Ranked #3477

Final Approach

Either bashing my cranium against a solid, brick wall because the main character, Ryo Mizuhara, is ceaselessly making stubborn and defiant choices -even though he is completely aware of hurting his fiancée's feelings- or because his fiancée, Shizuka Masuda, is almost annoyingly hell-bent on receiving affection from someone who obviously does not care, I'll have to admit that (most-importantly) my head seems to be in relatively good shape, despite a solid beating(s). And since my skull-bashing proved to be ineffective time-after-time, I could actually sit and enjoy some of the finer moments that Final Approach had to offer.

Yes, it has the long-running and omnipresent anime cliché of "making horrible, dumb decisions in a relationship," almost to the point where all of us in real life actually start feeling better about our relationships.

Yes, I've already said it, but they really did make "horrible, dumb decisions in a relationship."
Regardless, I (somehow?) still had a little sympathy for our destined pair. Maybe it was that pitiful? Maybe I'm starting to get weak? Maybe it should not have taken 10 or so episodes for them to realize their callow mistakes? Who knows...

But even so, being trapped within a torrential vortex of "stupidity" still brought a tear in my eye (I'll have to admit, painfully) and made me laugh like the little schoolgirl I most probably am.
But hey! Final Approach was intended as a mixture of comedy and romance, and it certainly lived up to those expectations.

The cast of characters: simply hilarious. Maybe I, in fact, enjoyed the head-bashing (masochist?). Even so, it was practically random, unprecedented fun which stemmed into bouts of laughter.
There was no telling what would happen next between the zany characters, and that is simply what separated this "typical" romance anime from the rest, but not enough to noticeably distinct itself and turn into something absolutely amazing. read more

Final Approach is a romantic comedy with a total runtime of 2.6 hours (13 episodes X 12 minutes each). I can understand why the anime is short because it would make little sense for it to be any longer since the story and events of this show are quite simple. Although this is not the best anime out there, I have to say that it is not bad at all. It really depends on the audience. I am not really into the whole romantic comedy genre but I do not detest it either. I think this is one of the reasons why I liked this show. If you hate romantic comedy, then I suggest you run a mile from this anime. Anyway, here goes my review:

Story: 6/10
Read the synopsis.

Art: 7/10
The art was generally good and suitable for this sort of genre. The way I understand art in the context of anime is based on it's suitability for the theme. Because this is a romantic comedy, it would be stupid to have buff looking characters with 28 inch biceps dressed in dbz outfits. The characters were drawn pretty well to reflect normal high schoolers and the general art was a well done job which reflected a normal high school and home environment.

Sound: 6/10
I cannot re-call the music being spectacular for this anime. I must confess that it has been a while since I watched this show so I am not completely sure. Having said that, when I usually find the music to be absolutely splendid for a given anime, it sticks in my mind. I cannot remember the music sticking in my mind so my conclusion is that it was not all that great.

Character: 7/10
The characters were perhaps the strongest element of the show. I found the relationship and chemistry between Ryo and Shizuka quite entertaining and hilarious. There were some really funny moments. Perhaps the weak aspect of the anime was that the characters did not really develop with time but were rather static in how they behaved. Nevertheless, they did a good job with the characters.

Enjoyment: 7/10
I completed this show on the same day because it is not very long and I must say that I found it enjoyable. I was tucked in bed with my laptop and I can remember clicking on the next episode button every time the previous episode finished. Since each episode is only 12 minutes, it was a unique experience for me. As a comedy, I think this anime is good and I am sure it will have you laughing.

Overall: 7/10
I recommend Final Approach to people who 1) enjoy watching comedy and 2) do not detest romantic themes. I do not want to compare this to other anime that I like because the genres are completely different. I feel that Final Approach has its own place, where it sits as a funny, light and entertaining anime worth watching. read more