Koi wa Ameagari no You ni

Boy oh boy. This anime really took me by a huge surprise. When I initially read the plot, I thought it was going to be about a hopeless teenage romance with an older gentleman and the whole "pedophilic" troupe but boy was I wrong! There was less emphasis on the romance and more on self-reflection and how to navigate through life.

I absolutely loved the anime and started looking forward to it every Monday after finishing my classes at uni. The character development, artwork, and music were all splendid. I never thought that I could deeply bond with a 45-year-old restaurant manager but Kondou-san's life really ... moved me. His life struggles, divorce, long-lost love and ambition for literature, and managing life/career, in general, is something that we all can relate to in one way or another. The overall emphasis of the anime was choosing how to live our lives by doing what we love and being true to ourselves. So, lots of emphasis on self-love. I am definitely going to catch up with the manga to see how the story unfolds and in the meantime, I hope there will be a season 2!

The anime that came to me at the time I needed it the most.

I just found out about their existence, browsing through anime in amazon video, and I was interested in the title and decided to see, and I could not stop until I finished.

Characters that feel very real, and that play something in you, a perfect ambience of what it is to live in the monotony lived by Akira and Kondo. Call it what you want, but the love that Akira felt for kondo was pure, with details, with disinterests, with respect and without taking advantage of the other.

They learned from each other, lessons ... they will never forget, because as they have said, "I will not forget, even pass the time, no matter where I am, I will remember the person who taught me about my future, every time I see the sky after the rain ... "They will never forget the person who helped them through that storm, to finally see the sky after the rain.

After wasting an endless number of opportunities that life has given me, after letting go many people, moments and you find yourself with a cloudy head because you think you will not be able to fulfill your passions and dreams, realizing that really It is not as impossible as it looks, that you can mature to face those obstacles and continue doing what you like, finding a person that makes you see that future clearly, is simply invaluable.

(Spoiler is in the second paragraph)

In my opinion, I think that Koi wa Ameagari no You ni is an anime that should be more popular in the romance genre. As a person who regularly watches romance genre, they always mention the popular ones such as Your Lie in April, Golden Time, etc. However,I feel as if this one goes under the radar since I feel as if its score is misleading.

The reason why I feel the score is misleading is because people were sad about what happened to the two main characters. They didn't get together. "Why? Why didn't they get together? Dang it!" ... I was like this at first when I had watched the anime. However, if you look past the fact that the two MC's didn't get together, you will start to see that there is a deep development for all of the characters in the anime. The characters, the plot, setting, everything is so developed to the point where you can start to understand why certain scenes take place. This is something that shocked me.

Feelings play a very important role in this anime and it can perhaps deal with issues. This anime portrays a very radical idea; the fact that a high school girl is completely head over heels with a man that is a lot older than him. This can make people go away from the anime, but it is original. To my knowledge, the only title that I can relate this to Kotonoha no Niwa and that is only 1 episode. This anime is a whole coaster full of emotions and each episode takes you down a cool ride.

Story (8)
I thought that the story was very original as I said but I felt as if there wasn't enough execution. The lack of execution may just be because there is so much potential that I didn't want it to end, but I felt as if there was a missing aspect that was yet to be filled. Perhaps what happened after the ending? Either way, the story was pretty good but was lacking in execution; hence the 8

Art and Sound (8)
I feel as if the art and sound go hand in hand. There is nothing wrong with the art or sound; not that I noticed anyways. It isn't something that is like "WOW THAT'S AMAZING" but rather its like "Ok👌, this sounds pretty cool and the art style is unique + pretty."

Character and Enjoyment (9)
This is probably why most people rated it so low. Once again, the ending really drove people away from the anime giving it its harsh score. Please try and look past it and see the development of the characters... it is truly something amazing that in my opinion, it rivals that of popular high-score anime's. I personally enjoyed the coaster of emotions and I found it really unique. I happened to binge this all in 4 days since I really enjoyed the unique concepts and ideas. I am sure the manga is just as great as the anime (as a person who doesn't read manga)

Overall and Conclusion (9)
To anyone that is reading this, please give this anime a try. I feel as if there needs to be more people watching these unique concepts so that more of them can be created. Instead of the overused high school romance anime, this is an anime that gave a really unique twist to the romance genre. This anime is a watch for anyone that is even considering to watch it.

