The art is great. Gives you the atmosphere of reality. Puts you into the story. It gets your psychology ready to relate with the story more. Same goes for the sounds. Everything is very natural. The character's awkward interactions. Not overportrayed or underportrayed. VERY relateable. Such that this anime can actually be food for the Spirit. Something can be learned here .
Only read below if youhave seen the ending.
Mypatchwork take (spoilers)
The entire anime is a testament to the fact that people's feelings do cahnge in unexpected ways. It can be a tossup how they develop. This simply isn't your run of the mill romance anime
...
where what you expect to happen happens, because in real life, sometimes things don't go that way. I myself experienced a similar situation to Uozomi. Where the girl I wanted couldn;t be more than just friends with me, and the whole time I was heartbroken at the end of that relationship, another girl was causing me to develop feelings I kept trying to deny.. because of her persistence in expressing her feelings for me. I had a fling with her and it was honestly just finding comfort from my heartbreak, because all I could focus on was my previous love. Yet some years later I seriously dated this persistent girl for a long time, actually eventually loved her. My feelings changed.. (after 3 years of serious dating we parted, her feelings changed, and later mine caught up..so I didn;t actually find my "Haru"..so indeed, peoples' feelings can change and change again)
"Sing yesterday for me". the very title of the anime envelopes the lesson here. People cling to the past, yet change is inevitable. And people keep playing the past over because thats what humans do. Sing yesterday for me, is a fancy eloquent way of saying "Can't we just keep things how they were?". And the anime shows how whether you accept it at first or not, the past cannot be held onto forever, as people change. Shinako is the best example of this because she has it THE worst. SHe is the most reluctant to change, even to the point of near neurosis and she is herself ashamed of it. But that even she herself , the hardest nut to crack, finally changes. I think everyone in the world can relate with that. I believe Shinako here is the main protagonist to relate with. "Sing Yesterday" is Shinako's anthem.
Shinako's inner battles around Ruo are pretty realistic. She keeps zoning him as kid brother when in fact she has been unconsciously forming feelings for him. He catalyzes this change when he confesses to her and then keeps trying to proclaim his love several more x. Yet, due to the controversy she thinks he just reminds her of his dead brother and feels shame and guilt for being attracted to him for that. At the end she begins to budge and accept her feelings for him are more than she thought. She simply couldn never write him off. The show hints at Shinako valueing Ruo's feelings over Uozomi's- multiple times - sometimes several times per episode. This shows that by default, Shinako actually lvoes Ruo more in practice, by prioritizing his feelings over Uozomi's every single time- even if Shinako doesn;t realize this at first. It goes to show you may think you love one person, but if you're constantly putting another's feelings first, you love them more in practice. What a beautiful transformation.
It's basically a more in your face and disturbing rendition of how Uozomi's feeling changed and he admits he develops feels for Haru. Uozomi does eventually begin to think more about Haru's feelings - as shown in his outward demeanor and feeling pain for seeing Haru go through her difficult sidelined situation.
As for why Uozomi does, sure the plot doesnt explain it perfectly, but it at least alludes to it is definitely happening. Why does anyone get feelings for someone? Do those feelings need to come from an obvious place? Are there rules? The anime utilizes Haru for this during an earliy episode - to pose tthat question to the audience: "What is it to love another?" Uozoimi asks her. "I don't know either" she says with a sort of humility - she implies it simply doesn't matter.. It doesn;t need to make sense.What matters is the feelings themselves. You just enjoy that person, like spending time with them. Even before He breaks up with Shinako, Uozomi finds himself looking for Haru at the cafe. Because he enjoys sharing attention with her in a way he cant let go of.
I think another beautiful thing about this anime is; in the end, Shinako and Uozomi are able to utilize their talents of clinging to the past, to go back to just being friends instead of it being a forever goodbye when they breakup. What beautiful irony. Hence the eloquence in the phrase "Sing Yesterday for me" it was finally time to cling onto the past in a beautiful way, with permission to do so.
The way the anime made me feel is this (prepare for some twists and turns): it's not whether your feelings for another person are real or not, it's whether the other person can reciprocate them (do they feel the same?). And, are your feelings just friendly but you think you need to rush to do something with them - because you dont yet know the difference between feelings that are just friendly and feelings that are more than that. It all makes me feel like none of that matters. You just got to figure it out in the moment. But once you figurte out one relationship is just friends, I think you can save yourself from the awkward mistake in other relationships where it's obvious the other person , or you yourself just aren't passionate to be intimate in the relationship. but again, the overarching lesson is tthat people's feelings change over time, so none of the above is concrete. be ready for anything.
