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One word immediately came to mind once I'd finished this manga: Beautiful.

This is the simple story of an unlikely friendship between a lonely girl and an old painter, as they think about the world and how it moves around them.
I love the art direction of the story, wherein the old man's memories are intercut with the present day story, and hold a more traditionally painted style--with graphite texture, sketch lines, and so forth. Not only does this work to distinguish them when they overlap, but also beautifully depicts the feeling of distant memories, how they become less tightly formed and hazier the older they get.

The ... manga is only 14 chapters long, so please give it a read when you're next in the mood for something bittersweet and gentle--I promise it will be worth your time!

A beautiful set of stories, full of reflection and a soft feeling--despite some sad moments.

The first five are interconnected stories about Ruka, and his feelings at different points of his life. I really enjoyed how accurately every stage was portrayed, from an infant to a young adult. The characters thoughts, feelings, and actions felt so remarkably accurate that they brought up my own similar memories!

The last two stand on their own, one a bittersweet romance, the other about two siblings. Simlar to Ruka's stories, they have a charmingly soft introspective feeling.

To top it all off, the artstyle is very strong--someone realistic feeling, with a softness ... to match the stories. In particular, I thought the final oneshot had some beautiful pages.

Highly reccomend giving these little stories a read, especially if you are in the mood for something emotional, yet calming.

This was a bit of a shame! I feel if this same concept was applied to a longer series, even just a full length movie, it had the potential to be a solid 7/8 star Sci-Fi Romance.
The ideas, story, and characters were promising, but either never developed beyond initial introduction, or were rushed due to the short run-time. For example--the main girls friend who appears at the start... there are a few scenes with her, and they all felt very pointless! I understand what they were trying to accomplish with the character, but it didn't feel neccessary when there was so little time to tell ... the story. I wish they had been removed and the time had been spent on our central romance instead.

The romance had a nice plot, but again it was crunched down to feeling almost abrupt with how quickly the characters relationship developed, giving the climax a lacking feeling as the emotional set-up for it to feel impactful was not there.

The biggest plus, however, was the art--I really like the style and found it quite unique. The characters had a realistic look and feeling that I personally enjoy, and the backgrounds are well-painted.

I think it was a nice enough watch, if a little confusing in parts, but would have been alot better as a full-length movie/series.

This manga felt like reading an abridged version of a longer story, in that every element of the plot is touched on very lightly, and/or resolved near-instantly. Character arcs are also similarly sped through, and their depth is only really alluded to. Some characters who seemed set up to be important new friends for our MC ended up only appearing in one-or-two chapters, with no relationship development despite it being set up... I wouldn't be surprised if the manga was cancelled at some point despite not being marked as such.

The art was very pretty, along with the character designs which were all fairly unique and ... fun--I particularly like Tsukie, who has little Roses for her buns.

Overall the manga is an easy, quick, and enjoyable enough read, but will likely leave you wishing you got a longer version of the story that took the time to fully explore its characters, world, and plot elements.

A lovely collection of stories, capturing many emotions surrounding love!

The main story, Mashikaku Rock, had a compelling set of protagonists. I love the main girls journey as she learns to live for herself. I appreciated that not only is her romance highlighted, but also her friendship with the third bandmate.

The second story made me cry, and was my personal favourite. A really poignant reflection on missed opportunities and dealing with it being too late, as a boy thinks about his seatmate--who he never spoke to or learned the name of--who died.

The third story was an exploration of a childhood friend love triangle, and explored unrequited ... love and how it can affect friendships. I thought this one was sweet, and again had a compelling trio at the forefront.

And finally, the last story was just plain adorable.

Overall, I really reccommend this manga as a nice collection of romantic tales all headed by compelling protagonists and love interests!

This film is wonderful!
A slow paced slice-of-life, with a love story running through it, this film was just a joy to watch.
Firstly--the visuals are stunning, with use of vibrant colours that are well crafted to be complimentary and make things, well, pop! The animation is nice, fluid in places although many shots are also quite still. I think the backgrounds are 3D greasepencil, they mesh well with the 2D elements and again bring a unique look and feeling to the film!
The character designs are similarly unique and fun, especially our female lead Smile.
Speaking of her, I was initially worried that the 'streamer' aspect of her ... character would be handled pourly, or be somewhat annoying to watch, but I think it was incorporated really well and didn't overstay it's welcome in scenes. She was a fun protagonist to follow, with a relatable struggle about appearance and embracing yourself that I found very lovely to watch.
Cherry, our male lead, also has a compelling arc about finding your voice and expressing yourself. The two arcs are weaved nicely together to create a compelling and sweet romance.

The story is slow-paced in a good way, just enough to keep you engaged while unfurling in a relaxed manner before ramping up for the climax at the end. I personally love slow-paced SOL stories, and think this is among the best of them! If you prefer faster-paced anime, it may not be for you, however.

Overall, this is a wonderfully compelling slice-of-life romance with a unique visual flair that makes it fun to watch, with a compelling cast and story--and I highly recommend it to those looking for a slow, cute, and visually compelling experience!

