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Jun 17, 2013
Is it just me, or do I only review shows beginning with the letter K?
Anyway, just so you know, I'm also including the Michi Random specials in this review.
Story: 10
What would you do if you and your friends started randomly switching between each other's bodies? Or if your deepest darkest desires were suddenly brought to the surface, out of your control?
Here we have a series that takes a supernatural storyline, adds some well-written high-school romance and plenty of compelling drama, and pulls it all together into one amazing package. Although some of the ideas may have been done many times before, Kokoro Connect
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manages to make it fresh and funny, whilst also being surprisingly realistic with how it portrays the effects of each of the phenomena. I felt the drama wasn't overdone at all and every arc introduced interesting new aspects of the story and allowed many sides of the characters to be shown.
Ultimately, Kokoro Connect succeeds in blending its comedic school life shenanigans with more serious emotional moments, a testament to the quality of the writing and the great direction.
Art/Animation: 10
I really liked the art for this series - everything is crisp and smoothly animated. The characters instantly reminded me of K-On!, though upon checking, I was surprised to find that these two series don't actually have the same character designer.
The settings are fairly detailed and we have some beautiful backgrounds and lush scenery. As far as I could tell, there were no off-models or problems with animation.
The characters are all very expressive when they need to be. Whether they are happy, angry, embarrassed or otherwise, their on-screen demeanours fit very well with the excellent voice acting.
Whilst I enjoyed the colourful and upbeat opening animation, it was the endings that really shone in my opinion.
Overall, Kokoro Connect is a very attractive looking show - Silver Link doing a commendable job here.
Sound: 9
The background music is great to hear; they fit the scenes nicely and add to the drama and emotion.
The ending song also fades in before the ending animation, which I always find to be a nice touch when executed well like this.
My personal favourites were the 2nd OP (Kimi Rhythm by Imai Masaki) and the 3rd ED (Salvage by Team.Nekokan [Neko] feat. Katakiri Rekka), though they are all really decent.
In terms of voice acting, I think it was a job well done by all the seiyuu. Even Heartseed with his tired, monotone voice I found to be sufficiently entertaining. Throughout the series, a wide range of character traits and personalities were portrayed.
Characters: 10
The characters are what really make Kokoro Connect. Unlike some other school-based romantic comedies, Kokoro Connect features fully fleshed out, three-dimensional people, each with very real pasts and flaws, which was what made me really care about them as I watched their story unfold. They are apparently all somewhat misfits, so they form a Culture Club of sorts.
Without going into too much detail, we have:
Taichi, an altruistic pro-wrestling fan who has a selfless urge to help others;
Iori, a friendly energetic girl who is popular and loved by all;
Himeko, the cool and responsible one of the group, with considerable skill in information gathering and analysis;
Yui, an expressive karate practitioner, who loves cute things;
and Yoshifumi - their casual friend, who is attracted to Yui (though she resists his advances).
I also have to mention one of the cutest imouto in anime - Yaegashi Rina - who is a caring sister that looks out for Taichi and, despite being younger, seems to give him advice about his relationships.
Enjoyment: 10
Kokoro Connect was really one of if not the best show of its season. Watching the characters mature and develop was very compelling. Over the course of the series, their pasts are revealed, along with their own shortcomings and how they overcome them. The highlight is the character drama, and all in all, the series was practically perfect for me.
Overall: 10
I have to say, Kokoro Connect is a must watch and I recommend it to everyone. It was fully entertaining throughout. As the supernatural phenomena start to take their toll on the five main characters - will their friendship be able to survive? Join them on an emotional rollercoaster as you see them handle various unusual situations, all the while learning more about themselves and each other.
Thanks for reading! Please give feedback if you found it helpful (^ω^)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 22, 2013
Kotoura-san is a series that exceeded my initial expectations. Please read on to find out why:
Story: 8
I started getting Sankarea vibes after a couple of episodes, since Kotoura-san began with somewhat heavy drama before turning into more of a romantic comedy (with some occasional drama), but I did enjoy the show very much, just like I did Sankarea. Other than that, I guess these two series are rather different so don't read too much into my comparison.
We have a fairly unique premise (I don't personally remember many other anime about psychics, especially portrayed as they are here), and I think that the story
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was sufficiently interesting to follow in the end.
Being adapted from a yonkoma, I expected comedy and I wasn't disappointed. Though Manabe's pervertedness (if that's a word) did get a bit overdone, I still found it funny to watch, especially seeing Kotoura's reactions to said pervertedness. The more dramatic elements were also generally well done and I appreciate that the show went beyond the usual cute slice-of-life story that I initially envisaged.
Art/Animation: 8
The character designs aren't particularly detailed, but are attractive nonetheless.
The one thing I didn't really understand was Muroto's lips, and then when I saw his sleeping eyes... I thought it was a funny aesthetic idiosyncrasy to include.
Anyhow, the backgrounds were decent and animation generally consistent. So all in all, no complaints here.
