentarily forget the hardships of reality, becoming completely encapsulated by something magical and if we allow it than YLIA's emotionally charged tale achieves that very objective. I may eventually forgive the author for killing off my newly favourite anime character, as he was able to bring the incredible character known as Kaori Miyazono into fruition.........Even if it was only for a fleetingly small yet very precious moment in time.
“A spring without you is coming.”
Kaori Miyazono was wrong about one thing, she won't just live on within one person but within all us newly devoted fans of hers.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 4, 2018
Tired of over-powered Shounen characters screaming 247 whilst blasting away at anything that moves? Sick of disproportioned hentais shoving unrealistic imouto and harem themes down your throat?? Do you want a welcome change of pace?? Re:Life is your answer
Re:Life answers the one question everybody encounters at some point in their lives: What if i could have done things differently??
Our story follows a principled and hard-working 27 year old Arata Kaizaki, who wonders mysteriously upon one Ryo Yoake, whom subsequently offers Kaizaki the opportunity for a Re:life. The opportunity to take a specially developed pill which returns his features to that of a high school
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student. Kaizaki will then return to high school for the year where his interactions, friendships, love interests and educational studies will all be monitored and finalised in a report at the end of the year.
The drama and comedic elements stem from the fact that Kaizaki whilst having the features of a high school student, will still have the memories, experience and physique of a non-physical 27 year old and therefore will have to be very careful when interacting with others, so as not to give away any information which could unfurl his little secret.
In my opinion this is a very well paced anime, the music fits the anime and scenes very well and furthermore the animation style is very crisp and accentuates the often comedic humor almost perfectly.
Much of the criticism stems from unfair comparisons with the Light Novel, the detail (in particular in the OVA's Kanketsu-Hen) has been methodically trimmed in order to compensate for the 13 short episodes and 4 short OVA's. However for non-LN readers this is largely unnoticeable as the information within the story provided is more than enough to not cause any issues, in particular the visual hints provided within the OVA's provides a great conclusion (not to mention how brilliant the ending scene was). As they say a picture speaks a thousand words and this is utilised to great effect throughout the show.
If you haven't seen RE:Life and your able to delve into shows completely open-minded (in particular you LN readers) then you won't be disappointed. You'll laugh, cry and be emotionally connected with Arata and his friends (in particular Hishiro-San) and end up completely satisfied by the end of the OVA (a must watch 4 episode OVA if you watch the 13 episode anime).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 15, 2018
So back to our typical teen boy wakes up with the ghost of deceased teen girl lying on top of him and then proceeding to straddle said teen boy…… Ok so it’s not your typical day by any means.
After watching the brilliantly written Toradora, you do what any self-respecting anime fan does and google “animes like Toradora,” low and behold the Toradora writers themselves got together to write a new anime with the longest name in history (Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai) which translates to We still don’t know the name of the flower we saw that day
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(or Anohana for short). Now I’m sure that other reviewers will probably give you some sort of mystical reasoning behind the title, however unlike Toradora (Tiger/Dragon), the title has much less to do with the overall storyline, rather its only after watching the movie (following the anime) whereupon you see Poppo’s perspective on the day Meiko died and how he uses flowers to remember her, (as well as possible other minor references to flowers).
Putting the name aside, Anohana is a solid anime, taking a very difficult topic and then enveloping said topic within a slice of life/rom-com anime. The story follows our MC Jintan who finds his deceased childhood love (Meiko) is living in his home however he’s the only one who can see her. We also have his childhood friends who he grew apart from following her death, Anjou, Yukiatsu, Poppo and Tsurumi as well as minor school scenes and relevant family members.
The most important thing to remember while watching Anohana is that yes the group of friends have grown up persḕ, however they have grown up into teenagers and therefore still lack a level of maturity which adults would show (Kaizaki in ReLife for instance). Very early on in the show we see the various ways which our characters have attempted at dealing with their grief (or what seems like grief) over having seen one of their precious friends die at such a young age. However just like in any anime not everything is as it seems and as the day of Meiko’s death is recounted throughout the show in more detail, we start to see the level of selfishness surrounding said grief that teenagers with raging hormones tend to show.