I would like to remind anyone who's avoiding watching this show because of the age gap. Let me first tell that it's not the kind of relationship you're thinking. It more of a platonic relationship, so please keep that in mind.

Anyways on to my review.

Story: 9/10
So in simplest terms it's about this girl who's on the track team. That works at a diner, where she meets her crush the manager. A 45 year old divorced man. She doesn't know why she likes this man. Going out of her way to help out with his kid and him.

Art: 10/10
I think this art is ... beautiful, from the opening video and the ending video for that matter was stunning. And what can you expect from the studio that adapted The Ancient Magus Bride and Attack on Titans.

Sound 10/10
The music for this anime were both amazing! I still listen to them now. My favorite is definitely the ending song.

Characters: 8/10
Overall I like the main characters. But I will admit in some scenes the main character can be a bit pushy and sometime she can have her head in the clouds about her crush. But I think she's really soft when it comes to the people at work (not including the manager). I also admired the manager bringing the main character back to Earth. Telling her to rethink things (such as her crush on him) before moving too fast in decisions. Because he wants her to be happy, and he doesn't have the heart to hurt her in anyway.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I really enjoyed this anime. I enjoyed the story, the characters, the music, and art too! I would recommend this to people. But again please understand that this is not the kind of relationship you're thinking of.

Overall: 9/10

I have been taken into an emotional adventure and I am gracefully busting through it as I find myself taken afar by two chracters who finds their resolution, hope, and dreams.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni is an absolute emotional masterpiece with its great representation of romantic wholesomeness you may feel when falling head over heels to someone, makes it somehow relatable with the female audience and maybe some of our male audience. The show is Emotionally and Visually stunning. They are able to support scenes with very cute atmospheric structure, great ambience in different situations, cute sound effects supporting such scenes, and overall ... its simple but stunningly colorful design results a much more emotionally refined scene. With so few episodes and an unusually shorter than average time per episode, they have covered so much back story for the main characters and thus resulting in the audience having established a relationship with said characters.

Overall the show is stunningly cute and wholesome, it is not a tear jearker but at times you cant just help but shed a bit of those while watching. May it be because of the dramatic scenes or just because of its atmospherically wholesome moments. The show has established a relationship in myself l hope you get it too.

highly recommended 9/10

The other reviews here don't lie. From the premise, I was wary about the show. A handful of episodes in, it was cute. A few more and I almost hated it. Stick with it though, seriously. This is one of the few shows that really doesn't show its hand until late in the game. By the end, by the time I realized what the story was actually about, it became a really touching show about a lot of complicated feelings. Plus, this show absolutely ADORES literature, and moved me enough to get me to start reading again. I've been learning Japanese for a few years ... now and am gonna try tackling some Japanese literature, starting small with Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen, which I've read before in translation. Any show which motivates me to make a real change in my day to day habits is doing something right, in my opinion.

It's not nearly perfect, and there are a lot of little things that bug me. While the episode where she goes on a date with the shitty asshole coworker was important, I do think the show is a little neutral on the character and doesn't really frame him as the sexually harassing asshole that he is. It also doesn't help that a lot of very true and good points are brought up in the show by him, which makes them seem like the "bad" viewpoint when he really is correct a lot of the time. That aside, give this show a shot, even if the synopsis scares you away a bit. The ending is vague and I think it's that way by design, but by my interpretation it's less concerned with romantic or sexual love and is a more nuanced story about two lost people, one living in the future and another living in the past, that try to help each other rediscover their dreams.

*minor spoilers to follow*

Hey, Studio WIT? You know I appreciate a lot of what you do, what with your usually stellar animation and direction. And Attack on Titan is still awesome. But this thing you’re doing? All these stories you’re telling about teenage girls in relationships with middle-aged men? Maybe, I dunno, step off that a bit? Cause you’re kiiiiiiiiinda starting to worry me.

