Reviews

Oct 28, 2008
I swore when I seriously started writing reviews that I would never give anything a perfect rating. No anime was flawless no matter how great I thought it was. However, Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight is the closest thing I've found to perfect.

Set in Japan in the near future, Manabi captures the outlook of its setting better than any other series that's tried to work out such a scenery. It is made clear with a national birth rate crisis reflecting the current steady drop in Japanese citizen births, as well as advanced but realistic technology such as streamlined buses, computers built into desks, and student organizers that are essentially limited-function Blackberries. These subtle points serve to add an extra glow to the already wonderful story presented.

Manabi's plot is so basic it may almost be seen as a flaw, but alas it cannot. So often do we get caught up in the grandeur anime has to offer that it becomes increasingly difficult to enjoy the simple story Manabi presents. But as is the theory regarding real life, Manabi takes great pleasure in the little things. Cleaning up what will be your office, making sure an assembly presentation is complete, recordng video interviews of your friends... all of these are either easy or mundane, yet for Manabi they are crucial plot elements and are thus treated with proper gravitas.

Likewise, Manabi's story is not just an event-to-event episodic process like so many modern slice-of-life series are. Manabi is clearly a linear storyline. Episodes begin with character development, begin to introduce conflict simultaneously, flesh out the conflict once the characters are developed, conflict is properly resolved, and the story is even given time for a dynamic epilogue that brings the message of the series full-circle. This is proper storytelling, paced to perfection with each episode having its own moment of new resolution for a contained or continuous conflict. I can think of nothing to take out or add upon.

Manabi is lead by five high-school girls, including the titular character. This is another point where Manabi stands out as well. Though each girl is given a requisite character archetype, their personalities were still given room to grow to the point that it no longer becomes acceptable to say "oh Mei's just a typical tsundere" and the like. Perspectives are also another plus as far as characterization goes, as the series starts leading us to believe it is from Manabi's perspective, yet it becomes clear as the series progresses that it is another girl through whose eyes we are watching the story unfold, and rightfully so as the epilogue demonstrates.

Though character designs are skewed young, similar to Lucky Star, they are appealing and don't pander to moe extensively. Cute, but not sickeningly so, and within reason. More to the point, the fact that the characters were drawn in a "loli style" doesn't do anything to harm the series as a whole. Besides, any high-schooler can tell you that just because they were 16, that doesn't mean they acted like it.

Manabi was animated by the spotty, hit-or-miss ufotable. All the stops were pulled out for Manabi though, from the gradient-style hair colors to the richly detailed web sites and chat room discussions. Animation flows smoothly throughout and frequently touches upon movie quality for its more poignant scenes. It's work that could hardly be improved upon and easily the studio's shining star for quality. One can only hope that ufotable animates another series of this art quality soon. Of course, ufotable included its penchant for a clay-mation ED sequence, but that is only to be expected, and the sequence is well choreographed despite its appearance.

The accompaniement is provided by first-time composer Yasuhiro Misawa, and I pray that this is only a taste of what is to come. The soundtrack captures the urgency of Manabi's pace with appropriate music throughout, ranging from slow and serene, to frentic and uplifting. No track is quite the same and quite a few well probably memorable for every viewer; the most memorable arguably being the *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP* that decorates every next episode preview and other scenes. The OP and ED, originally songs by the late, etheral Ritsuko Okazaki are now sung with a headier sound by famous seiyuu Megumi Hayashibara. Both are quite good.

The vocal performances however are all wonderful. Voiced by a blend of veterans and rookies to the field, each gives their all to their respective performance, capturing all the individual nuances of every single sentence. It's quite possibly the best ensemble cast for a slice-of-life anime, and arguably one of the best ensemble casts of any anime.

At this point I think it's rhetorical to ask if I enjoyed it. This series took me to every possible emotional high and, despite its short run, satisfied me to the upmost. Everything about this series has left me with nothing but good impressions. Though personal biases will easily detract some from watching this, those with an open mind regarding the style should come running. Anime does not get much better than this.

Overall, I proudly give Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight a 10 out of 10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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