STORY: 5/10
The story of "Gift" isn't a particularly great one, and it doesn’t always make a whole lot of sense. Not to mention that the gimmick of this series, the Gifts themselves, are really kind of unimportant in the grand scheme of things. “Gift” is a romance, complicated by the sibling-esque relationship between Haruhiko and Riko and by the obligatory H-Game diversions. The show spends too much time on side characters. I assume their stories are nods to the source material, but they are simply unnecessary. As regards the relationship between Haruhiko and Riko, its effects don't feel well-considered in the long run, although it eventually doesn't matter. Once their relationship issues are "resolved," the story accelerates rapidly into a love triangle full of drama and betrayal for the final third of the series, with Gifts and the mysteries behind them playing a more central role. Although these elements are interesting, they feel like a bit of an afterthought. I did like the love triangle, though. It was well-motivated, although it was certainly melodramatic. The double-childhood-friend angle was a bit original.
Overall: 5/10 – What is essentially generic drivel is redeemed slightly by…I don’t know…the cuteness of the first arc and the intensity and understandable motivation of the last arc? “Please Twins” did a better job handling character responses in a siblings-but-not plot. “KgNE” and “True Tears” had more compelling triangles. Still, though, “Gift” wasn’t terrible. It just wasn’t particularly great.
ART: 4/10
Character Designs: Enormous eyes, almost completely filled by the irises. It took a while to get used to it. While this eye design seems to be increasingly common in bishoujo characters, it was odd (in a bad way) to see such large irises in the male lead. Also, the character designs, especially that of the male lead, are very inconsistent. This was most noticeable in facial design and hair, although it occasionally extended to female body proportions. The male lead fluctuated between being cool and attractive (ep 11) and being goofy-looking (ep 1). However, the female leads were consistently decent-looking, and occasionally very pretty. Riko looks a bit too much like Lucy/Nyu from "Elfen Lied" at times, though, which was...peculiar. The color palette is bright, just the way I usually like it.
Background Art: Nothing particularly amazing, but it was pleasant and consistent. Pretty much standard in recent years, it seems.
Animation: Nothing impressive, but nothing noticeably bad. Seemed fluid enough for its purposes.
Cinematography: I didn't notice anything particularly noteworthy. Pretty standard shots.
Overall: 4/10 - The inexcusable lack of consistency drags a decent visual production down to a bad one. It still has its rare moments of beauty, though.
SOUND: 6/10
OP: A pleasant but non-compelling piece. Guitars (acoustic and bass), strings, and vocals are layered on top of an uptempo rock/break beat. I've encountered quite a few of these lately.
BGM: Pleasant, appropriate, and yet forgettable.
ED: Actually kind of interesting due to the visual sync with Riko playing the guitar (with actual chords). Otherwise, it's pleasant but nothing memorable.
Voice Acting: As someone who is not a native Japanese speaker, I cannot hope to catch the subtleties of delivery. However, for what it's worth, I thought that all the seiyuu were appropriate and matched their characters and their emotions. Also, the occasional non-verbal noises caught my attention and were appreciated.
Sound FX: Gift effects sounded cheesy. It was kinda inevitable, though. Not a big deal.
Overall: 6/10 - Enjoyable all-around, but forgettable.
CHARACTER: 6/10
The characters, in general, were pretty flat or caricature-ish. Background stories were limited to the three leads, primarily to Haruhiko. However, Kirino and Riko acquired a little depth by the end. In addition, Riko and Haruhiko had good rapport as siblings...which was kind of wasted by the romance.
Haruhiko: A pretty generic harem-type lead at first, but perhaps a bit more empathetic and open with his feelings. Over time, he seems to become a better person, although I get the sense that this was due only slightly to character development and mostly to inconsistent writing.
Kirino: A shy, pleasant girl who likes Haruhiko. She has a more complex relationship with Riko than initially meets the eye. I don’t want to spoil much, so I’ll just say that I liked her motivation in the final arc, although that’s primarily because she simply HAD an understandable motive.
Riko: Basically Haruhiko’s adopted sister, who had to leave him years ago. They were great and lively friends, something maintained in their playful treatment of each other. She’s feisty and cheerful, but has a sensitive side and a selfish side that overwhelm her on occasion. She also has a fear of being/becoming alone. If you pay attention, you might notice that she uses slight regression under severe stress. Nice Freudian touch. Also, I was surprised by how kawaii she occasionally managed to be (kawaii enough for me to use fangirl Japanese to describe it). As an afterthought, I remember that I appreciated that she insisted on carrying her own suitcase instead of letting the male lead do it for her.
Maki: A supporting character and friend of Haruhiko, although he is more a caricature than a true character. He is the smart, controlling, cold-hard-rational-science-obsessed guy, although he’s really not scientific in his methods. He’s calm and collected, and he also considers the feelings of his friends, which is nice.
Then, in addition to these, there are all the girls who probably have their own routes in the game, like Rinka, Chisa, Yukari, and possibly someone on the student council. None of these characters seemed important in any way, really, and I think they detract from the overall experience, making it less focused than it could have been.
In terms of interpersonal relationships, we are often left with such ambiguous descriptions as declarations of “love.” However, Kirino eventually describes something a little bit more specific, and it isn’t too hard to figure out what drives Riko’s relationship with Haruhiko (he cares about her, pays attention to her, and is simply there for her, almost as family). Additionally, the relationship between Riko and Haruhiko is supported by a bit of casual banter near the beginning of the series, which actually seems to go a long way in showing their mutual compatibility in the long run. Still, I feel that the relationships in “Gift” are sketchy, primarily because what Haruhiko sees in the girls and/or wants from a relationship with the girls remains a mystery to the audience.
Overall: 6/10 – There are a lot of cardboard cutouts, especially at the beginning, when only Riko seems to have any depth, and that’s only because of the way she interacts with her foster brother. On top of that, many are completely unnecessary to the story. However, the added depth to the characters of Riko and Kirino, by the end of the series, manage to pull “Gift” out of the realm of mediocrity and into the realm of decency.
ENJOYMENT: 7/10
The odd thing about “Gift ~eternal rainbow~” is that, despite its flaws and rather unremarkable basic essence, I really enjoyed it. Well, I didn’t enjoy it THAT much, but it was a pleasant surprise. It’s probably because I didn’t expect much, as that tends to increase my overall impression. So, really, “Gift” is an unremarkable but generally pleasant romantic drama, with occasional points of noticeable enjoyment, usually provided by Riko in some manner. As such, I have rated my enjoyment as a 7/10.
I guess enjoyment would also depend on one’s tolerance for H-Game fare and harem fare: the stuff of male wish-fulfillment. My patience for such content has yet to be depleted, since I usually avoid the genres. “Gift” is far from being the worst of this kind of stuff, but it certainly cannot hold its own against the best shows these genres have to offer, which are often respectable titles within the whole of anime, across genres.
SIMPLIFIED RECOMMENDATION: Watch it if you’re in the mood for or have run out of other pleasant romances. Don’t watch it if you’re sick of somewhat shoddy character and plot constructions.
