Kokoro Connect: Michi Random

Not long after putting the previous supernatural incident behind them, the members of Yamaboshi Academy's Student Cultural Society (StuCS) must deal with Fuusenkazura's newest trial—emotion transmission. This phenomenon allows the club members to hear each others' true thoughts, but with one catch: the timing, sender, and recipient are all completely random. To make matters worse, the club's supervisor, Ryuuzen Gotou, may have to step down due to his responsibilities for the upcoming school year. With emotions running high and Valentine's Day around the corner, the seemingly close bonds of the StuCS will be tested when their true feelings for each other are laid bare.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Inaba, Himeko Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Nagase, Iori Main

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Yaegashi, Taichi Main

Mizushima, Daichuu Japanese

Kiriyama, Yui Main

Kanemoto, Hisako Japanese

Aoki, Yoshifumi Main

Terashima, Takuma Japanese

Fuusenkazura Supporting

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Fujishima, Maiko Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Yaegashi, Rina Supporting

Oogame, Asuka Japanese

Gotou, Ryuuzen Supporting

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Enjouji, Shino Supporting

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Masaki, Daisuke Assistant Producer

Oonuma, Shin Director

Kawatsura, Shinya Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Kameyama, Toshiki Sound Director

Reviews

Jan 1, 2013

Ru-chan

Recommended

Before I'd like to start my review, I'd just like to give a few reminders.

First of all, a happy new year to everyone! I hope everyone had fun last year and will have fun this year. For this year, I decided that in my new year's resolution, I will start writing reviews in the anime I've watched, primarily those which have struck me with awe. In other words, this is my first review so please be easy on me. Secondly, I apologize if my review may seem long as, reiterated, it's my first time and I tend to pour myself out on stuff like this. ... Lastly, we all have subjective opinions so let's not start arguments over my review please in the case that I pull up something controversial.

I have a different grading system when I rank anime compared to the standard one given so with that being said...

1. ARTISTRY: 9/10
"Artistry is the quality that appeals to one's sense of beauty."

This refers to all the technical visual things shown in the anime - animation, personalities, sounds, all of those. I'm not exactly looking at how the anime is, how it looks and all that, I'm the type of person that tends to look more on the inside rather than what's on the outside. However, even so, artistry is an important factor as it usually leaves the first impression, at least in my case.

Kokoro Connect though did very well on the artistry, I believe. The animation is fine, in fact, it's very impressive. The mood of the scene reflected well on the animation as well, which would contribute to enticing the viewers.

Not only that, the characters were nice as well. Each character had a unique personality. It's not like those cliché personalities such as the over-moe ones and the all-the-way tsunderes. Everyone had new aspects that I haven't seen before or rarely seen such as Inaba Himeko. It's hard to sub-classify her to the classifications of anime characters we have right now. Her good looks and her cool, grown-up attitude and behind those is a clumsy girl with the capability to make her look beautiful, hot and cute all at the same time is very rare in the anime world.

Another factor I'm mysteriously interested in is the voice acting. I am just so dumbfounded when I hear the voice actors and actresses expressing the character's feelings to the fullest in each dialogue they speak out. In Kokoro Connect, I'd have to say they did an amazing job in this aspect. All the characters, their feelings and their dialogues, it was expressed in such a way wherein which you are just left with amazement. This is yet another commendable aspect in terms of the artistry.

Lastly, the plot. The way the story was laid out, the way each new problem and conflict was presented, the way each problem was solved by the help of teamwork was perfect. These kinds of plots just give you the urge to continue watching more and more episodes consecutively due to its excitement and interesting turn of events.

2. INTELLECTUAL VALUE: 10/10
"Intellectual value refers to the anime stimulating thought. It enriches our mental life by making us realize fundamental truths about life and human nature."

When I watch anime, I closely keep in watch for this quality. This usually determines if I'll like the anime or not.

No doubt, I learned a lot from this anime. New truths about life itself and about us, humans. We're very powerless if we settle things all by ourselves and we need help from others at some point in life. Life works that way. Every individual should work together and united, they shall stand.

With that being said, intellectual value in this show is yet another commendable factor seen in Kokoro Connect.

3. SUGGESTIVENESS: 9/10
"Suggestiveness is the quality associated with the emotional power shown and experienced by the audience."

Let's focus on Nagase Iori on this one, shall we? Did you feel the pain Iori felt as she continuously isolated herself from the Cultural Research Club and its members? Did you feel anguish and anger or perhaps any feeling when Iori showed an antagonistic and negative behavior towards her own friends despite how nice they were to her? My main point is, the very fact that you, the audience, expressed intense emotions during those scenes is already the fact that this anime succeeded its purpose in expressing suggestiveness to the audience.