Okay, kidding aside, it is a little curious to see Wit put out two productions pretty much back-to-back centered around the same problematic topic, although After the Rain is definitely far more grounded in reality than Magus Bride. No fantasy worlds or ... questionably-aged skeleton mages to make metaphor out of the situation this time around. After the Rain is about Akira Tachibana, a 17-year-old former track runner who quit the team after an injury made running all but impossible, who falls in love with Mr. Kondo, the middle-aged manager of the restaurant she part-times at. And the story is centered around their always-changing feelings towards one another, exploring what they’re looking for out of like and what they might get out of each other.

And let’s address the elephant in the room right up front: there is no real way for this relationship to not feel even the slightest bit squicky. The imbalanced power dynamic between a high schooler and her freaking manager (not just an older man, but one who controls her financial independence) basically starts this relationship from a spot of needing some serious justification to both buy and root for. Magus Bride understood this, and it payed plenty of attention to Elias allowing Chise a measure of autonomy and Chise pushing him to further treat her as equal to him. That way it was able from the word “go” to start figuring out how to make this couple function in a healthy fashion, even if it did sadly fall apart by the end.

After the Rain… didn’t seem to get the memo. Literally everything about Akira and Kondo’s relationship in the early parts of the show had me leaning away from them in discomfort. Akira is isolated from her friends and family thanks to her injury, and she pretty much does nothing but pine after Kondo for the first few episodes. The framing and cinematography constantly show her glowing ethereally, like an ideal we’re supposed to desire. She feels like an empty vessel for the men in the audience to project their feelings onto, not a character in her own right. Kondo, meanwhile, is written to be as inoffensively childlike as possible, a kid who never really grew up, which makes him completely unable to be the mature adult and have a serious talk with Akira about her feelings and the many (many, many) problems there would be with such a relationship. It feels calculated, like it’s a relationship meant to excuse these kinds of often predatory arrangements in real life.

And look, there are ways this could’ve worked. The reason both Magus Bride and, more recently, Violet Evergarden feature leading ladies who are completely closed off from the world and helpless on their own is because we want to root for them to grow out of it. Chise and Violet are both portrayed as tragic from the beginning, broken people who need to find themselves again and get out of their overly dependent mindsets. But Akira’s obsession with Kondo is framed as cute, adorable, and, dare, I say, charming. Like the only thing that could possibly free her from her sadness is shacking up with a middle aged man. The tone of those early episodes is designed to make the audience root for them to get together, despite the myriad reasons it would actually be a terrible idea. Seriously, it’s like they tried to take the worst possible route they could when designing this age-gap relationship. Everything about it just feels weird and wrong and you want both of them to take a step back and ask themselves what the fuck they’re even doing.

And that sucks, because so much of this show really freaking works. The direction is, unsurprisingly, fantastic, communicating so much about the feelings and thoughts of the characters without the need for much inner monologue. The animation also deserves praise, both the achingly real background art and the expressive, nuanced character animation. And there’s a glimmer of a good idea in the central relationship, in that Akira is a young person forced to grow up way too fast and Kondo is an older person still trapped by the regrets of his youth. In fact, once the show actually got to that stuff and starts exploring why these two people would be drawn to each other despite the obvious problems, and how they can help and inspire each other without needing to be romantically involved, I finally started getting invested. It feels like the show After the Rain was trying to be from the beginning: not a rom-com with a creepy premise, but a drama about two people from very different walks of life figuring out together how to recover the dreams they left behind.

In other words, I really liked the back half of this show. But it also kinda comes out of nowhere. Without spoiling anything, the show feels like it’s fully expecting you to buy into this relationship, and then it suddenly hits a moment where it states definitely “no, that’s not actually what we’re doing”, and from then on out it stops trying to pretend like it was ever viable. It’s like two shows shoved together, one that really creeped me out and another that I really enjoyed. In a way, it’s got the inverse problem that Magus Bride had: whereas that show had a really strong run that was awkwardly cut short by a shitty ending, After the Rain was a discomforting affair that just as awkwardly managed to became genuiely excellent by the end.

