Ranked #1918

Sasameki Koto

I think we all know how painful it can be to love someone who doesn't love you back. I certainly do, and I don't think I've ever seen an anime series that depicted the loneliness--and very rarely the joy--of one-sided love as well as the shojou ai romcom Sasameki Koto did.

I began watching Sasameki Koto at the very beginning of the year, around the same time I started Junjou Romantica. I could not have picked a better first shojou ai series. Although it is basicly about the love between two girls, it is way lighter and more fun then some of the more dramatic shojou ai series out there, making it a perfect introduction to the genre.

Sumika Murasame is an intelegent, tough as nails highschooler with a big problem: she has fallen in love with another female, her best friend, Ushio Kazama. The problem isn't that Ushio doesn't like girls--in fact, she's absoluely crazy about them--the problem is that Ushio only likes "cute" girls. Small, weak, shy girls that one would feel compelled to protect. Sumika, being unusually tall and a martial arts expert, does not at all meet this description.

Sasameki Koto presented a very simple story, and was able to do a lot with it. Something different happened every episode, and they managed to bring in very satisfying romantic scenes and wonderful comedy without being too unrealistic. The only problem was that some episodes had no real significance, and could have been skipped over in order to make room for a decent ending. Note before you watch Sasameki Koto that the ending is very abrupt, and will probably leave you unsatisfied and thinking 'That's it?'

The characters made this series what it was. Each character was unique and quirky, and you pretty much had to love every one of them. We start out with the two mains, Sumika and Ushio, and their friend, the happy-go-lucky Kiyori. Later, we are introduced to Akemiya, a dorky boy with a huge crush on Sumika, Tomoe and Miyako, a lesbian couple who hopelessly attempt to start a school club for lesbian girls, and Aoi, a passionate fan of a series of yuri novels. The characters are all very well developed, and it's very entertaining to watch them in their everyday lives.

The main reason I like Sasameki Koto is that you can feel the characters' emotions as if they are your own. There are several scenes in this series that will make one think "I've felt that way before." The series manages to perfectly execute the drama of one sided love without being melodramatic, and seeing as this is a Highschool story, this is a major accomplishment. read more

First of all i want to say that "Sasameki koto" was my first Shoujo-ai anime and because of that it kind of changed my view on Shoujo-ai series and all that girl+girl thing.

Story: "sasameki koto" tells us a story about love which seems strange to many of us and that love is between girls no that love which we call "friends" but real love , feelings and wanting to be with some one. The story revolves around few girls Kazama, Ushio and Murasame, Sumika also their many friends which they encounter. Murasame Sumika feel in love with her best Friend Kazama Ushio who falls in love with all the "cute" girls she see, for Murasame its the worst thing that can happen because she isn't the "cute" type if you think about it shes more like guy shes tall , strong and also knows karate ... well in other words the opposite of the type that Kazama likes because of that Murasama suffers alot. She also suffers because of seeing Kazama always getting hurt by other girls ... and getting her heart broken. Story goes into many misunderstandings and alot more sufferings but only to be relieved by some humor and joy of main characters "after bad things happens there are always something good awaiting". When going further into story we see some development of feelings from both sides still that was a mystery for me because it was my first Shoujo-ai anime ... with that i got into it and wanted to see more. Because of that i came across even more changes in their characteristics after some time i noticed Jealousy coming from Kazama who i thought had no interests in Murasame. With that i will end my review.

Art: Well art is beautiful all the characters are beautifully drawn and all the atmosphere is warm.

Characters: It was a wonderful character development and characteristics of each protagonist every moment of jealousy and such was shown nicely.

Enjoyment: well i enjoyed these series alot because it was my first shoujo-ai anime.

Overall: its a great love story which makes some difference from these plain every day anime romances which we see happening and after 4 eps you can already tell what will happen in the end ... I would suggest to watch this if you ain't against girls love!.
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Firstly: I'm going to keep it to the point to save you sifting through miles of text :D

I was new to Shoujo-ai anime I thought that this well done.

It has all the things that are expected from Romantic Comedies, but it also has its own turn on the genre. It has a balanced set of characters, which are really well developed, and they all bring something to the fray, be it comedy, or a serious point of the storyline.

Although the anime was a little predictable in the storyline, it didn't matter, as it was enough to keep me watching and not dismiss it. Generally it focuses on the relationships of the protagonist and her struggles but it makes you wonder if they made it into strictly a romance or a comedy whether it could have been better.

However, despite this, as a result this anime is thoroughly enjoyable, beautifully drawn, made and developed, its the characters, laughs and warm feel it gave that kept it going until the end with a good conclusion.

I'd recommend it to people who are regulars to the shoujo-ai scene and also to people who are new to it as I was. It has an enticing story and it kept me watching. 7/10 :) read more

Sasameki Koto started as a yuri manga written by Ikeda Takashi. The anime adaptation only covers the first part of the manga's story. It was made in 2009 by AIC. Sadly, there has not been a second season yet. Now, I liked this anime when I saw it a couple years ago. Just let me re-watch it so I can properly articulate why. And then I'll tell you all about it.

The story is a relatively simple romance plot. A girl named Sumika is in love with her best friend, Kazama. There's just one problem, Kazama likes cute girls and Sumika is really tall and more cool than cute. As for the story itself, it does a really good job of showing a gradual relationship progression and it blends in some charming slice of life aspects and some well done comedy. That being said, I do have one complaint about the story layout and that's episode seven. Just episode seven. It has no charm, no funny jokes, does nothing to advance the plot whatsoever and is just generally horrid. To make matters worse, it doesn't even get mentioned or alluded to again after it's over. Meaning that they just put it in to take up space. I genuinely pity anyone who saw this as their first episode because they were hanging out with a friend who was watching it or some such thing. That aside, the anime does a really good job of setting up the characters' relationships to each other and starting their development. The story is incomplete, but that's because the manga is fairly long and they really couldn't have completed it in thirteen episodes. They do pick a pretty good ending spot though and if you're curious about the manga the anime will certainly provide a good sample of what's in it so that you can ascertain whether you'd like it or not.