Not only did Nagase leave a strong emotional power but also practically everything shown on the show. Every dramatic moment in Kokoro Connect was intense and it left strong emotional power, leaving you astounded and moved in your heart. That, itself, makes me give this a 10/10.

4. SPIRITUAL VALUE: 10/10
"Spiritual value is the quality wherein which the show elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which make us better persons."

I would be killing myself literally if I were to say that Kokoro Connect failed to inspire its viewers to become better persons or change their perspective on life. This has got to be the strongest point shown in the anime.

Society is cruel. Hardships come and go. At some point, you will feel like you've reached the lowest peak in your life. Yet, in the end, your friends will always be there to pull you up. The concept of friendship was indeed highlighted in this show.

"Like I care! Do whatever you want! It's your life!," as said by Inaba. A very motivational and inspiring quote indeed. You are entitled to everything you want and can do and no one has the right to bother around with what's yours.

Kokoro Connect taught me that you can't live life all by yourself. No one can. Everyone needs someone to be at their side to be with them, guide them, shoulder their pain and burden and everything else. It's a human instinct, we linger for love. This human instinct was shown on Nagase Iori, despite her persistent attitude.

5. PERMANENCE: 10/10
"Permanence is shown when a great show endures time and space. Thus, it immortalizes its maker along with the show itself."

Permanence, in my opinion, is one of the greatest qualities every anime has to focus on. Every anime should strive to leave an impact to the audience in order for them to not forget about it for a long time and hopefully recommend to their friends. It is also a pretty drastic quality, as it also interconnects and interlocks with spiritual value and intellectual value.

These last 4 episodes, in my belief, indeed succeeded in engraving a memory of how wonderful this anime is in the viewer's hearts.

The concept and idea of friendship and teamwork, I will never forget the fact on how much that was highlighted and shown during the whole course of the Kokoro Connect series.

OVERALL: 9.6/10 or 10/10

TL;DR? All in all, I'd like to say that this is a wonderful and commendable show. I would indeed recommend this to my friends if they are looking for an anime to watch. Every anime should strive to be like this one, Kokoro Connect deserves to be a role model. However, regardless of the fact that it's amazing, I still wouldn't say it's the epitome and magnum opus of shows and all that, as some shows still encompass this anime but shows as nice as this are rarely seen this days so in conclusion, I highly suggest you watch this series. You won't regret it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Feb 9, 2013

Deagle_zero

Mixed Feelings

At the time of writing, these last 4 episodes of Kokoro Connect were ranked #147 on MAL.

Overrated. Definitely overrated.

****Spoilers may be found from here on****

Story (5/10): Michi Random picks up directly from where the main series left off and yet again we find the plot centred on Iori. This time, emotional transmissions galore.

Seriously, guys, why don't we just call it "Iori Connect" already?

... To sum it up, Iori gets depressed (AGAIN) because she doesn't know who her "real 'me'" is.

Cue 4 episodes of conversations that go like this:

Random CRC Member (Aoki/Yui/Inaba/Taichi): "Dude, you're not acting like your normal self."

Iori:"That's because you don't know the real 'me'!"

So instead of any steps to solve the problem, we get an endless cycle of melodramatic shit we've all heard before. Then RINSE...aaaand REPEAT.

But WAIT it gets even better in the last episode. Somehow, without thinking, Inaba picks a 1v3 fight with some wanna-be-punk douchebags and obviously gets kidnapped. Girl, WTF did you expect when rushing in like that? You're not Yui...

Cue Inaba getting obviously saved by a ragtag group of CRC members. Really, could things have gotten any more predictable?

Throw in some shallow garbage dialogue about the importance of friends and an unconvincing rehabilitation for Setouchi-san, and you get a package of a plot that promises little and delivers even less.

Yep, the story is without a doubt ATROCIOUSLY average.

Art (5/10): Character art, like the main series, didn't strike me as particularly original or memorable. Taichi still reminds me of Tsuda-kun from Seitokai Yakuindomo albeit with brown hair, and everyone has had the KyoAni moe treatment ramped up on them to a whole new BLAND level. Nothing interesting here.

Sound (6/10): Probably the "best" part of the series, considering the OP and ED didn't kill my ears. "I scream Chocolatl" is a decent listen, but the OST really didn't do much to immerse me to feel sympathy for Iori's plight.

Character (4/10): As I said before, you can slap the label "Iori Connect" on this anime already.

