Kimi no Iru Machi: Tasogare Kousaten

I haven't read the manga but i must admit the ova's were awesome.
Good climax, decent characters, and nice story.. makes t worth watching.
It proves my theory..
"You can fall in love more than once"

Making an OVA off a popular manga is challenging. This is especially challenging for die hard fans of the original work, even more so with over 100+ chapters already published. But that's not nearly as hard as having a long-distance love relationship, or is it?

Based on the popular manga by Kōji Seo who bought you the sports/romantic comedy Suzuka comes a new story known as A Town Where You Live. The OVA starts off with a winter like setting and laters changes to Spring. Now, we learn about the two main characters of the OVA, Haruto Kirishima whom seems to have a reserved personality. On ... the other hand, Yuzuki Eba is quite the opposite and seems to be a sociable character. If we take notice of this, you would probably see that they are practically Ying and Yang on the opposite side of a coin. Can such a couple co-exist? Of course, there are not without obstacles and time is the least of such worries especially when there's another girl by the name of Nanami Kanzaki that laters enters the picture. Although initially trying to get Haruto to play the actor, it definitely seems that she has real motives. What's worse, that motive seems to be a obstacle in Haruto and Eba's relationship. Wait hold on, let me correct that...I meant long-distance relationship because if they were in a relationship already, they would be sharing bentos, walking to school everyday, and having sex like normal couple would. So, long-distance relationships and another girl in the picture, I can see nothing but misunderstandings and drama going on there like a soap opera.

It starts out with almost no prior introduction of the main characters, story, or anything. It's just a couple who enjoyed a scenery of the blooming season. While technically dating already and being boyfriend and girlfriend, they seem to be “distant” if not already. Yet when Eba moves away from town, Haruto realize that a long-distance love relationship is their most difficult challenge they'd ever face. Time will do its worst but somehow, someway, they are determined to get through.

The sound of the series flows well although not something extravagant. It fits within the tone of the seasons like Spring and the metaphoric Winter. It also has that sort of romantic melody that makes the OVA relaxing to follow through.

As for the art, for those who have seen Suzuka, you would see similarities. (Honoka/Eba, Yamato/Haruto, Suzuka/ Nanami Kanzaki). But overall, the art is decent as with most recent series. Regardless of OVA or anime series, it brings out the image and mood of this short series.

Now, my overall enjoyment of this OVA has mixed feelings. Like most romance themed series, there is drama and emotions running through. But yet, there are also sweet moments (and a little ecchi to go with that). However, this OVA lacks flavor. Although it's an OVA, there is technically no background of the characters or story whatsoever. With a lackluster plot, this anime seems to be bring a distance away from viewers. It definitely has potential if the anime becomes a full time series but pulling off an OVA with a manga of such magnitude is a little bit much. Yet, there still may be hope in the future, if someday this OVA becomes an official series.

I would just like to say that squall69r should read the guidelines for reviews before rudely commenting on others revews.

The plot which they used from the manga (chapters 58-68) was an important turning point. More than that the OVA made me see this arc from a different perspective, which is great since watching something I have read and knowing exactly how it'll turn out is boring.

Yes the animation does seem to have made the characters rather different and well, worse than they are portrayed in the actual manga but when looking at the bigger picture it didn't really matter.

The artwork may seem lacking when ... compared to the manga's almost shoujo like character design but the composition and the music more than make up for it. At the end of the OVA you'll be emotional and not complaining about the character design.

I liked it! And can't wait for the second one to come out in June

Well, where to start.... Firstly, the art quality..... Whilst the prior animation suzuka managed to keep characters similar between them, the character art between the manga and OVA in this case aren't even comparable. The shading is flat, Haruto's hair is completely wrong, The characters have lost alot of what makes their designs work in the transistion to the OVA, The facial expressions, no, the actual faces themselves barely resemble the Manga, which to me means a loss of part of the best aspect of the manga.

both Kanzaki-san and haruto's yankee child hood friend lost the impact of their character by failing to transition ... their suzuka similar hair styles and attitude with the transistion to the anime.