So, between all those if-onlys, maybe-nots, and how-evens, what the fuck do I even make of this show? Well, taking a step back and looking at it as an entire package… yeah, in the end, the good just barely outweighs the bad. It can never really escape the baked-in flaws in its premise and execution, but watching it try anyway was oddly inspiring. Plus, from a pure craft standpoint, the production was pretty much flawless, so I can't complain too much.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a generic middle-aged man you see walking here and there in several scenes in romance shows with a very tiny dialogue or none at all suddenly become an MC? This anime says it all. Koi wa Amaegari no You ni is an anime that resolves around a school girl falling in love with a middle-aged man who's a manager of a cafe.

Honestly, my first impression of this show was very negative. "Ew. This show is so weird. Why would she choose a pedophile-looking ass dude?" I thought. As I progressed through the show, I felt pity. The ... pity that a beautiful school girl has to fall in love with an ugly person who has nothing good at all. With that, I decided to post-pone the show and move onto something else.

As time passes, sometimes I still ponder about the show. "Is it really worth watching?", "Good art. Good quality. Good sound. Why put it to waste?" I thought.

After watching countless of shows, I decided to take another shot of Koi wa Amaegari. My feelings towards the show remained the same. However, as I progressed through the show. I began to pick up something I've never thought about. The "unique" aspect of the show. It made me realize something that I've never experienced in a romance show ever.

Appearance. Age. Other factors that affects the relationship of males and females. This anime was trying its best to exploit that area and show us who have watched the show that age DOESN'T matter ( FBI open up! - just kidding ). And shockingly, it successfully convinced me to an extent.

The show got better and became watchable - in fact, it was enjoyable and I enjoyed watching the show until the end. Despite the fact that I watched on my phone and not on my laptop or computer.

Still, I have watched countless of anime. And most of them are romance. I am attached to the ideology of "good-looking must be with good-looking" and not anything else. This anime defies my ideology in which was the reason why I post-poned the show and moved onto something else then later came back. I just don't like the idea of seeing the female MC fall for some pedofile looking ass dude. It's unimaginable.

Honestly, I'd say that this show kinda sucks because of that reason and that reason alone. I know I sound like a hypocrite retard but it's just inevitable. Sure, I managed to watch the show until the end but I still had the offended feeling of seeing a hot girl fall for someone that looks like that random support character with only one dialogue. C'mon man..

Still, the show was kind of enjoying overall in the aspects of romance. Thus I won't give it a low score. This show was super mediocre but due to the fact that it was trying so hard to make me change my mind. I will give it a solid 8/10 so as because I feel pity.

I recommend this anime if you don't really care if a pedophile falls for the heroine. That is all. End of review.

Love is like rainy season? None of us has showered in the rain yet. Love is like after the rain, like after the rain. The feeling of love, is like after the rain, sunshine and warm. The ending of love, is like after the rain, stop and refrain. The anime is the best of the best literature and art and love anime in these years. There are too many advantages to be listed in here. When watching the anime, you feel like reading some meaningful prose, like those written by Chinese literature Lu Xun. Again, there are too many advantages. I picked the one is ... the most easily be overlooked. Imagery. The anime is very outstanding and successful in the use of imagery. Every episode is using a lot of Imagery to implicates and expresses emotions and endings. Some imagery even has more than three different levels of meaning, implicating and functioning. The feeling is so marvelous if you can find those imagery. The anime is so magnificent.
The best of the best literary love anime in the past 20 years.

Overall Koi wa Ameagari no You ni was a decent slice of life anime. What started off seeming like a perverted "Old guy get with young girl" fantasy actually turned into a charming tale of friendship and life after having your dreams completely broken.
I was initially drawn in by the art. That honestly kept me going through each episode even though I kept fearing that there was going to be some upcoming perverted scene. There is nothing like listening the sound of cicadas while watching beautifully animated cherry trees blossom. Those moments always bring in some kind of nostalgia ... of a life only lived through anime. The animation of Koi wa Ameagari no You ni really made me wish for rainy days.
If you're looking for a cute slice of life anime to pass the time, Koi wa Ameagari no You ni will keep you entertained enough.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni or After The Rain, is an anime done by Wit Studios, and aired in the Winter 2018 season with a 23min/ep runtime for 12 episodes.

