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Most romantic tales are quite ubiquitous. There is a chance meeting, an initial spark, then further interactions, perhaps some conflict and ultimately a resolution. Tsuki ga Kirei, at first glance, is not too different in these respects. However, while the outline of this anime is similar, there is a certain finesse and subtlety which I will now get into in more detail.

Before delving too deep, however, there's a key symbolic concept that's used in this series and it involves the use of the moon. There is a saying in Japan that goes as such: “The moon teaches us that darkness can’t hide the beauty ... of life if we know how to reflect beauty”. It is by this proverb whereby the Tsuki ga Kirei's title is based off, as well as how the characters grow throughout this show and ultimately how the romance is developed. An example which illustrates this is during the ending sequence in each episode where a moon appears on the top right-hand corner of the screen. Starting from a new moon and concluding with a full moon, this imagery hints that in the end the romance between Akane and Kotarou will have been fully realised and will come into fruition. This is further shown, as a full moon is often seen as a symbolism for height of power, the peak of clarity, fullness and obtainment of desire: which in this case is romantic tension.

In addition to this allegory, quotes from a famous Japanese author, named Osamu Dazai, are tastefully used in each episode. These quotes are directed from Kotarou’s point of view and are applicable to the advancement of the story. In episode 1 the quote “The feeling of joy is perhaps like a speck of gold, glimmering faintly at the bottom of a river of grief” is used, while in a later episode the recitation “This is what I want to believe implicitly: Man was born for love and revolution”. These aren’t utilised without any ulterior purpose simply to sound witty, but are imperative to give the viewer the ability to follow the state of the story, as well as to read the character’s mind-sets at that point in time: starting from the initial moment when affection is first sparked, until the eventual full-fledged liaison.

As stated in the introduction, refining of simple techniques are used in Tsuki ga Kirei. These techniques are made use of because in essence, this is a simple story: two middle-schoolers meet by sheer chance and a romance blooms. The advantage of such a straight-forward setting is that the more vital features of a good story are highlighted, while simultaneously a large audience is able to enjoy said story, since there is not a lot of challenging information which needs to be digested first-hand. There are no deeply psychological traits here, nor are there any surreal plot-twists. In all honesty, that is precisely what made this anime so effective to me. All the viewer’s focus is predominantly extended to the relationship between the characters, without much distraction from anything else. Tsuki ga Kirei, in this way, is a profoundly efficient tale as every scene exists simply to further and more strongly achieve a realistic narrative.

Correspondingly, the efficient nature of the story is accentuated by the barren use of any major drama or comedy segments (in the main story at least). While these attributes are certainly existent, similarly to the quotations of Dazai, they are applied elegantly and are spread enough apart from one another, so that no overwrought or soppy scenes would strive the viewer away from the show's principal backbone; which once again is the successful capturing of a realistic and believable cast of characters set in a logical and credible environment.

The only issue I personally experienced with Tsuki ga Kirei’s story, ironically (as this is the event that sold most people into becoming infatuated with the show), is with the ending itself. Although beautifully executed, I feel as if it ventured away from what the production attempted to achieve and that is centrally a credible chain of events, but I digress as I was relatively pleased with the finale.

Matching the astounding storytelling, what makes the characters so rational is that they all have their own respective backgrounds, quirks and set of values. This makes each persona their own, instead of relying on tired tropes which bargain on a gimmick to describe their personalities. Equally, one of the most notable achievements in Tsuki ga Kirei is the manner in which the characters enhance each other throughout the series, but more on this later on. Foremost I want to talk about the two protagonists: Azumi Kotarou and Mizuno Akane, starting with Azumi Kotarou.

The story is told chiefly from the perspective of Kotarou as he gradually develops a meaningful connection with Akane, while exploring the changes that occurs in his adolescent mind. What makes him such a proper protagonist is that he acts, sounds and thinks like a child in his age. Combining a fascination for classical writing and love for shadow-boxing, he feels like a living, breathing person and in the same fashion as the story he is shown in a diffident, simplistic light, once again rejecting any unnecessary personality traits which would likely distract from his maturation as a teenager. He is an individual filled with a past of embarrassments and regrets; he has felt failure many a time yet he is determined to succeed in the end. The outstanding writing and characterisation allows for Kotarou to feel genuinely authentic as he is not shown to be without flaws, yet simultaneously he has enough motivation in himself so that he is an ever-changing and distinctive person, without the limits seen in typical male protagonists.