Not even the fact it followed some part of the manga can save this OVA from flat out failure. Its surprising the artist actually allowed this to go to screen.

expected
http://media.animevice.com/uploads/0/3419/346434-nan_yuz.jpg

recieved
http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/10/35843.jpg

This is typical Tatsunoko Pro who have earned the title of the company that provides the worst animation out there.

Although this OVA was a short scene from the manga, it was a major point in the plot. Similar to the manga, this OVA reveals Eba's beauty wonderfully :D What I liked about this OVA was how it was able to condense all the important scenes into two 20min OVA's that delivered the emotions with a big impact. Eba's emotions were nicely portrayed through her facial expressions in this OVA and builds anticipation in the audience of what she might do next.

I liked how the OVA ended on a very joyous moment, a somewhat alternate route in comparison with the manga where it continues with ... a roller coaster of emotions and twists in the plot. If the manga was reproduced into an anime instead of a short OVA, there would be no doubt that it would be a magnificent piece :D

A calm,warm, a relaxing feeling! no complicated plots,no annoying elaboration,just a little bit of happiness and romance! regretfully its just a two episode ova series! but its the more reason for this feeling!
I think this a typical anime of our daily life that reminds us of something,something very important! It reminds us of the bond between the loving ones. No matter how many obstacle you face,no matter how much you struggle,together with love can overcome anything!!!! yeah right! who am i lecturing! don't mind me, its just i am into this kind anime. Nevertheless this is a good short ova anime series may calm you ... a little bit after the stress in your daily life. This is what i can assure you.

the story is nothing complicated, just a simple long distance relationship!
Eba yuzuki is a young girl comes to a countryside because of her fathers hometown or because of the promise her with a boy in her babyhood and stays at her baby friend haurto's house.On the other hand kirishima haruto at first he thinks of her as a annoyance who might get in the way of his first crush of kanzaki nanami. But who am i kidding, eventually he realizes eba's charm and both of them falls in love.I guess we all grow up eventually.But for various reasons Eba has to go back to Tokyo where she doesn't want return.They struggle with their long distance relationship which is difficult. During Haruto's school trip to Tokyo they promised to meet but things don't go as planned always i guess.Nanami meanwhile also liked Haruto but never showed a sign.Now she regrets and still tries to get along with haurto despite his relationship.She makes up an excuse and tries to spend her school trip with haurto and miraculously and obviously eba spots them holding hand and misunderstands them. And after that how it always goes nanami regrets her doing and helps him to met eba and they manages to clear the misunderstanding and they lived happily ever after.This is a sum of the story.
This a simple but good anime that teaches me a good lesson of holding onto your friend and loving ones not matter how it costs. so i think you should watch it, its good!

*Update to come after second OVA is released*

Now I must say that this is way better than I expected it to be. I'm glad to see that I was not disappointed.

The plotline presented in this short 22 minute OVA managed to capture the escence of one of my favorite ongoing manga without tarnishing characters or straying from the original story. They captured the story up to chapter 70 accurately enough to know what the manga was about. One of the greatest pros for this OVA is that it was able to add a new dimension to this arc in the manga without detracting from a ... character's personality or degrading one of them. They made a daring move that ended up for the better in my opinion. This is added enjoyment for people who have read the manga but may not be noticeable to a watcher who hasn't read it. I wanted to shed light on one detail I found interesting in the script - Nanami's talk with her friend. The script writers were able to capture the duality of Haruto in a very interesting method that I can really respect. I hope you find it cool, too.

The art was phenomenal. Within the first few minutes of the OVA, I was easily able to overcome the character designs, which surprisingly fit well. I love when the characters express emotion as the animators are able to encompass feelings of desperation, sadness, depression, and many others. I would also like to point out that the "extras" in the background were given surprising attention and were unique in detail. The backgrounds were very well done as well, capturing the colors of a sunrise or sunset, the scenery of urban Tokyo or rural Hiroshima, and the familiarity of an ordinary room or a diner. They also utilized CG-i impeccably.

