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The best way to approach the short and sweet 流れ星レンズ (SHOOTING STAR☆LENS) anime is as a long commercial for the manga.

Shown at Ribbon Festa 2012, this animated short is targeted at readers of the manga. It takes for granted that you already know what is happening and why and will be delighted to see and hear already beloved characters coming to life.

If you are not a reader of the SHOOTING STAR☆LENS manga (as I currently am not) you may be disappointed with this brief glimpse. We are not told how our hero and heroine started dating. We are not shown ... any conflict between them. It is truly a small slice of their lives and may seem too mundane to hold your attention.

I sought out this anime because I was intrigued by the highly stylized art and I do enjoy that aspect of it. Its real hold on my affection though is because in its everyday ordinariness it perfectly captures school life in Japan. If you have taught or studied at a Japanese public school, this short will prove extremely 懐かしい (full of fond memories).

If you were in middle school (in any country) over twenty years ago, this little anime may prove too adorable for words. It perfectly captures what makes young love so sweet and yes, a tiny bit silly. It's not a comedy by any means but it's hard to not chuckle at the emotional gravity given to things such as an exchange of love tokens. Presenting these moments with utter sincerity gives SHOOTING STAR☆LENS both its psychological realism and its charm.