Kimi to Boku.

I HATE SCHOOL COMEIDES and sentimental twaddle and will not watch "cute girls doing cute things." -- BUT I LOVED KIMI TO BOKU. -- It 's as easy to watch and as mesmerizing as a trout stream in the sunshine. It just flows along, easy, and happy, with the occasional surprise. Like potato chips I kept consuming one episode after another and was surprised when I hit ep 12. With only one ep to go I was glad to know that a second season is slated for Spring 2012.

It is a simple slice of life about four boys who have ... been together since kindergarten plus one radical misfit that gets dropped in to the mix. Sounds tedious, boring and trite, right? It isn't. It is funny without being silly and endearing without being sappy. It's about a lot of little things we overlook or take for granted that make life good.

There is no action or adventure, no high drama, no random wacky silliness, no ecchi, no sci-fi or horror and IT IS NOT SHOUNEN-AI. It is funny but not in an over the top guffawing kind of way but you will smile a lot, chuckle, and occasionally laugh out loud. KtB is true slice of life about a few charming characters you'd like to know personally.

Some say it has no plot. I'm not sure that is an accurate statement because each consecutive episode does build a bit on previous episodes as more and more is revealed about the character and characteristics of each player. Some say it is a "show about nothing" and that I openly disagree with. It is about love and acceptance, seeing someone's foibles and loving them just the same. Yes I said love but I mean universal love and and not the romantic sort. KtB is about friendship, reflection, and personal growth. How is that "about nothing."

I could care less about the opening and ending songs and found the sound track in no way annoying, jarring or distracting so it must have done its job well. I found the voice actors very well suited to the characters.

The art is nice. It is as mellow as the overall tone of the show. Then there are the cats. CATS? Brilliant, beautifully executed and illustrated vignettes of cats mirroring the actions and attitudes of the human characters -- ored cats. playful, mischievous cats, annoyed cats. Each character has a signature cat that reflects his personality and character traits. These aren't overly round, stylized cats but very realistic and richly detailed cats. Ah, the Japanese do seem to appreciate and understand cats. The "cat mirrors" is likely the most brilliant aspect of KtB. Hope they continue it in the 2012.

I myself think that Kimi to Boku is a must watch show. I personally think that it doesn't matter when and how often you watch it either. Kimi to Boku is one of those anime's where you can come home from a rough day of work and watch. For me, I thoroughly enjoyed Kimi to Boku and I hope that after reading this review, you will too.

Story: 9
I really liked the story in Kimi to Boku. I like it's simple school life style and I myself believe that the way the way they went about making this genre work, and not get boring, was really ... well done.
Normally in a lot of slice of life, school life anime it's very easy to get bored. I'm sure well all know this well. But with Kimi to Boku the story hooked me at the start. The story in Kimi to Boku was simple, yet effective. At the end of the anime I didn't feel the 'void of emptiness' after watching it. Instead, I smiled to myself thinking, "I really enjoyed that."
Trust me on the fact that you'll laugh at the stupid things that happen and the giggles between characters.

Art: 9
For these kind of anime's I always think that it needs to be simple; and that's what Kimi to Boku did. It kept it's art simple and so, it wasn't sore on the eyes. After coming home from a hard day of work you don't particularly want to see vivid colors. The art style in Kimi to Boku was smooth, and I myself had no problems with it.
It's very pretty.

Sound: 8
While watching Kimi to Boku I thought to myself every time I heard a soundtrack play, "I've heard this before..." The soundtracks in Kimi to Boku are very repetitive and so, it at times may not be ear candy. In the first half of the first episode of Kimi to Boku not much music played at all. Though, I believe myself that it was made like that to make the pacing seem slower and to make it seem more realistic. Towards the end of the anime, they play more soundtracks and for me, that's ok. I would've put sound at a seven if it wasn't for the fact that even if the soundtrack is repeated more than a few times, they were good soundtracks. Kimi to Boku used the right soundtracks at the right time and that's not something every anime can do.
The sound effects in Kimi to Boku weren't much to talk about but they were there. They made me laugh too. :)

Character: 10
Wow. This anime made me love every character. There was not one character I hated. The character development in this anime was very good and I became attached to them. What I was in awe about was the fact that even if a character only had one episode, you could still call them a character. They seemed just as important as the main characters and had an amazing amount of character development for such short time that they had.