This anime was very stupid. I mean that positively!
A series of 3-minute funny shorts about three girls, this anime accomplishes what it sets out to be (silly, fun, and easy-to-watch) very well.

The animation was nice, fairly smooth, and the artstyle has a cute and fun feeling that matches the series nicely. The girls designs were nothing unique, but I didn't mind--they were easy to distinguish and suited their personalities.
The voice acting was notably good too, feeling very natural and pleasant to listen to, which was a nice bonus!

If you just watched a depressing anime, or are feeling low, I reccomending watching Aiura! Its a fun ... little mood-boosting anime, with a surprisingly sweet final episode to round things off with a nice warm feeling as well.

A five-minute short drama made to motivate exam students, so it's a little hard to review! It feels like a trailer/clip compilation for a hard-hitting movie that would make you cry; but that's unavoidable. Within its constraints, it has done very well to deliver a compelling little short snippet that feels satisfying in its own right.
The style and animation are nice, and somewhat unique! I love the use of lighting and colour in particular.
Overall, worth a watch as it is a short and sweet little drama. Personally, it worked well as an advert for the studio as it makes me want to watch something full-length ... from them!

‘Stardust Telepath’ is a fairly rudimentary CGDCT Club Anime, centering around the rather unique concept of rocket building.
The long and short of this review is that I think it is a decent watch, but doesn’t do anything mind-blowing—rather, it seems a little bit hesitant to. Overall, I think that this show would’ve benefited if it was more a drama than a comedy, as character arcs that were starting to run deeper were often cut off by jokes or resolved very quickly.
The positive standouts:
- The Club being about rockets was very unique and fun, and I learned a fair bit about something I knew nothing about!
- The artstyle, ... character designs, and animation are very very good—I love the hair design and movement in particular. This was definitely a highlight, and I love the aesthetic of night skies and stars, which appears a lot too!
- The OP and ED are catchy and pretty songs, with good visuals to match them.
- Haruno threatened to become deeply interesting—though unfortunately the show seemed hesitant to delve into it too much—as the typical ‘Mum Friend’ turns out to be deeply insecure in a way I found quite unique. She was certainly my favourite and I really enjoyed her, especially in the last few episodes!
- The main girls would be a cute couple, I wish it was actually a GL instead of just implying/teasing it! But I liked their relationship. Silly cutie pies!

The negatives:
- Raimon. Okay, okay, I’ll admit I tend to dislike the tsundere/harsh-but-secretly-soft characters in general; but I tend to love them when they develop and grow. She didn’t really in my opinion, and the narrative justified her actions far more than it should have. She is quite melodramatic about several situations and lashes out, but the show doesn’t do enough to explain WHY (it does explain a bit, but I found it quite surface level and not enough to warm me to her). I honestly found myself just wanting the other characters to leave her and move on at some points, as she had never been kind enough to any of them for me to believe in their friendship and want them all back together again. I think she is the main thing that would’ve benefited from a drama-focus again because she had many interesting ideas within her that just weren’t given the right timing or weighting within the narrative.
- The main character is a mix of positive and negative… I think she would’ve been great had her panic attacks been portrayed more realistically. I think she was hit by the common curse on anime girls on having to be ‘cute’ first, characters second (barf). She had to be anxious in a way that was still ‘moe’ to fit the show, and I think that weighed her down and made her annoying at some points. Almost every line being stuttery and having her blushing… was a bit much lol. However, as an anxious girlie myself, I still found some moments relatable and well done. Overall, she’s a decent protagonist.
- In general, I think the show would’ve been better as a drama than a more comedic one, because the characters often threatened more depth than they were ultimately given to explore. I think the concepts would’ve felt more complete and fulfilled given more time to focus on them, dissect them, and more intricately interweave them beyond the girls just having a mutual goal. Many character moments were punctuated by a joke, or resolved lightheartedly, when I feel they could’ve been very impactful and interesting had they instead gone deeper, taken longer, etc. (and I say this as a massive 4-koma comedy fan!) I understand it is based on a 4-Koma manga, though, so I do understand why it felt this way writing-wise from the original formatting.
So yeah. It’s a decent anime that I feel could’ve gone further, but still serves as a cute little watch with some fun moments and very pretty animation. If you like CGDCT, I think you’ll like it, but I don’t think it is a stand-out of the genre. But, well, not every anime has to be!
7/10!

A short but sweet manga, that managed to pack a suprising amount of characterization and character development into it's 12 chapters.
I definitely reccomend giving it a read, especially if you enjoy character-based stories.

The main girl has a suprising amount of depth and feels quite realistic, which is something you don't often see with 'quirky female lead' characters; especially in romance series. She has agency outside of her relationship with the main character, and isn't written as though she is 'for' him, but for herself.

The artstyle is so cute--I added it to my list because of the cover art, which is so colourful and dynamic I ... just had to give it a try! Lots of pretty panels, and consistent in the character models and style. I particularly liked how the darker haired characters would sometimes have a lineless gradient style for the back of their hair, it looked so pretty.