The brilliant ending OP afflicts listeners with a sense of togetherness that’s used to great effect in various emotional scenes such as the recurring fights between Yukiatsu and Jintan, or the heartbreak felt by Anjou, hinting at a better tomorrow where the friends can set their various differences aside and at the very least come together if only in the name of Meiko (at least that’s what we hope).
Various themes are explored in Anohana but from reading various other reviews I believe that the ending scene somewhat clouds peoples understanding of the show. Yes the ending of Anohana is extremely emotional and all the friends come together with one cause in mind, however this doesn’t negate the scenes leading upto the finale. All of the characters bar Meiko have their own selfish reasons for trying to help Meiko “pass over” as it were, and therefore selfishness, self-righteousness, envy, jealousy are all important themes in Anohana which not only brought the characters up-to the point of the end scene, but will also affect them until they too meet their end.
The “Casper” theory as I call it regarding ghosts having a wish unfulfilled is the direction the makers of Anohana have taken, but the actual wish in my opinion could have been better thought out particularly if Jintan’s mothers situation is taken into account, the foundation and emotional backgrounds were in place for a much better wish. Furthermore I have to agree with some of the Youtubers in regards to the final scene, yes were I in the same situation I believe my emotions would have got the better of me and I may have acted erratically, not to mention that these are teenagers who have been through a traumatic experience and therefore it’s an extremely difficult situation for them. However where we saw a range of emotions being utilised in Toradora such as anger, empathy, loneliness, togetherness and heartbreak all being used for their emotional scenes, it seems like the characters were too quick to start bawling out crying as opposed to utilising other emotions which may have suited the situation better, or at the very least provided us with something different to come to terms with, which I felt was a far better aspect of Toradora.
Again these are minor criticisms and comparisons, Anohana is a very well written anime and one that lovers of rom-com, slice of life anime watchers will love. There are numerous awful and very boring animes from these 2 genres but Anohana isn’t one of them. True the comedy isn’t laugh out loud and complexity of emotions isn’t as intriguing as in Oregairu or Toradora, the actual wish reveal and range of emotions utilised is somewhat lacking, however there is enough emotional detail, suspense and intrigue in the plot and comedic humour to keep the viewer enthralled and wanting to find out just what happens next.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 9, 2018
“What I couldn’t believe, is that someone I had loved, actually loved me back”
Growing older we all look back at our past relationships and especially growing up in the west it just isn’t as romantic as we imagined it to be. Sure some of us stay with childhood sweethearts however the term chivalry is dead seems to apply more often than not, in this respect Tsuki ga kirei would be the romance that most of us wish we had. A truly beautiful love story coated with a very re-playable lullaby type soundtrack that almost seems too incredible to be real, and yet realism is ingrained
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from beginning to end.
Though this won’t be for everyone and I for one appreciate and respect how our tastes all vary, however if you’re willing to sit through the awkward silences and artistic visual breaks in the main story my belief is that most viewers will come to appreciate this touching story of adolescent love. When I say realism is ingrained within the story I don’t use the phrase lightly, remembering that these are 2 very young adolescent teens (Kotarō Azumi and Akane Mizuno) both in the midst of junior high school and converging onto their main high schools; the awkward silences between them, the words stuck in their throats, blushing from holding hands or with a small kiss, as well as the jealousy from seeing each other with members of the opposite sex are all very real situations used to brilliant effect.
If your familiar with the romantic genre than don’t expect to not see all the usual cliché moments such as fireworks at a festival, an open bath/spa spring day out, an amusement park, a graduation and a lot of booze (although with the adults not the kids in question of course). However keep in mind these are the social situations which Japanese children find themselves during their school days (useless anime reference unintended,) and therefore it’s not about blaming the writers for unoriginality, rather we can analyse the method and relative success to which these situations unfold/conclude and Tsuki ga kirei tackles them all with aplomb. Setting aside the random transitions into people being some sort of weird cylindrical beings during initial crowd shots, the excitement seen in the face of Akane as she watches Kotaro perform or even the embarrassment our main characters display after a young girl teases them for kissing, are all important character developmentary scenes which enable us to emotionally connect to the characters on a deeper level. In my view an important aspect for any anime from this genre, especially when our characters undergo various hardships as without this emotional attachment to the characters, we viewers really won’t care what happens to them in the end.