Now, with a simple story Sasameki Koto relies a lot on its characters to carry the show and they do so magnificently. One of my professors once said that well written and developed characters can make even minor tension seem important and dramatic, whereas poorly written characters can be involved in global stakes without anyone caring. Sasameki Koto confirms the first part of her claim. Sasameki Koto makes waiting for a phone call into a dramatic event. It works because all of the major characters are portrayed very realistically. They're largely sympathetic while having faults. I can especially identify with Sumika. She loves Kazama which can cause her to act petty and say thoughtless things, but she's also always there for her and genuinely wants her to be happy, even if it's with someone else. She wants to tell Kazama her feelings but she's afraid of losing her friendship so she puts on a straight girl act and keeps things bottled up. Azusa is another very sympathetic character. In many ways she's kind of a brat, but she's also sensitive, shy and creative. All the characters in this can be petty, thoughtless and do stupid things, but their faults aren't exaggerated or done in an overblown or obnoxious way. Instead they serve to make them more relatable. Even the minor characters feel like real people, mostly. The one major exception only appears in one episode. In case you can't guess which one, it's episode seven. And that's Akemiya's sister. Okay, technically she makes a very brief appearance in an earlier episode, but she only gets two lines and there's nothing to indicate that she might be what seven develops her into. Seven develops her, but it does it very badly. Whereas every single other character has sympathetic qualities, she's portrayed as a sociopath and you're supposed to forgive her for being horrible because she's young. Ruddy episode seven.

The art is excellently done. There are some really good details, the characters are well done, the scenery looks good and the backgrounds are nice and lively. There is one problem with it, and that's that it abuses art style changes for comedic effect. I mentioned this when I talked about Fullmetal Alchemist, but for those of you who didn't read that I'll go over it again. I don't generally mind when the art briefly changes style to a more deformed mode for comedic effect. The problem I have is when an anime does it too often. It's used for emphasis and it loses its impact when it happens too often and Sasameki Koto uses it too often. Now, one thing I really like about the art is that it mostly refrains from using fan-service. Even when there's a setup that could easily lead to it and I admire that restraint. The most fan-servicey scenes are fantasies and even then it's kept pretty tasteful.

The voice acting is really well done. Both Takamoto Megumi and Takagaki Ayahi give really strong performances. I'm not sure how closely they actually worked together since their lines were recorded, but I can say that they have really strong chemistry. If there's anything wrong with the acting in this it's that there are quite a few exaggerated scenes, but I'm not going to complain about it much since I honestly think they work in context. I didn't like the music as much. Don't get me wrong, it's good but it doesn't add a whole lot to the atmosphere. Most of it is just really mellow. Which is fine, but I would've liked to hear more of a variety.

The yuri factor is a 10/10. Who ever would have thought that yuri anime month reviews would have such a high yuri factor? In addition to the budding relationship between Kazama and Sumika there's a more advanced romance between Tomoe and Miyako and there's Azusa's crush on Sumika. One of Sasameki Koto's strengths is that the yuri is handled fairly realistically. Unlike some yuri anime, they go to a school with a largely straight population and Kazama's crushes tend to be one-sided as a consequence. It's a move that makes the characters more sympathetic since they are outsiders of a sort. The relationships themselves are really strongly developed in a way that feels completely natural.

Now, my final rating for Sasameki Koto is an 8/10. It's a great anime, except for bloody episode seven. My biggest complaint is over the terrible episode seven but ignoring that, the characters are excellent, the romance is handled very well, the voice acting is great and the art, when not shifted to the humorous style, is amazing. I do suggest giving it a try, and skipping episode seven because it seriously is just awful. If you enjoy the twelve good episodes you should check out the manga, because it unfortunately hasn't gotten another season yet. Well, that's it for yuri anime month. Next month I plan to look at Katanagatari, Blood+, and Durarara because my lovely fans requested it and I can't say no to reasonable requests from you guys. Even in those rare cases when I know it's going to be painful to re-watch something. There was something else coming up, but I can't recall what it was right now. Oh well, I'm sure I'll think of it eventually. read more

First of all I'm a fan of the manga series,therefore my score is biased, I took the time to watch the series last year and just re-watched because I love the manga.Now I will go on with the review of the anime,the synopsis gives the main plot therefore I don't need to explain, the series basic premise is unacquainted love, and hey! chances are everyone can relate to this in a way.
What I love the most about the series are the characters from Sumika,the strong,tall girl who will protect Ushio till the end,even if it means hurting herself.I happen to dislike Ushio a little bit in the beggining of the anime series (she seemed oblivious to Sumika's feelings and I don't mean the romantic feelings), but in the last few episodes she shows she really cares.The supporting characters really add hilarity to the situations revolving around Sumika and Ushio,like Kiyori the curry bread-loving classmate and her catch phrase HAHAHA !,I'm not gonna go further with the other characters but I must say I like all of them so far.

The art adequately matches the manga art(love the chibis!) so props for that,the voice actresses are magnificent,especially Sumika's and is a nice change since I always watch series with similar voices actresses,the music is cute not particularly amazing but fitting,for a 13 episode shoujo-ai series I must say this was made very good and hope for a second season.I must also mention I have watched the most popular shoujo-ai series(to say the least)but this is gotta be my favorite. read more