Akane is the female leading character and, besides acting precisely how a middle-school girl would, has her own key traits which allows for her to have an ineluctable bond with Kotarou. She too has experienced sorrows such as constantly moving homes and failures such as losing sprinting races despite years of preparation that permits her to have this innate and almost platonic initial connection to Kotarou, as they both share similar experiences and so can converse about their problems together. However, unlike the way in which Kotarou is portrayed, Akane has experienced and tasted success; she achieves high grades in school and readily surpasses her previous record times in track and field. She also often plays with this potato plush toy, which underscores her anxious nature, increasing the amount of realism in her personality. This opposing nature in character, leads to our main male lead to almost yearn for and strive to be like Akane; this leaves the story space to work with and manipulate its run-time and thus leading to maximum evolution in their romantic relationship, which suggests why Tsuki ga Kirei is so efficacious as a romance.

As previously stated, a remarkable achievement of Tsuki ga Kirei is how different characters enhance each other during the run-time of the show. This enhancement is achieved by the surprising use of both sets of parents of the main characters. For both parties, parents provide much-needed support, be it in a direct way such as motivational talks, or in a laconic and unhurried way such as the making of a celebratory lunch box. Parents are underused in media in my opinion, as more often than not only one parent exists as the focal role for development. This is a waste of good influence, however, as parents are constantly around the characters we follow in stories, so the presence of both a mother and a father is more likely to lead to strengthening of the more relevant characters.

Although the side-characters do not have as much exposure as Kotarou and Akane, they do a great job of adding gravity and intensity to the relationship between them. They are all well crafted and balanced and often have their own battles and desires, which creates increased tension in the overall atmosphere of the series. Something, however, that I would have liked to have been done better is the reasoning behind the actions that some characters take later on the story. I can’t help but feel as if these were slightly rushed so that the intrinsic romance is focused on instead. In a way this is forgivable, as teenagers often act irrationally and radically, particularly in situations such as love which they may not have as much experience in.

The art, although once again simple, contributes greatly to the relaxed atmosphere of the anime. Backgrounds are meticulous compared to that of the foreground and the designs of the characters. This, together with the use of blank space and white accenting is perhaps to further emphasise how simple humans, especially in their younger ages, truly are as well as the nostalgic feeling of first falling in love. The facial expressions characters make, although lacking detail, are accurate to the emotions felt at that point in time.

The animation, however, is more polarising. Despite the fact that many frames are drawn to highlight an accurate representation of a character’s actions, the flow of these frames is commonly ruined by sloppy editing, leading to an almost jerky aesthetic. Furthermore, the use of CGI in the background for crowds of people makes casual movement robotic to say the least. These CGI models don’t carry themselves as fluidly as the drawings do and often end up looking comedic. In retrospect, however, Tsuki ga Kirei’s production team was struggling to release episodes on time, so this is less of an issue concerning talent and more of an issue on time management.

One of Tsuki ga Kirei's most surmounting achievements for me, were the extra phonetics the voice actors made during a lot of the dialogue segments. This produces an almost lifelike status when hearing characters converse, as their conversations mimicked that of an actual discussion. Not only this, but especially in the opening episodes the awkward disposition between Kotarou and Akane’s relationship was further realised by this effortless technique. Besides this, the voice-acting itself was as well pleasant to listen to, especially knowing how both protagonists’ actors were relative newcomers to the industry, accommodating for a more genuine-sounding series as the viewer relates that unfamiliar voice to the specific character being voiced.

The soundtrack itself was comprised of some wonderful vocal insert songs and a pleasant array of classical instruments. These were used sparingly and so no particular soundtrack ever felt forced or hackneyed, which is quite rare for a show especially when you have marathon-ed it, like I did. Perhaps a hindrance I felt with the show’s musical score, is that no singular song especially stood out to me. This may, of course, simply be a result of the abundance of different soundtracks used.