Enjoyment: 10
There's not much I can say here since I've pretty much already stated above my opinion and enjoyment out of Kimi to Boku. Every end to every episode left me wanting more. It was a very enjoyable anime and if you decide to watch it then I hope you enjoy it too. I remember not being able to wait until I got home to watch this anime. I hope you feel that way also.

Overall: 10
Kimi to Boku is a hit or miss honestly. It's like marmite; you either love it or you hate it. The slice of life genre isn't something for everyone but, even if you dislike slice of life, give the first few episodes a try. I myself don't particularly watch slice of life unless it's striking, and this was. It seems simple yet the comedy and the characters in it will make you smile. The sound is good, the art is cute and smooth and the story is just what a normal highschooler may want their life to be like.
Give Kimi to Boku a try, I really enjoyed it.

Kimi to Boku is a series about a group of four (later five) teenage boys and them finding things to do in their everyday lives. And...that's it, really.

KtB is truly a slice-of-life show, but I am of the opinion that even SOL series deserve actual plots and in this way, KtB falters. There isn't much plot to speak of. Most of the time, the "plot" deals with the boys doing ho-hum everyday things, like reliving childhood memories, drawing manga, or even contemplating what to do because they're bored (I kid you not). Every now and then, things get somewhere interesting - for example, the cultural ... festival episodes were fun, as was the venture to the boys' former middle school, where they meet Shun's younger brother. Other episodes were downright boring and entirely forgettable; these mostly dealt with the boys sitting around and talking about things (I can't even tell you what of because I don't remember and frankly don't care). Indeed, I nearly fell asleep during the first episode because all the characters did was talk and relive flashbacks that weren't that interesting.

Now, a lacklustre plot can be somewhat forgivable if the series had great characters. For the first few episodes, our main cast of boys numbered four - Shun (the soft-spoken, effeminate one), Kaname (the straight man and the glasses guy), and Yuuki and Yuuta (the twins). However, they're all either so quiet or deadpan that they don't make for a very entertaining group to watch. Like I said, the first episodes deals entirely with them talking about things. Even the introduction of the stereotypical tsundere in the second episode doesn't help spice up what little plot there is. In fact, the tsundere, Masaki, is one of the more annoying characters, who is more "tsun" than "dere" and gets upset at the tiniest offer of help. For the record, she doesn't get much better by the end of the series.

The group only really livens up when the fifth member, Chizuru, is added. His boundless energy and enthusiasm adds a different dynamic to the main cast - he contrasts well with the deadpan twins and the quieter Shun and gives the straight man Kaname a better character to work off of for comedic effect. At the same time, he adds a bit of a love triangle with Masaki (the tsundere). Still, Chizuru alone isn't enough to save the plot from its own blandness. Nevertheless, the show does become less boring with him around because at least when they sit around and talk, there's some energy in it.

Also, in later episodes, the group comes across other characters who, through their own plots or development, give the main cast some depth that we would otherwise not see. For example, when Yuuta goes on a date with a shy classmate, we get a glimpse of his personality underneath his emotionless exterior. Unfortunately, such instances seem to occur only when they meet people outside their group rather than when the main cast is together. I would have liked to see the main guys develop within their group as well as without, like in the case of Ouran High School Host Club.

Animation-wise, there isn't much to see. That's not to say it's bad; it's just simple because that's all the show requires. Basically, there's nothing notable about it, good or bad.

In terms of sound, the music, like the animation, isn't very notable or memorable for anything. I'll admit, though, I have a fondness for the OP "Bye Bye" by 7!!, which has cute melody and a catchy opening beat. I have no complaints about the voice actors/actresses, who I guess had to work within their given characterizations.

So, really, is there anything truly notable about Kimi to Boku? Well, no. Is it a bad show? Well...that depends on how you see it. Frankly, I don't think of it as bad but it's far from memorable. Other slice-of-life series I've seen had something to distinguish them - Aria had a beautiful utopian society with a dash of fantasy; K-ON! had catchy music and "moe" girls; Azumanga Daioh had off-beat humour and even more off-beat characters. Kimi to Boku has...cats? Look, I don't know, I'm trying.

If you like action, drama, and fast-pace plots, then Kimi to Boku is not for you. If you like slice-of-life, give it a try but if you don't like it by the third or fourth episode, it's probably not for you, either.

EDIT: It's been about 2 years since I finished this series and wrote this review. Suffice it to say, I can barely remember a single thing about this series. It was simply that forgettable for me.