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I originally read the first 3 chapters of this manga awhile ago, and it was alright. Nothing special. Then I randomly got around to catching up with it recently, and I am honestly impressed. Maybe a 7/10 doesn't seem like it, but trust me, I expected it to be like a 5 or 6 at best.

Story 7/10: The basic premise is pretty generic/straight-forward. A young, bright-eyed, competent guy (Haru) meets an older woman (Karen) who is cool and competent in everything except love. He falls for her, and hilarious romantic pursuits follow. That WAS the story, except in the latest chapter (18), they just ... introduced a new twist, which suddenly makes this manga a lot more interesting. I won't say what that twist is to avoid spoilers at this point, but I'm super excited to see where this story goes. For now though, I can only say 7/10 because it remains to be seen how this twist will actually play out. The author might flop it, but I really hope it goes well.

Art 8/10: Nothing particularly noteworthy. Some good character designs, with nothing standing out as amazing or poor. Karen's design in particular is cute. The recent villain was designed pretty well. Other than that though, the general artwork is pretty typical of your generic fantasy manga. Serviceable, but kinda cheap looking.

Character 7/10: Again, it depends on how you look at this. On the one hand, Karen is a well-used trope, but it's a good trope. And her development has been nicely handled to this point. Haru's pretty fun, and the way the story is going he may become much more interesting. Aside from them, however the other characters are all pretty standard for fantasy/haremesque stories. One exception perhaps is Karen's father.

Enjoyment 8/10: Alright, let me start by bringing up the elephant in the room for this manga. Where is the ecchi tag? At first I didn't care, but once tits started being a regular feature of most chapters, it sort of wasn't ignorable. This manga should be labelled ecchi. Now that I've said that, I'll add that I'm impressed. Most fantasy manga that are ecchi like this tend to just be smutty, softcore hentais. They don't usually have a compelling plot, good writing, or interesting characters; their goal is to draw smut and decorate it with a "plot." This story however is like the opposite. It is first and foremost a fantasy/romance manga...decorated with ecchi. When I first started reading it, I thought this would have to be one of those guilty pleasure reads, but the longer I read it, the more I thought this manga is actually well written. Getting to see Karen's voluptuous self is just an added perk.

Overall 7/10: So yeah, 7/10 for now, and unless the plot gets super interesting from this point forward, I don't expect it to improve beyond this score. But if you want a light read that's better than it should be, I honestly really recommend this manga.

I don't know if I've ever watched a show that I simultaneously loved and hated as much as Tsuki ga Kirei. Even though this show is 4 years old, I only just now watched it, and it left me with so many opinions that I had to write them out here. There were so many relatable moments, but that was both a blessing and a curse. I can't really explain it apart from breaking down the normal components.

Story: 9
The plot was one of the strong points, which may sound odd for a simple, middle school romance. It was really enjoyable to watch these two socially ... awkward kids fall in love. With that, the story drew me in and made me care about the little developments like Akane's running, Kotarou's writing, their entrance exams, and their families. The one thing I could not stand about the plot was the love triangle dramas that they both experienced, but I consider that more a flaw in the characters than the plot itself, so I'll get to that. For now, I'll just say that the plot is simple, but beautifully written. Especially the first few and last few episodes. The middle got bogged down by the that drama I mentioned.

Art: 7
Much like the anime as a whole, I ended up torn on whether I liked or hated the animation a lot of the time. I think by the end I liked it, but maybe it says something that it took me so long to warm up to it. The random moments of background CGI were strange. And the normal animation looked like it was trying something fancy and ended up looking like a prototype. It never looked finished even though it seemed like it was supposed to be outstanding. I will say that Kotarou and Akane always looked very good, but a lot of the background stuff was just oddly animated. It's like they were trying to make all that stuff look plain/unfinished to emphasize the main characters.

Sound: 10
Perfect. There's little to say, which is a shame since this was definitely the best point of the show. The OP was amazing. Instantly added the song to my spotify playlist when I heard it. The ED was also very nice. OST music fit the moods for the scenes in such noticeably pungent ways. Just perfection all around. The voice acting was also very nice. Nothing particularly stood out in that regard, but certainly it didn't take away from the show ever.

Character: 6
Here we go. In the first 3 episodes, I thought that all of the characters were great. Kotarou and Akane were cute together, and I liked their social awkwardness. Chinatsu and Hira both appeared to be well-written side characters, and though we knew Hira was interested in Akane, it looked like it was going to be handled well. Then episode 4-8.5 happened. I'll be honest, by halfway into episode 9, I was fed up with every character except Kotarou, who just seemed to be in the middle of everyone around him being terrible people. Okay, maybe not Hira. Both of the guys, honestly, were kind of just in crappy situations caused by Akane and Chinatsu sucking. Especially Chinatsu...I really liked her early on. She was a supportive friend to Akane and helped Kotarou break out of his shell a bit. Then she decided to go full THOT mode and intentionally meddle in their relationship repeatedly, telling Akane all about it. Meanwhile Akane proceeded to take her frustration about that not on Chinatsu, but on Kotarou. Like what? He didn't even know Chinatsu liked him, but Akane kept being upset about it. Then she had the audacity to lead on Hira due to her own lack of awareness of his feelings. I get making the mistake of leading Hira on, but how could she do that while also being upset at Kotarou for doing literally less? I just grew so frustrated with Akane. Finally, halfway through episode 9 I started enjoying myself again...thanks to Kotarou being a man and setting things straight. But man, I almost wanted him to give up on Akane for a bit there. The rest of the show I managed to enjoy Akane and Kotarou, but Chinatsu and Hira both annoyed me still. Like seriously, Akane needed to stop hanging out with both of them. I digress. Point being, characters made this show what it was, which made it something in the first place and also took away so much of what it could have been.

