Seiren

For high school students like Shouichi Kamita, university entrance exams and the future are common concerns. It is also during this time in life that a mysterious emotion that vexes people of all ages may begin to weigh upon one's mind—love.

At this point in his teenage years, Shouichi finds three girls he could see himself having a future with: the ever-cheerful Hikari Tsuneki, who teases Shouichi without mercy, but actually has a softer side; the competitive gamer, Tooru Miyamae, who has difficulty communicating with others; and Shouichi's childhood friend, Kyouko Touno, the sometimes immature shoujo manga enthusiast. Seiren follows Shouichi's relationships with these three girls across three separate arcs, as their feelings grow from mutual interest and blossom into something more beautiful.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tsuneki, Hikari Main

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Miyamae, Tooru Main

Shimoji, Shino Japanese

Touno, Kyouko Main

Kimura, Juri Japanese

Kamita, Shouichi Main

Tamaru, Atsushi Japanese

Sanjou, Ruise Supporting

Kuroki, Honoka Japanese

Kamita, Tomoe Supporting

Numakura, Manami Japanese

Kamizaki, Makoto Supporting

Mikami, Shiori Japanese

Hiyama, Miu Supporting

Izawa, Shiori Japanese

Onigata, Masami Supporting

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Nanasaki, Ikuo Supporting

Asari, Ryouta Japanese

Aijima, Gouta Producer

Tomioka, Tetsuya Producer

Tanaka, Gou Producer

Tamino, Kouichi Assistant Producer

Reviews

Mar 20, 2024

ddmareo

Recommended

Seiren remains a hidden gem, often overshadowed by more mainstream titles. An initial glance at the reviews and its below-average rating made me apprehensive. However, after giving it a chance, I found it to be a refreshing departure from the norm. It's a testament to the old adage, "never judge a book by its cover" – or in this case, an anime by its rating.

From the outset, one might mistake Seiren for a typical harem, but it's far from that. Instead, it offers a novel approach to romance anime, presenting three distinct romantic paths with the protagonist, each with a different main heroine. Each arc ... feels like a fresh beginning, a new exploration of relationships.

One of the anime's primary strengths lies in its ability to showcase the dynamics between the protagonist and three vastly different heroines. However, a notable drawback is the pacing. With only twelve episodes to cover three arcs, the narrative often feels rushed. Each arc's progression, from the protagonists' initial interactions to their eventual commitment, feels condensed into a mere four episodes.

The characters themselves are endearing, each bringing a unique flavor to the series. Hikari, the vivacious senior, is the center of attention in her class. In contrast, Miyamae, the second heroine, is introverted, finding solace in video games. But perhaps the most intriguing of all is Kyouko, the protagonist's childhood friend. Contrary to many anime tropes, where childhood friends seldom find romantic success, Seiren offers a satisfying twist in Kyouko's arc.

In conclusion, Seiren is an underrated watch that I thoroughly enjoyed. I spent a delightful two days of my summer break immersed in its world. I highly recommend it but advise potential viewers to familiarize themselves with the synopsis to avoid any initial confusion.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 24, 2017

Fureiya

Mixed Feelings

Omnibus Format, is a type of story-telling that divides the whole series into multiple arcs each dedicated to a certain girl which the main characters gets a romantic relationship with. When an arc concludes, everything resets back to the beginning with an all new storyline and characters to follow. The most well-known series that features this kind of story-telling is Amagami SS which is pretty much the spiritual predecessor to our newest addition Seiren. Seiren, an original series made in collaboration with Studio Gakumi and Studio AXsiZ, aired this Spring 2017 is the newest series to feature omnibus format of story-telling. I personally think ... that Amagami SS is a good show so I was pretty hyped when Seiren was announced but honestly, it didn’t live up to my expectations. There were a lot of flaws that I’ve noticed all throughout the show. To explain further let’s just start the review.

Story
The story follows Shoichi Kamita as he develops relationship with different girls during high school. Each girl is dedicated to their own arc which follows a unique storyline. A single arc is composed of four episodes each and tells how the main character gets involved into that certain girl, how they developed their relationship and how they ended up in the future. Yeah you heard that right, all of that content in only four episodes. But that isn’t really the problem and even if that wasn’t the case, I’d still be bothered anyways. None of the storylines that the arcs followed are compelling or even interesting. Each of them has their own fair share of weirdness and cringe. And the conflicts that serves to brighten up the storyline makes little to no sense at all. Fan service is seemingly dominant and the amount of romantic scenes that can establish a concrete relationship between the characters is lacking. With regards to characters development, you can’t really expect much from a show that features an omnibus format of story-telling. Though I can tell, the character development is somewhat there but you can’t really feel it knowing that after the reset, all the connections between the viewers and the characters will all be lost anyways. Viewers who are new with omnibus format will probably encounter this problem but those who have watched similar shows firsthand will probably be fine with it. But beyond all of this, there’s something I’d like to point out and is something that I really praise from the show. Even if the arc that a character is dedicated to is already over, the characters still appear in considerable amount of screen time and throughout the following arc. They appear merely as supporting characters but with quite relevance with the storyline. This feels as if the characters are given a lot of importance. But I guess this is possible because Seiren is an original and not a visual novel adoption unlike other anime of the same league.

Characters
The main character of the show is just your typical beta mc that always blushes to whatever a girl does in front of her. There’s really no revealing trait to mention for the main character. He’s just your generic harem main character though I can’t really say that this show is a harem. So having a generic main character, it’s clear enough that the female characters should lead the show. The female characters are likable and appealing. Their character itself is just the right stuff to compensate what the main character lacked. As I mentioned, characters relationship in this show will come and go but not the characters themselves. There’s a really good set of supporting characters that really stood out to me during the whole show. They add up to the overall vibe of the show. So other than the main character, I don’t have any problem when it comes to the characters.

Art
There are some parts where the art shines and some parts it lacks. In general, the art is very vibrant. There are some notable parts where the animation will just blew you away. And the amount of detail is just right though a little bit more could have been better. The character designs are also quite attractive. It pretty much reminds me of Amagami SS. Though unlike Amagami SS, I’ve noticed there’s not enough distinction between the characters. All the female characters have similar hair and the facial expressions are pretty much the same with all the characters. It’s really hard to recognize a character at first glance. But this isn’t much of a problem and I let it slide all the time. And still, I can say I liked the art of this show.

Sound
There’s really not much to talk about when it comes to sounds. There’s really no memorable soundtrack that comes in mind when I think of it. The opening theme of the show is quite nice. The closing theme changes every arc. There’s nothing more to it that I’ve noticed other than these.

Overall, I don’t think Seiren is a bad show. Maybe I expected a lot more but there are really a lot of obvious flaws in this show. But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this show. With all the laughs and weirdness this show offered to me, I say I enjoyed it quite a bit. So far, there are only three arcs featured in this show but it seems that there’s supposed to be more. If ever there will be a second season for this show, I’d give it another change.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 28, 2017

GuyInTheShadows

Not Recommended

Alright, since all the reviews here are full of bullshit and too long to read I had to make one of my own. The anime had potential but at around the first girl they messed up bad, it was a major turn-off and since then it only got worse. The anime is really cliche and generic. It's awkward and boring. The main character is useless like in most of the anime these days. I don't recommend it, but if you are bored and you have nothing better to do with your life then it sure is a good way of wasting your time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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