Now Tsuki ga kirei is not a rom-com and therefore comedy Is kept to a minimum, instead substituted for subtle touches of modernity such as googling (or guugling if you will) how to act in a junior high relationship, a young female complaining about weight gain on scales (so true eh!), or even the male athletes making indecent references to the female runners behinds, all situations which we could see occurring at this very moment in time and therefore enhance our ability to relate and connect more with the characters.
Finally in my own humble opinion, the most important part of any anime (in particular romantic animes) is the ending; when an ending is written well the viewers are provided with a sense of closure, and whether that be happiness (such as with Nisekoi) or sadness (Sakurasou) what we all want is for the characters trials and tribulations to be rewarded with something befitting. Now I’m not saying that both of those referenced animes ended well, in fact Sakurasou in my opinion has one of the worst endings of any anime and is in fact a perfect example of what viewers don’t want to see, a character being written off or just sent into the background completely undeservedly for no foreseeable reason other than ending the story (you all know who I mean). Tsuki ga kirei provides us with that closure, with this only being a 12 episode anime the whole prologue from when our main characters finish junior high is shown only as a manga for a few short scenes, however the build up to this is written so well that we can believe and even imagine ourselves as viewers how all these events unfolded and therefore once that “fin” sign appears, we can sit back and reflect on that beautiful journey which dreams are made of.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 24, 2018
-Gordon Freeman meets Heavy Rain meets totally pointless super hero side story-
So after finishing B the Beginning I have to say I’m left somewhat underwhelmed. The final sequence definitely leaves the impression of a season 2 however I have to ask myself should there be? Don’t get me wrong I actually liked a lot of B the Beginning and I applaud Netflix for taking up so many animes for anime fans like myself, I literally haven’t ever regretted my Netflix subscription and don’t believe I ever will.
However B the Beginning makes the same mistake that I found myself not enjoying Shinmai Maou no Testament for,
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the addition of a secondary element which I believe to be wholly unnecessary. In Shinmai Maou no Testament that’s the constant ridiculous hentai fan service (which I’m not judging for) but seriously, suggestive themes are one thing and straight out hentai for half an episode is completely another.
B the Beginning does a lot right however the addition of Koku and the whole black winged king/Jaulo Blanco institute thing just doesn’t sit right with me. Having these crazy super powered characters provides a platform for some pretty fights, but at the end of the fight you really don’t care for Koku and Yuna. Sure you feel bad for Yuna when she’s got a blade pulled out of her and blood streaming, but ask yourself this, did you feel an emotional attachment hearing Okabe Rintarou slam his hand into his open wound and scream out in pain in Steins Gate? Or when Yuna got the blade pulled out? The answer is pretty simple, one character we cared about and the other we didn’t.
The best part of B the Beginning was the whole ending sequence between Keith Flick and the villain (I’m not going to spoil it), the puzzle solving detective element was a flashback to one of my favourite ever games in heavy rain, in particular the brilliant screenplay switch towards darkness and rain provides an immensely intuitive story that really draws you in, (brought about by my surprise from Kazuto Nakazawa the writer of the animation parts from Tarantino’s legendary Kill Bill). However the constant scene shifts between Koku and Keith/Lily just annoyed me as I only wanted to see the culmination between the serial killer and his superior not the other side story.
The main character (Keith Flick) and his nemesis are brilliant. In particular Keith is literally the talking Gordon Freeman; that beard, cold hearted brilliance, man against the world persona, you could literally feel yourself playing Half Life 2 again. Keith Flick has become one of my favourite anime main characters and I say that without literally any hesitation whatsoever. A man who sees through the bull sh** and is willing to gamble, not only his own lif,e but also his team members and friends just to win. When his nemesis says “we’re the same” its plainly obvious that deep down they are, with the exception that where his nemesis is unable to see remorse due to multiple personality disorder, Keith can. I could tell you about the side characters, but truthfully only Lily has any real importance and Boris is likable, the rest are pretty forgettable.