Enjoyment: 8
Like I said before, episodes 1-3 were great, and I thought this show would easily contend for a 9/10 overall. Then 4-8.5 honestly just sort of sucked. Then 9-12 carried the show back to the realm of enjoyment for me. I would score those 3 different arcs a 9, 5, and 8 respectively. Overall I enjoyed the show at about a 8. There was always at least part of an episode that I really liked, if not the whole thing so much.

Overall: 7
My profile says that a 7 means "Good. Fun, enjoyable shows that I would consider recommending to a friend. However, there are obvious issues that cannot be ignored. However, the show is worth watching nonetheless." While part of me wanted to rate this show higher, that description perfectly encapsulates my feelings, so I give it a 7. It's worth watching, and there are some great things in it, but don't expect perfection.

Earlier this year I found a different manga, Kubo-san Doesnt Leave Me Be (a Mob). I thought it was a great romantic comedy that was shallow on the story, but focused on just being a really sweet romance, focused on distinct characters. Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san accomplishes this same style and takes it to the next level.

Story: 8
Like Kubo-san, the story of Shikimori-san is not really anything exceptional. Rather than an overarching plot, the story of Shikimori-san is character driven. One-off chapters and small story arcs make up the story, and it isn't until you look back at what the characters were like ... at the beginning that you realize just how much things have developed and changed.

Art: 9
For the first 10 chapters or so I was rather unimpressed by the art. Aside from the key frames of each chapter, the rest looked sloppy/rushed. However, as the manga has progressed, the art has just gotten better. Now those key frames evoke clear, meaningful emotions in the reader, and the rest of the frames are still tasteful and expressive, not just filler. Such improvement is admirable.

Characters: 9

Of course, this is the meat of this manga. From the outset it looks like the only important character is going to really be Shikimori herself as Izumi seems like a pretty lackluster protagonist, there simply to be her foil. However, as the characters develop, it becomes evident that this too is part of his development is becoming a character not only of significance, but one whom you can't help but root for. Shikimori is an absolute goddess. At the beginning she's a bit of a yandere, but this side of her becomes less the case as the story progresses. Further, their friends at school become more relevant as characters later on as well. At first they seemed to be just filler names attached to classmates, but where the manga is at right now, they are just as special to the reader as the main characters. I'm hesitant to give this part a 10/10 though, simply because I feel like there is still room for improvement, and I want to see how these characters end up in the end.

Enjoyment: 9
Frankly, I find myself often while reading this manga to just be smiling like an idiot, or even giggling with how happy it makes me. It's a really cute, wholesome story. At one point, with the introduction of a new character, I was afraid that there was going to be some typical manga romcom drama inserted. Yet where a standard harem romcom or something like that would have had the characters make a series of misunderstandings to create drama, this manga actually handled the scenario with maturity that left me feeling good. Certainly, tragedy has its place in a good story. Sometimes, however, you like to just read a story about happy characters. Not everything always goes perfectly for them. In fact, Izumi's whole character centers around his bad luck. But the tragedy is never the focus. Rather, the focus is on the characters' concern for one another, and learning to look beyond your own personal struggles and see the good despite them.

Overall: 9
I think it's obvious I think highly of this story. I did not have high expectations for it. I thought it would just be a generic romcom. Maybe you'll think it is. But if you look for it here, you can find something special, I think, in the cute interactions among these characters. I highly recommend if you're looking for a wholesome read.

I first watched Charlotte a couple years ago upon a friend's recommendation. I was sick in bed, so I had nothing better to do than to watch a lot of anime. As a result, when I started this show, I was drawn in, and I binged it in a day and a half. However, like I said, I was stuck in bed. It wasn't like I wouldn't have binged it even if it was just okay. So when I began rating anime on this site a few weeks ago, I gave it a 6 because my memory of it was that it was just okay.

This ... rating was a mistake. Out of curiosity and boredom, I decided to rewatch the show (this time while perfectly healthy). Much to my surprise, I ended up binging it once again in the same amount of time. Any anime that causes me to binge it on the rewatch is worth a reevaluation. This time, the beauty of this anime was not lost on me.

If I had to give a comparison to another anime, the first one that comes to mind is my all-time favorite, Steins;Gate. Just that comparison alone should be enough to warrant interest in Charlotte. However, it is the ways in which it reminds me that matter.

Filled with sounds and visuals that draw the audience in, Charlotte presents a story which affects the characters in way you get to watch. That may sound obvious, but a lot of shows do the opposite. They create/develop characters that the story has to be built around to fit their stubborn quirks. In Charlotte, like Steins;Gate, the story comes first, and the characters are subject to what happens in the story to where we as the audience truly see characters doing their best to react/keep up with the unfolding plot around them. And Charlotte does this in a masterful way, creating a story that moves the audience as much as it moves its characters.

I can't give this anime overall a 9 or 10 (see my profile for my criteria), because I do not think this anime is perfect. Some of the characters don't get much real development, and those that do could be developed more with more time (perhaps an unfair complaint). Further, the beginning of the show is a little slow, and for the first few episodes it appears to be nothing more than a typical high school friendship show with a little twist. Once you get to the later episodes, this slower beginning makes sense and you can appreciate it, but it doesn't take away from the fact that the audience has to get that far first. Thus, i score it an 8 for mild flaws, though I still consider it very good.

This anime goes under the radar a lot. Is it a masterpiece to be held among the greats? No. Does it deserve to be mentioned shortly thereafter and recommended by more people? Definitely.