From its hyper-realistic setting with stunningly crafted backgrounds, to its effortless communication of emotion at just the right times, Tsuki ga Kirei is an anime which promptly came to my surprise from the very first minute of the first episode. Euphoric yet wistful, joyful yet dismal, melancholy yet hopeful, the innate beauty which Tsuki ga Kirei permeates can dispense a wide array of emotions. For myself, this allure lead to tears being shed through almost every episode despite there being no logical reason to. But in shows like these, reason should be the last thought in your mind:

just sit back and cherish the inevitable void you will feel once the 12th episode hits 24:26.

Story - [Score: 8.5/10]
Characters - [Score: 8.5/10]
Animation/Art - [Score: 6.5/10]
Sound - [Score: 8/10]
Enjoyment - [Score: 9/10]

[Final Score: 8.2/10]

Final comment: An absolute marvel of a school romance; there may never be another like it of its caliber for me.

This is my first review; and what better series to review than the glorious Aria the Origination.

This is what I've been looking for all along. This is the reason why I have been spending countless hours experiencing many different stories, encompassing so many different themes while simultaneously being sucked into an abundance of worlds. There is a saying that goes as such: "A good life is a collection of happy moments". This is exactly what this anime was to me. It taught me, along with many others, to appreciate life, and how incredible it truly is.

The third and final season of Aria didn't try ... to impress its audience from the start. Instead it allowed the viewers to try and envision what the outcome might be, however obvious it was from early on. I even found myself in the first couple of episodes of this season scratching my head, wondering why people were giving the show as much praise as it frequently gets; as the opening episodes were not as potent as I expected them to be. I almost got the impression that I was re-watching the first season: Aria the Animation. I felt as if this season was a bit of a back-step; lowering itself in terms of storytelling from the brilliant Aria the Natural. Don't be afraid, however, if you find yourself feeling the same way after watching the first couple episodes. It is certainly not like that the whole through. I can assure you. Don't get me wrong, the first two or three episodes were of high quality, just not as 'special' as I thought they would be.
Origination focuses much more purely in being a undine in Aqua. Unlike Natural, which focuses more in the city of Neo Venezia, and all the supernatural beings which inhabit it, the final season shines its spotlight on the act of being a gondolier. We see more prospect in how our three young undines go by their day-to-day life, rowing their gondola, and their struggles and efforts to finally becoming a prima. Earlier on I mentioned that it is quite evident what will happen by the end of the series, and by that I meant that it will end with Akari, Alice, and Aika being prima undines. If this was to end otherwise, it would be unsatisfactory, and almost a dreadful 'read the manga' ending, that would ultimately be a grave disappointment for the viewer. To add to this, there are even pictures of the show, which illustrate our three undines, without their signature gloves meaning that they have become primas. Regardless, I assure you that the show ends almost perfectly, as it left a permanent smile across my face, for the entirety of the final several episodes. Aria the origination was brilliantly directed, as we dive into the fantastical world that is Aqua, in all its glory.
The pacing of the show is as well truly extraordinary. There is a very correct balance between comical moments, and more heart-tugging moments, with each individual episode ending with Ai-chan's unbearably cute voice. Of course the setting is still on-point, as Neo Venezia is almost as if its an exact replica of Venice. Each building feels real, the sea and the chilling breeze when a character stares into the ocean, reaches the viewer, as I often felt chills down my spine. Thus the city is given life, just like how Akari explains almost every episode.

I have not once been left disappointed by the fluidity, background depth and detail, character designs and color palette, but instead I am left in awe by how brilliantly done they all are. The final season of Aria, as expected, does not disappoint. In matter of fact, it is even more spectacular. There were times that I felt as if I as watching a movie by the sheer magnificence of the show visually. One aspect of the art that really surprised my how by the use of 3D in this season. You can tell just how much effort was put into this anime! Another example of how much the animation/art quality improved in this season, was the detail of each character's faces, or more specifically their eyes. Any scene which took place on the Hope Hill (the green hill with all the wind turbines), looked almost godly. The only minor irritation I had with this aspect was that there were a few too many (albeit hilarious) chibi scenes. Although these helped tone down the show, I feel as if it would have been better without as many as there were. The reason why I included that comment in this section, is since such scenes tended to be more lackluster in animation (as one would expect). Overall, however, I am utterly pleased with this aspect of the show.