If I was to rewrite the show id literally leave out all the supernatural stuff and get rid of Koku/Yuna and the rest of the reggies. The whole serial killer/evil organisation back and forth puzzle solving was more than enough for a compelling story and the audience just want to see more of the badass that is Keith Flick (the same way we wanted more of Shinya Kogami in Psycho Pass but that’s for another day).
Due to the unnecessary addition I have to lower the score from a possible 8.5 down to a 7.8. Like I said some scenes in B the Beginning was awesome and the screen play was beautiful, however I just couldn’t care for Koku or the black winged king….sorry my liege.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 11, 2018
ok first things first............this is not a perfect anime in anyway and its wrongfully classed as a rom com...its not its a slice of life or becoming story.....in the anime there is romance but its just not that great
I make this review straight after finishing what took me about...1-2 weeks to finish this 24 episode anime and im extremely glad I did and do recommend you watch if you havent already watched it....
The story as a whole isnt that great....its a boy Sorata who is sent to live in a dorm (Sakurasou dorm obviously) and its a dorm for troubled youths because he cant
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have cats in the normal dorm... (ok first bad point why are these kids troubled??? ...jin is literally a perfectly normal guy who acts as the big brother in the whole anime giving advice to the stupid MC, Misaki senpai is a bit crazy...akasaka is a computing genius who refuses to go to a school because hes too smart..shiro who joins basically has the mental age of an 8 year old and nanami who joins is perfectly normal but she joins to alleviate her money issues)....calling them "troubled youths" is wrong but it is touted in the later episode that they were sent there not to disturb the art degrees of the other kids???? whatever honestly the story of this is not great and thats not the reason you should watch this anime
The reason we call it a slice of life anime is that it follows the main character Sorata as he goes through various problems compounded not only by the fact he has to help the mentally challenged Mashiro who can't do simple tasks by herself....but also because we find out that she is a insanely genius artist who can draw and paint to a level where she is already world renowned at her age.
The main draw of this anime IS NOT THE STORY....its the emotional hardships that the characters go through with us the audience willing them to make it through...however this anime generally throws that back in our face at each and every turn so...literally nothing works out for anybody...but i dont really have a problem with that because it was dealt with pretty well...and let me just say the graduation episode (23) was unbelievable...not only because you couldn't tell that it would happen but just because of the emotions showed by each of the voice actors in that one episode you literally felt like you were there willing the characters on (in particular misaki senpai shined with her speech).
The emotional scenes were extremely well done and for me the 2 characters you really really needed to hold this anime together were Jin and Nanami....without these 2 it just would have gone from an 8 to a 0.8...........Jin brought about the maturity and advice needed to keep Soratas ridiculous outbursts in check (Sorata was a absolute d**k to mashiro at times for literally no fault of her own just because he felt sorry for himself) and Nanamis understanding, hard work, cuteness and her actual love for Sorata (unlike mashiros.........well I have literally no clue what mashiro was to Sorata because she cant show her feelings and it feels like throughout the show that Sorata has no feelings what so ever for Mashiro so ye I dont get it.....and for those who have read the LN will attest that the ending of the LN is so so so so so bad that im glad there's no season 2 as id hate it). But ye Nanami brought about a sense of realism and actual depth to the emotional scenes in the show which generally involved her and Sorata.
