Ranked #2132

Asatte no Houkou

Characters/Development
The story then flows through both of Karada’s and Shouko’s life with their new ages, and how they come across the problems and emotions that take place. Karada is concerned about her brother, Hiro Iokawa, doesn’t know where she has disappeared to and to get him to believe that she is actually his little sister. We are shown that the two girls come to deal with their problems differently which then reflects their personalities a bit more to the viewer. Karada is shown to get depressed, having some emotional stress and brought to tears quite easily showing off more of her child like qualities. Shouko on the other hand seems to get on with what has taken place while being rather quiet and calm about her situation. However, what goes on inside her mind and what she is thinking may be a different story.

There are several other characters of which are involved in this short story that gives use a nice amount of different personalities between each of them. Karada’s brother seems to be quite a misterious guy whom of which covers his eyes with his hair quite a lot. Then you have Karada’s school friend, Tetsu, a young male who appears to care about her more than just friends. Then ofcourse his older sister and another female friend whom of which seem to be people that support the other characters. Throughout the twelve episodes we learn a little more about each one, their relations with each other and feelings about certain issues.

The story is developed quite well in twelve episodes although with a slow pace between them where Karada can face problems which arise that don’t always get resolved in a single episode. Some episodes we are given some flashbacks which add more to the development of characters with more insight to reasons and relationships, and how they came across adding a few new twists to the plot. The aren’t exactly too much of a surpise however, but not easily expected either. The series isn’t always full of emotional and sad moments since there are some happy times with some light comedy and romance added in their too.

Animation/Scenery
The art uses a lot of soft, warm colour tones throughout the series, which suits the overall sunny weather nicely and keeps a consistant blend between everything. Character designs were rather good but there was nothing exactly unique or special about each one. There aren’t really any similarities though, which keeps a distinctive look between them, hair and clothing styles are the most noticable area for this. Hiro’s character design was rather depressing during several scenes where you rarely see his eyes and the facial hair suggests a lazy mood to the guy, while Karada as a child smiles quite a lot using a few more brighter colour tones for her hair and clothes adding a more cheerful look to her character. The child and adult versions of both Karada and Shouko have a resemblance between them so the viewer can still tell they’re still the same character which was also another good point as it added a bit more realism to that event.

Scenery has also been done rather well keeping the consistant blend of the warm colours in them to detail each of the scenes and make sure the characters fit into them. They aren’t exactly over detailed but give the viewer a general idea of the location or setting the characters are currently at without using any lines to define them more. The art almost feels much like paintings in many areas throughout the series, but overall they were decent with a beautiful exotic look to each one of them where light helps add to the atmosphere quite a bit. Animation is moderate throughout without anything too special to note about, where simple actions such as talking or moving are again done in a simple manner.

Audio/Music
Again to be brief in this area there doesn’t seem to be any major problems with the sound anywhere in this one and keeps a moderate approach to the usage. No problem with the voice acting either which some well chosen voices that worked and suited well for the characters. Both the opening and ending themes are calm in tone, while the latter has a more slower pace to it. Bother were good songs, enjoyable to listen to especially the relaxing ending which uses a fitting sequence at the end of each episode. Background music seemed to be calm melodic tracks but I yet again cannot exactly remember much about them.

Conclusion
An interesting story mixed with its emotion and drama, during a slow pace per episode with some developments between the characters. Decent background and character art using a lot of warm colour tones and blends, moderate auid and animation throughout. An enjoyable watch. read more

Never before have I ever been glued to an anime as much I had this one. I started it, and for once paid attention to the first episode from start to finish, no pausing. Its THAT good. Its a shame not many people watch it...

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STORY - 10/10
Karada is a young girl who hates being treated like a child and who wishes to be grown up. Shoko is an aloof, unhappy young woman who has just returned from overseas. When they meet by coincidence one night at a local shrine where they both like to make wishes, they exchange ages.

Ive never seen an anime where people exchange bodies, minds or anything. So, seeing something like this was a new deal for me. However, the plot is so much different than just switches. It may move really slow at times, but the character development and story is amazing. The story focuses more on Hiro and Shouko's relationship, and the drama that Harada is put through after just being 12 years old. I even cried all the way through one of the episodes.

ART 9/10
I really liked the art, its just... The entire time I was watching it, i kept thinking "Karada looks like Ahiru from Princess Tutu..." I dont know why. There really wasnt anything special about the art, its the typical shoujo. :D

SOUND 10/10
I think... Out of all the anime Ive watched, this one had the best BGM OST. The piano pieces played were beautiful and fit the show perfectly. The voices where amazing too, since the same actresses played the younger and older character. Im seriously hooked on the opening song as well, Suara's voice gives it a unique feel.

CHARACTERS 10/10
The character development in this story was amazing. Without it, the story would be dull and not even worth watching.The characters where great too. It amazed me at how TINY Harada was, and she was 12! Shouko, the dismissive one... Well I didnt like her much. Now, my favorite character was Tetsu. 6th grade, mistaken for a highschooler. He was too CUTE. and for the Kansai-Ben fans [ahem... moi~] Tetsu spoke it, so thats a big plus. Hiro was adorable too, for a 28 year old. And for being a junior high student, Kotoko wore some SKIMPY~~ outfits. But other than them, all the characters where lovable.

OVERALL 10/10
I watched this ALL in one sitting. (Well ok, I got up to make food. A girl's gotta eat) If you like light-hearted, tear wrenching shows about REAL life with a hint of magic, then this one is for you. Actually, even if you DONT like shoujo themes, you might even like this. Its for everyone! :D read more