The sound was a contradictory point for me. I believe some music flowed with the scenes naturally and helped build the tension well. The ending theme was fitting for what happens beforehand. But the contradiction comes at the voice acting. Nanami and Eba both don't quite sit right with me, but I hope by the next OVA that I have adjusted to their slightly deeper voices. Don't get me wrong, they are very talented at what they do, especially at moments that express emotions of embarassment or sadness (particularly Nanami). What I'm saying is that the seiyuu might not be the best selection, but I definitely look forward to being proven wrong.

The character was established in a unique method this time around. To compensate for their brief time, they squeezed in a lot of the characterization into flashbacks that switch back and forth between the past and present. This is both a blessing and a curse. I liked how they were able to capture both sides of the main girls and Haruto, but the characterization seemed a bit uneven. Nanami actually got the greater portion of the spotlight compared to the other protagonist. Not that this is bad, but it makes Eba seem a bit disproportionate to Nanami in layered-ness. Haruto also seemed too static. If it weren't for the efforts and expressions of the other characters, Haruto would seem a bit bland. Supporting characters were thrown to the side like they didn't even matter and they barely played any role in the episode, which is a bit disappointing considering how the mangaka takes so much time building up each character. Also, you have a few cameo appearances made by familiar characters created by Seo-san, which seemed like an extra touch and tip off that he usually likes to do in his manga.

In retrospect, I enjoyed this short OVA with fevor. I anxiously awaited the airing of the adaptation of one of my favorite manga. I was pleased by the end result and I am practically knawing my nails off waiting for the next one.

Overall, this faithful adaptation is an excellent watch worthy of manga-readers or the unlike. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a quick watch that still manages to explore complexities in love that some anime that are full-lengthed barely touch on. I'm glad to see that I was not disappointed in the end and instead I am proud of what this was able to accomplish in such a short period of time.

I don't write a lot of reviews, and this isn't much of a review as it is a warning, so bear with me.

To start things off, do NOT start this amazing story by watching the OVA!!! The first scene is 58 chapters is, and even though i'm 60 chapters in, I still haven't gotten to the arc the ova is on! The ova tries to show the back story with fragments of flashbacks, but they don't explain much of anything! Read the manga first to even understand what's going on! Or wait to see if there is an actual anime adaptation. Right now, the OVA ... just spoils everything.

Aside from that, this series has a pretty generic plot overall, but what I like about it is the almost realistic responses of the characters. I have been in situation similar, and thought almost identical. Being only one episode so far, there isn't much to go on for all the ratings of the anime alone, so most of my views are overshadowed by the manga.

Overall, this is a very interesting romantic manga, although the story may bite most people as generic. If you're a sucker for romantic story, this is a very good story.

To start off...I've never seen the manga...but I've seen TONS AND TONS OF ANIME and 5 Centimeters Per Second is one of my favorite animes, despite the fact that I really hated the outcome of it's story line. But the reviews of Kimi No Iru Machi seem deeply biased by many of the reviewers who are deep followers of the manga. I tend to like any anime dealing with love and with characters that are in a realistic-ish (compared to those over the top omedy-enriched romantic animes) dramatic relationship and a moving ending, and this anime has truly accomplished those means. I love modern artwork, ... touching music, and a sentimental ending that leaves you with such a good feeling that moves you down deep in the heart. I haven't seen a single chapter of the manga, and I haven't seen a clear, straight to the point anime in such a long while. Just 2 episodes made me jumping out of my seat, screaming at the main character, or giggling to myself at some hilarious turnovers. To end, if you've read the manga, try to throw off all bias you've had since it seems lots of people can't stop that part of their emotions from leaking into the review. But if you're a lover of a classic, touching anime between two lovers and/or are currently in a long-distance relationship right now, this anime will melt your heart into a joyous adventure just like it did to mine.