At the very end, Haru tells Uozomi-kun to redo his apology letter to her because he is too focussed on the past in his apology and doesn't include any forward thought on her and his *future*. Haru symbolizes the future for Uozomi, and he is finally moving into a place where he is in the present and forward looking by acknowledging Haru's feelings, and being honest that he likes her back. Where as Shinako was more of a safety net the whole time... b/c he knew Shinako might not love him back. Even though he had already found someone who already understands him and loves him for real (Haru), he chose not to face that exciting new start and instead kept running to the safety net of Shinako, where subconsciously he already knew he was not liked back - this gave him an escape from his future still, though he probably doesn't realize this himself - it is definitely playing out in his shadow and the viwer can come to this conclusion. He had to sort his feelings out and realize that the way Shinako understood him wasn't the same way Haru understood him. Haru could relate with him much more, while Shinako was too dissimilar and her understanding of Uozomi kept him at a distance.
Again, Haru symbolizes Uozomi's finally facing the present and the future and the great unknown, instead of hanging onto the past and hiding in the safety nets of other people as an excuse where he already knows he wont get what he want.
As a concluding aside; I find it enjoyable that they made Uozomi and Shinako as awkward, unexperienced, and shy as possible - because it allows the audience to relate and not feel like they need to catch up. But as well; that's how everyone starts out, and not all anime do as great of a job as Sing Yesterday does of portraying that reality. Other anime just dont touch on it as gracefully while keeping it real.
This anime is one of the few true masterpieces.
PS. I like Haru x Uozomi the most anyways
@everyone DOn't listen to the noobs saying this is is a bad ending. I think it's perfect. Realistic
I recommend everyone watch the bonus episodes. unlike most extras, these actually add value to the stopry.
Jan 9, 2024
Yesterday wo Utatte
(Anime)
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The art is great. Gives you the atmosphere of reality. Puts you into the story. It gets your psychology ready to relate with the story more. Same goes for the sounds. Everything is very natural. The character's awkward interactions. Not overportrayed or underportrayed. VERY relateable. Such that this anime can actually be food for the Spirit. Something can be learned here .
Only read below if youhave seen the ending. Mypatchwork take (spoilers) The entire anime is a testament to the fact that people's feelings do cahnge in unexpected ways. It can be a tossup how they develop. This simply isn't your run of the mill romance anime ... 
Mar 29, 2023
Natsume Yuujinchou
(Anime)
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the soundtrack ruined the show for me. not the op & ed, those were good. i mean intra episode soundtracks.
I can't get into it because it's too insincere. the soundtrack depletes the mood while attempting to set it. the playful banter is too simple. this is essentially a show for early teens / pre teens. it's too bland. it could have been something better . im comparing it to mushi shi or kino no tabi. i get though they wanted some comic relief added in. but the soundtrack is horrible. theyre using western wind instruments and instead of cheery it sounds like offbeat depressing ... 
Sep 16, 2022
Mirai Nikki (TV)
(Anime)
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I had so much fun watching this Anime. It was very stimulating. Exciting. And witty. Yes violent, and psychopathic. This is a very well thought out and artfully layered Anime. But important:
Tip; dont buy the neggative reviews, please. And the artful layers of plot may seem messy and scattered at first, but thats only if you cant keep up, IMO. If you stick with it while being receptive you will see the rhythm after not too long. YOu will see, it isnt messy, or random as other reviewers claim. I will admit, if i wasnt in the right mindset , i would not have ... 
Jul 16, 2022
Very disturbing
Very thought provoking Not for the sensitive hearted. It is psychologically damaging. The story was executed well. The plot twist at the end was amazing I just only gave it a six because it truly is an evil anime and i feel not so good after finishing this. It sickens the soul so to speak. Makes one really question and revisit their own values. Watching this makes me shudder at the thought that people in power probably feel this way and is probably why our governments are turning on us as we speak. ... 
Jul 10, 2022
Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045
(Anime)
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its not what you want to see.big disappointment. everything up til now was good, except the arise series, which was at least fresh and didnt deviatye too much. it had it's own taste which was also good. though i didnt enjoy how it deviated. but THIS. the cg isnt even good. how could netflix let something so low budget on their platform?
the voice actors probably cringe in their sleep everynight that they got roped into being coerced into a contract for something so horrendous. the plot will make your brain into mush. typical sloppy cinematic plot writing as is signiature of american style direction and ... |
