May 2, 2016
12-sai.: Chicchana Mune no Tokimeki follows the life of a few young girls in their last year of elementary school as they explore what happens during and after puberty. This includes an overwhelming number of things such as learning about periods, bras, and more interestingly: romance and boys. If you are somebody who has probably passed the 7th grade, regardless of whether you have experience in the love department or not, you would realize two things while watching this anime:
1) 6th graders, regardless of how small, naive, and uneducated they seem, also deal with their own issues, as puberty tends to start around their age.
...
And sometimes, they handle situations better than most teens and adults would, given their straightforward attitude, but they might also handle different situations worse, since they /are/ still only sixth graders who do not understand their real sense in the world.
2) 6th graders falling in love probably seems like a very naive thing, and I would applaud any couple who can spend 6-7 years dating during grade school, and dating more afterwards if not getting married, but there's something about a sixth grader's unique and naive love that absolutely screams "CUTE!!!" in our faces.
12-sai.: Chicchana Mune no Tokimeki is an anime that everybody could enjoy, some more than others, as it's relatable in many ways for preteens and teenagers who are still growing and discovering themselves, and it also gives a sense of nostalgia for older people, letting them reminisce about their old 6th grade days when they thought they were the king of the world.
The following section will just be me rating the anime. I tried to keep it relatively short since there's not much to say.
STORY [7]: The story is simple and straightforward. It's a story about 6 graders coming of age; as they mature more and spend their last year in elementary, transitioning through puberty. It focuses on such themes that may appeal more to girls than guys, to a younger audience than older, though, the romance aspect of the show is more neutral than naught.
The story and plot may be weak, but my favorite part about the show is probably its execution. I'm not going to lie; 12-sai.: is very cheesy, almost to the point where its cliche. But it's with 6th graders, and it's cute and fluffy and gives you more than your typical high school romance anime would, so undoubtedly, this anime works in more than one way.
ART [7]: The art is fine. It's your typical anime art style, except moe'd down a bit to fit the atmosphere. The 6th graders actually look like they are 12 years old, and the character designs are realistic as they get. The characters can be seen clearly and there are some scenes in where the lighting is absolutely gorgeous. The background effects in this anime are very shoujo-like, as it does cater to young girls.
SOUND[8]: The sound is pretty good. The OP and ED are fine, but the OST/BGM is something worth noting. The character's voices matches their characters and they do sound like actual preteens. Occasionally, you do hear a character (generally a back ground character)'s voice cracking as if they were actually going through puberty.
CHARACTER[8]: The characters in 12-sai.: Chicchana Mune no Tokimeki prove to be an interesting array of people, just like you would have in your normal, typical elementary classroom, ranging from that one really stupid and immature kid who pisses off the teacher, to that smart and mature child who sits quietly in one of the front rows. In my personal opinion, the characters are the best part of the show, and it's better to let people watch it themselves and explore the cast rather than sit and explain the characters and their interactions with each other.
Though, as an example and for reference, we have our main character, Ayase Hanabi who is your typical, cutesy girl who wears lots of pink, dreams of dating an idol and sticks by her friend. If not clear, she is a very realistic 6th grade girl. Then we have one of the main boys, Hiyama Kazuma, who is a giant tsundere. Typically, in anime, you rarely ever have boy tsunderes, and whenever they do appear, they're done wrong. Hiyama Kazuma is one of the rare examples of a boy tsundere who is both interesting and dedicated to his role.
ENJOYMENT[8]: The anime only has a few episodes out so far, but I've been thoroughly enjoying it. There's really not much that this anime has to offer besides learning more about puberty through realistic situations, and also seeing romance through a 6th grader's mind. It's cute - it's vanilla, it's fluffy, it's everything you ever wanted in a romance anime (except minus the 6th grader part, probably).
OVERALL [8]: 12-sai.:Chicchana Mune no Tokimeki is a story about 6th graders. It's cute, it's dumb, it'll make you jealous, and you wouldn't know how sugary sweet it is until you try it out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all