Its always good to see a story brought to life and told through another medium. What I found interesting is that the writers and producers basically said "Who needs a origin story", they know if you watched this OVA you have more than likely read the manga. And just like that the story picks up in the the middle of some of the thickest drama of the series.

The sound quality was good and the voice actors did a very good job with the lines that they had. Eba voice was very pleasant and conveyed a certain endearing quality to it that makes you like ... her instantly.

The story could be a little hard to follow since its not told in chronological order, jumping straight past a lot of emotional and character development. It focuses more on the romance/drama aspect of the story most likely due to the fact that they only have 23 mins to tell a story that still going well in to the 100's of chapters. Its pretty dry at first because they leave out the comedy and ecchi that were present in the manga but it picks up a few minutes in to it. And I never thought I'd say this but I prefer the art in the manga over the animated style. However its not bad its just different from the manga.

Overall its a good start but with so many holes in it, it makes it feel like a season finale more than the season premier. But its a OVA and you can do things when you have an audience that keeps up with the manga. Fans of the manga should enjoy this series.

Well, the synopsis isn’t exactly correct. There’s a bunch of flashback moments, and it currently takes place where Haruto’s going on a field trip to Tokyo where his Girlfriend, Eba lives, and the story of their long distance relationship.

If you’re into romance, I’d say, certainly look into it! This is a short, OVA of two episodes, and you could certainly consider it a movie. There isn’t too much of a story. Hence why I’d see it more as a movie. This anime leaves you hanging at the end, not in a bad sense, but in the sense that everything will work out.

As Haruto visits Tokyo ... with his friends, he’s warped into being Nanami’s pretend boyfriend. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen these sort of animes before.

However, the lovely part about this anime is that the backstory between Nanami and Haruto, as well as Eba and Haruto appears throughout the two episodes. A lot of flashbacks occur, leaving you with a lot of questions until the show is over.

Again, if you love ROMANCE, I’d suggest to watch it. It’s not too clique and a lovely story (similar to the way 5 centimeters per second was emotional.)

I enjoyed this anime somewhat, the only truth to this i can relate to is long distance rarely ever work. its sad to say I started this anime off by watching the OVA and not reading the manga so most of the flashback woulda been understandable if you read the manga. Im glad for the ending and how it ended, kinda leaves it at a "whats gonna happen after? is it gonna work?"

For somereason i enjoy this ova more than the series version. Especialy the art and story phase.

Well the series version have a good shading but i feel like the animation is kinda stiff, the drawing is not stable, and the background looks dead. I prefer this kind of art because the vibe is like watching oregairu, nisekoi, etc

The story phase is good compare to serises version. Bruh.....imagine 200+ capter only 12 eps????? Inasane....how many important things they miss

Side characters have more role in this ova compare to series.
in the series side characters such as MC's best friend are not really introduced properly. "best friend" ... is just a status, in the story it is not really described that they are best friends since childhood

the series version looks too forced. they really spoil the story.
I hope there will be a remake

Disjointed, we see in the first place, the synopsis for this being trying to hide things from Kanzaki, but the way the anime is set out, Kanzaki knows all about the relationship and even says how she lost to the girl and didn't know why.

The arts are bad, the story disjointed as changes time frames, with no real order from episodes 1 and 2 flicking past and present. We see before he tries to meet up with Eba or sees rin, they have already broken up, yet the pattern sees him going to meet Eba, and rin thinking they are still ... dating long distance.

It's like the director is trying to be clever with flashbacks but instead is just causing confusion and making the storyline worse, then we see in the second half of the second episode, how suddenly is the start, and Eba coming to live with him.

I cannot understand the popularity of this trash. It's badly written, the art is poor and the music, the characters have no real background and the way they are all pieced together makes it poor overall. I have taught kids who could put a story together better at 11.