Now heres the ridiculous part and why i downgraded the story score....the first is a smaller reason and its surrounding Chihiro sensei and Fujisawa...they had a very big opportunity to develop the background and character of chihiro sensei because you can tell she cared alot for these kids and tried her hardest to do what she could for them....but instead of letting us know what shes been through (with Fujisawa in the past) as well as what shes gone through for the kids, the show just hints at it and leaves the rest to the imagination hence why at the end her character becomes far more forgettable then she should have been. For instance by her saying "i have to go to a meeting i really dont want to" and we find out that she stood up for Mashiro saying it would make no difference where she lives.....or how she pretends to go austrailia but really is having the construction workers come to review the building....or even how fujisawa talks about a girl he used to love (we know its chihiro but why are we not told anymore about it)....and even just how fujisawa randomly always turned up when events were over but wanted to help like...were they trying to just make him useless or something??? i have no idea
The second is the biggest reason and it involves Nanami.....look if your going to have a MC end up with someone you make them have some commonalities and reasons as to why they should end up together....you don't just cop out and make the most compatible girl (Nanami) unable to profess her love for the MC so that eventually he no longer cares about her and just ends up with the other girl. For those saying they love mashiro....look she was a autistic beautiful and supremely talented girl........however that just shows how different and opposite she is to Sorata, who even stated multiple times that the fact that he and Nanami had to work hard (and together all the time might i add) and Mashiro just excelled naturally at any designing she did made him hate her. Now i have to make the connection to Nisekoi here, in Nisekoi the ending situation is similar but done in the RIGHT way....you may say "oh but he ends up with the other girl who isnt his first and main love" yes but the reasoning's as to why he ends up with Chitoge and not Onodera can be seen from the beginning, him and Chitoge have alot in common, they both care and protect each other, they both come from similar backgrounds and have been friends as kids and they both stuck up for each other when needed most....see where i'm going with this??????????? this is what Nanami and Sorata did for each other .................Mashiro and Sorata had nothing between each other...everything was just Sorata helping her because she was a autistic child minded girl ...and their personalities were so completely different it was embarrassing. The fact that the show strives to not have Nanami and Sorata together is a travesty and a ridiculous choice which can not be highlighted enough.
Sound: the sounds with the emotional scenes went together perfectly....however can't say i was much of a fan of any of the beginning or ending songs and some of the stuff was forgettable soon as you hear it....so 7 for that
Art: Really liked the style of art, very colourful and the paintings (in particular during the game demo) were awesome and really well done...though at times i did think that a bit of the art looked a bit dated (though i may have just been spoilt too much by the garden of words..my god that is beautiful). So 8.5
To summarise......There's too many screw ups in the story to call this a perfect anime and giving it a 10 your not being subjective enough to the anime (or your just overwhelmed by the incredible emotional scenes and forget the rest of the crap which you sat through)....destroying one of the best characters in the show (Nanami), having a main character with ridiculous outbursts, and not developing Chihiro sensei enough bring the main score down. However I thoroughly enjoyed watching and was gripped to find out what would happen at various times as the endings of some episodes really make you want more, a testament to the brilliance of the acting and you really do want it to work out for the characters in the end.
Overall id give it a score of 7.9.......I would definitely recommend a watch....however maybe the anime directors just stuck to the LN too much and would have been better off doing what Akame Ga Kill did and changing the ending more to how they wanted it.
Season 2???? after reading the LN??? no thanks don't screw up my enjoyment any more then you have done by bringing that piece of crap into existence
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 20, 2018
Im not trying to downplay anything here...everyone is entitled to their own opinion
however i decided to write this review after seeing koe no katachi being called exploitative and disingenuous towards the deaf community...........tbh i think thats pretty harsh on this anime and if you see it like that then your really not looking at the anime deep enough.
I will agree that some of the character telling is flat and some of the reactions of the characters themselves dont seem to go along with whats going on at that particular time in the story (in particular with how characters get angry or emotional at the slightest
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sign of a argument)...people just generally dont do that...hence my reason for giving characters 6
However i do have to defend koe no katachi in what its trying to achieve and what it has done in producing this movie, a quick overview on my part...koe no katachi is about a young boy shoya ishida who is relatively popular and starts to bully a new girl who joins the school (Shoko Nishimiya,) who happens to be deaf. Here we see the fragility of youth relationships, because as soon as his so called friends are lumped with him they disassociate themselves with him and he becomes outcasted....fastforward a few years and the now loner (and somewhat depressed Shoya) now wishes to right his wrong from his childhood and make up with shoko.
This is a VERY depressing anime and some of the scenes particularly what happens to Shoko is heartbreaking to say the least, but its not done for exploitative reasons in my view, first and foremost this is a REDEMPTION storyline which must always be kept in mind. Shoya goes against all advice and his own instincts to set right what he did all those years ago, and yes even though Shoko may seem to be over reacting to situations, she has literally just wanted to make friends her whole life and be treated equally, therefore the mental scars and depression which can come with being so alone can be seen both from Shoko and Shoya in 2 different ways, and their eventual reunion and co-intertwining relationship is the only method for either character to achieve some form of clarity
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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