Iori is easily the most developed character in the whole series, and that's because she gets SCREENTIME. Everyone else except maybe Inaba remains a one-dimensional personality. Maybe that's why they can't understand a more complex character like Iori and can only ask her to be normal, rather than asking who she WANTS to be.

To summarise the amount of character development in Michi Random for the CRC members in descending order, we have:

Iori (by a long, @#$%ing way)-->Inaba-->BLAND-->BLAND-->BLAND

It's ironic how much screentime in Kokoro Connect+Michi Random is dedicated to love confessions rather than useful plot devices to actually immerse viewers in the world of the characters and not make them seem so insubstantial. Could it really have hurt the creators to place some more flashbacks on the childhoods for each of the CRC members (yes, even for Iori seeing as this is Michi Random). Everything in Kokoro Connect is just "we tell the viewer this happened to this and this character, and they'll believe us without us showing them..."

Disappointing. It also really does reflect on the laziness of the production staff that the romance aspect ends on a particularly superficial note. But then again, to satisfy the unthinking viewer masses and provide closure Taichi must pick one girl over the another to go out with. Hopefully, there won't be a 2nd season.

Enjoyment (5/10): You'd think that a slice-of-life anime would have ample amounts of humour to balance the slower-paced plot and lack of action. But yet again in Michi Random, the comedy is uncreative and falls flat.

It was particularly insensitive that Taichi tried to cover for Iori by saying he went too far with her in a physical romance. Haha, very funny. But would Taichi really have said this, knowing that Yui had nearly been raped in the past and being the "selfless freak" he is? Definitely insensitive and uncaring.

Yet this was only one of the many contradictions in character in Michi Random.

(I'm not even going to start talking about how Inaba is supposedly good at analysing & manipulating people and situations....mindlessly starting a 1v3 fight? You've got to be kidding me).

Overall (5/10): TL;DR Michi Random and the main series of Kokoro Connect simply doesn't live up to its hype. This anime takes itself too seriously in depicting high-school relationships but does nothing to deliver. Made by lazy creators, it can only be described as disappointing and BLAND. Go look elsewhere for your daily dose of cute girls and guys doing not-so-cute things, and steer clear of this anime. Who knows, you may be rewarded for your wisdom with a more interesting series.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jul 20, 2016

JackOfHearts

Not Recommended

This anime was complete shit. Do people actually like it or are they ironically rating it this high? I will now tell you why this anime is objectively shit.

One of the main problems with the whole thing was that the drama was so forced it hurt. Nearly every arc focused on one person and made them have a problem for no reason. Iori was probably the worst of the characters for this reason. The only person with a real problem was the girl who was almost raped but that was dealt with early on.

Another problem throughout the whole anime was that the main character was ... such a prefect little Garry Stu that it was ridiculous. He calls himself selfish because he wants to help people so bad. If that isn't the biggest load of shit I ever heard. They could have made it cool by giving him a mental reason to want to help these people, maybe for the sheer satisfaction, but unfortunately writing is too hard for these people so they just made him a perfect character instead.

The body switching arc was bad. You couldn't tell whom was in whom's body because none of the characters have enough personality to give it away. They also made it complete random so it wasn't like Yamada-kun and the 7 witches where one person had to contact the others lips to change bodies. We also learn that the body changing will not be permanent and assume the other phenomena will stop whenever.

The doing desire act was just as bad. It happened like 5 times in total. Everytime it happened nearly nothing went wrong because they were stopped immediately and there was no consequence. The one girl who fought off some male harassers decided to stay in her room for days which just made for an annoying plot. And I hope you like the singling out one person thing because it never stops.

The becoming younger arc was OKAY nothing special. It focused on boring Aori who is confirmed boring in this phenomena. When one of your characters main problems is that the girl he loves looks like another girl he loved, they are a shit character. The cute younger girls made up for this arc so it wasn't as bad.

The last 4 episodes mind reading arc was back to being bad. Iori decides to change into bitch mode for no reason. I hope you didn't want an explanation because you won't get one. At the end of 13 she learns friendship is magic but she is back to thinking the way she was before. Hooray for pointless character development

The only reason I decided to continue this anime after episode 6 was because I wanted to know more about Heartseed/Balloon Vine. But of course there is no frickin' explanation. This was probably the saddest part of the anime for me. We never learn what he was. We never learn what his motivations are other than "for entertainment". We never learn who the other people he talks about are. Overall this anime was just a bad romantic comedy with supernatural stuff shoveled in.

Feel free to say why you liked this anime. Maybe you felt the comedy was good. I'll admit the first masturbation joke was pretty funny but it gets old the 50th time. Some of the later jokes were funny but totally not worth the watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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