If you go ask anyone who has watched the entirety of Aria, what their favorite aspect of the show was, 9/10 times it would be the soundtrack.Why, do you ask? Well it was through this show that I found out that one could orgasm through longitudinal waves! (nerdy joke) But on a more serious note; the mixture between orchestra, piano, and violin was masterful, and each track was played at the perfect moment! If this aspect was not how it was, the ending result would be no where near as impactful as it is. This might be an obvious statement, but Aria the Origination heavily relied on its soundtrack to guide the tone of the show. And without guidance, you have a badly paced series. Something I should truly praise the show for is its seiyuu performances. Each and every seiyuu was perfect: especially Akari's voice actress: she reflected Akari's character flawlessly, as being a constantly happy and optimistic girl; a role which I believe to be exceedingly difficult to master. The ending song was one of the greatest things I have ever experienced: both visually, and sound-wise. It fat the tone of the show quintessentially! The opening was as well great, although not as memorable.There's not much I can say to bash this section, as the show did almost everything right, in my opinion.

A problem that I tend to have with shows that have a very limited cast, is that there is not enough variety through their emotions, in order to truly satisfy my needs as a viewer. However, Aria is a show that turns this speculation upside down. Each and every character is fully developed, three-dimensional, and human. They are realistic, and although they are happy most of the times, there is more behind that smile than one would think. Akari Mizunashi is a great example of this. She is described as a quote on quote "Eternal optimist" or "Miss expect of happiness" and there is a valid reason for this. It is rare to see this character feeling down or depressed. At first I found this trope pretty unrealistic, but especially with Origination I was proven very wrong. She expresses so much emotion just by her intelligent analogies and 'speeches' about how important life is to those who respect their lives. She is very important to the story, as her character makes the entire city feel happy and content. She helps her friends when they feel down, and she even tries her utmost when she herself feels as if she cannot mirror her title. Alicia Florence is another fantastic character: she does not go about explaining her reasoning like any other human. Instead, she will go about her explanation in a very peculiar way. She might start rolling a snowball out of nowhere just to prove a point! I realise that this sounds silly, but I was utterly amused by how accurate those actions were to help explain her points. She, like Akari, is more often than not, always wearing a smile. This helps Akari keep her own smile, so that she could be able to illustrate her talent as an undine.
Alice Carroll is my personal favorite character ( plus my new waifu but that's besides the point). The reason why this is so, is since she is probably the most logical, intelligent, and talented undine out of all the cast, at such a young age. She is almost inspiring as a character: not only to those in the anime, but to the viewer him/herself. I particularly love how she has an O.C.D, as she has to, for example, kick a stone all the way home one day, or another she will have to walk backwards, or walk only in shadows. This makes her character more realistic, as it demonstrates her more childish side, since shes only 14. *Small Spoiler* She also has an impeccable singing voice which came to my surprise.
The rest if the cast, which I could talk about for eternities, is all fully fledged out, and as i mentioned before, realistic. The only issue I had is that I wanted a bit more backstory for other characters, but that's only a small problem, which wouldn't really affect the show too much. An honorable mention is Grandma, who had a brilliant backstory, and was a fantastic addition to the cast, even though it was seldom that she appeared in the show. But I digress, since the characters were all pretty much perfect; even the secondary characters such as the Patissiere and Akatsuki.

I don't think there is any other slice of life series that could provide as much enjoyment as this one did. Almost every single episode left me teary-eyed. Episode 9 was one of the greatest episodes I have seen in a LONG time. It was surprising, beautiful and incredibly well animated. That is not to say that it was miles ahead of any other episode, as they were all important to the story, which ultimately lead to the magnificent and conclusive ending, which could not have satisfied me more than it did. All I can say is Bravo! What an accomplishment this show truly was.

If only this series gained more mainstream recognition. It truly, truly deserves a wider audience, even though it is not, of course, perfect. But then again, no show ever is. Sayonara Akari, Alice, Alicia, Aika, Athena, Akira, and Aria. It was a fantastic run. Cheers!

Story - [Score: 9]
Characters - [Score: 9]
Art/Animation - [Score: 9]
Sound - [Score: 10]
Enjoyment - [Score: 9]

[Final Score: 9.4/10]

Final Comment: A legendary slice of life series, that should be enjoyed by many, if not all anime fans.