Sound: 8
Ah, I will forever be awed by Kanemoto Hisako's ability to sound so effortlessly cute (at least, imo). She does a good job at playing Kotoura here, and I think really suits the role well. I haven't really heard her in many other series so I keep being reminded of Ika Musume when she speaks. (It's not just me, is it?)
Fukushima Jun is competent in giving us the slightly silly tone of Manabe. It's basically the first time I've heard his voice acting and I think he did great.
Hanazawa Kana sounds rather different than most roles I've heard her in, but is still pleasant and engaging to listen to, portraying Mifune's enthusiasm very well.
When listening to Shimono Hiro as Muroto, I am again reminded of another character, this time Keima (from Kaminomi).
As for Moritani (voiced by Kubo Yurika), she was nice in general, but I liked her the most when she would become easily upset over little things.
I liked the OP song from Nakajima Megumi, and I thought the main ED, by Chisuga Haruka, was even better. The other EDs are ... amusing, to say the least. The background music was also fitting and well-made, so altogether Kotoura-san has a solid soundtrack.
Characters: 9
Manabe is a funny and generally idiotic sort of character, but underneath he's a genuine nice guy and does care very much for Kotoura, so I liked him.
Kotoura's character has a really tragic past; it's hard not to sympathise with her. However, things do improve as she becomes more cheerful upon meeting the rest of the ESP Research Club (which belies the fact that they're really just there to hang out together), particularly Manabe. I don't remember other psychics' childhoods being explored in this way so the show gets some plus points for that.
Moritani was initially a complete jerk and I still think that the sudden change in her personality was rather unexpected and abrupt, but I eventually grew to like her too.
As for Mifune and Muroto, I found the dynamic between them fairly interesting, and I wish they'd have developed their relationship further or given us more backstory, though I guess with the main focus on Kotoura and Manabe, there wasn't really time for that.
Enjoyment: 8
Those who like this kind of comedic style will enjoy watching the perverted antics of Manabe. An entertaining and individualistic series, Kotoura-san looks just like another school-based romantic comedy but her rather dark past and the added dramatic elements make for a great overall package.
In summary, definitely a very enjoyable show.
Overall: 8
For anyone looking for a good heartwarming anime with a little romance, I'd recommend Kotoura-san. It's nothing groundbreaking but does a good job at mixing comedy and drama and is a very decent watch.
Thanks for reading! Please give feedback if you found it helpful (^_−)☆
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 20, 2013
First review coming up, K?! (pun intended)
Story: 9
At its core, K is a story about finding the identity of a murderer and its implications in an ongoing war between superpowered clans. Elements of sci-fi, fantasy and mystery are combined to make for a very appealing package. In my opinion, the first few episodes don't really explain much, but they leave enough questions unanswered to make you keep coming back for more. I suppose it may be to give the viewer the same feeling that the protagonist Yashiro would get from having his daily life changed so suddenly. However, the story really
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picks up in the latter half and overall was simply very exciting to watch.
Art/Animation: 10
The animation for K is absolutely amazing. GoHands really impressed this time. The backgrounds are highly detailed and the setting allows for some beautiful shots of the city and the island. Reflections and lighting are done expertly, even if at times it looked a little too bright. I also really like the character designs in K - everyone looks great and the SCEPTER4 uniforms are a notable highlight. Additionally, the OP and ED sequences are highly stylised and great to watch, meshing well with the songs chosen.
Sound: 9
K has fantastic music - among the best I've heard for a while. There are many great tracks and they are used well to enhance the feelings of the scenes. Some of my personal favourites are the main theme, which was also used in one of the PVs; and the ED song, performed by Neko's seiyuu. I think having the character songs play in the background for the next episode previews was a particularly nice touch. The voice acting was top notch, with plenty of big names such as Sugita Tomokazu and Ono Daisuke, to mention a few. Across the board, they really succeeded in bringing out the characters' personalities and emotions.
Characters: 9
The characters in K are one of the main driving forces of the series. Much of the plot revolves around Yashiro, who at first appears to be just another happy-go-lucky high school student thrown into the midst of a gang war he knows nothing about. Kuroh is more tough and composed, and his seriousness is a nice contrast to Yashiro's carefree personality. K also presents us with an interesting dynamic between the Blue and Red Kings - they fight on opposing sides, but seem to be more than just simply enemies. The only possible flaw I found was that Neko's character didn't really get enough elaboration; it almost seemed like she was just included because her powers were needed for the story. The focus moves between the various sides so we get to see events unfold from several perspectives. The characters do develop well throughout the show, with some interesting revelations, though due to the 13-episode length, some may find that not everyone got fully fleshed out. However, the manga prequels make up for this.
Enjoyment: 9
K was a very enjoyable series. There weren't as many fight scenes as I would have liked, but every time I did see some action it just looked incredibly cool. Whilst the premise may not be entirely unique, K had more than enough flair, intriguing story and compelling characters to keep me hooked until the very end.
Overall: 9
For me, K was an amazing series that just got better and better with every episode I watched. If you like supernatural action with an interesting identity mystery attached - you should definitely watch K.
Thanks for reading! Please give feedback if you found it helpful ;)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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