This review will be broken down into 3 different sections

The 2018 Winter Season.
- KoiAme aired in the Winter of 2018. And when you click on the other shows that aired in the same time, holy shit was that season a monster in every aspect.
- If you were craving Action, there's Devilman Crybaby, Nanatsu no Taizai and the sequel to the then ultra-popular Overlord.

- In the Drama department lies Citrus and ReLIFE's long awaited conclusion.

- ... Comedy? Takagi San and Saiki Kusuo is more than enough to sate your thirst.

- Last but not Least, Winter 2018 had some disgusting Originals. Violet Evergarden, Maquia and Yorimoi stand atop all the other anime that season with VE being one of the most popular animes of recent times.
-
So why watch KoiAme when there are tons of other beasts in this season? Well, for one, I think that KoiAme is worthy of being compared to the Big Dogs. In the midst of these Monstrous Originals and Big Sequels lies a very well made adaptation that flew under the radar of many.
Wit Studios' Accomplishments with KoiAme.
Let me get this out of the way, KoiAme, if you're not aware by now, is a Drama/Romance SoL. And in case you're still unclear, Wit Studios( AOT, Owari no Seraph, Kabaneri, Vinland Saga and Magus Bride) were the animators of this. I do not know the intention behind picking up KoiAme when they are known for literally so many Big Action Animes, but boy did Wit outdo themselves with this adaptation. I am not familiar with Wit but the staff they assigned to this project were basically perfect.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni

Story

- KoiAme has an amazing story. Story wise, straight up, episodes 1-6 were pure 10/10s. Every single moment and plot point was planned in advance and calculated to a T. Watching it blind is, simply put, one of the best experiences I've had watching anime. With that being said, its a shame that only the first 6 episodes were of that quality. While episode 7 and 8 still held up to the quality of the previous 6, episodes 9-12 completely fell flat and derailed far off what anyone was expecting and hoping for. This is not the fault of the studio but rather the source material. However, the studio managed to salvage this by having Directors so good it saved the show. I will mention this later.

Characters

- Not much to go off on other than our Main Cast, each have their own motivation and are very clear and vocal in what they want to do.

Visuals/Animation

- One of the Standouts of the Anime. The little details in the detailed backgrounds are so fucking pleasing to the eye. Absolutely beautiful.
Music

I still don't pay enough attention to OSTs but the ED for this anime was sang by Aimer (my favourite artist), so it automatically gets a pass from me.

DIRECTION

-OH BOY this is the meat of the adaptation. The direction of KoiAme is hands down the best direction I've seen in Anime, ever. Director Ayumu Watanabe is amazing. He single-handedly elevated the anime in its good moments and pulled it out of the mud in its bad moments. I cannot stress enough how impactful his direction contributes to the overall quality of the anime.
_While Watanabe is listed as the only director on Anilist, I did some more digging and found out that there was another director brought in specifically for one episode. Kaburagi Hiro directed and wrote the storyboard for episode 6 of the anime.
And these were my thoughts for ep6 : When consumed in moderation, simply fantastic. Virtually no flaws. 5 whole minutes of telling a story through almost complete silence is more than just bold. There are simple story directions, there are complicated story directions, there are bold story directions, and then there's this blend of all three. Credit to the director for pulling off so many different styles of story-telling. The whole episode felt like a fever dream - from the foreshadowing start all the way to the perfect end-cut. What Hiro has done with Episode 6 of KoiAme changed how I viewed the importance of direction in anime. Episode 6 of KoiAme, is by far one of the best standalone episodes of Anime, ever. (Similar to VE Episode 10)

Conclusion

- In the midst of the giants of Winter 2018 lies a simple anime about Love that is executed so damn well. If you have the slightest interest in a good, solid love story that only gave way in its Final Arcc, give this anime a chance.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni is one of the most unexpected and interesting romance but an even more interesting story of self-identity, failure and future expectations.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni will probably deter MANY viewers due to the premise alone, of Akira Tachibana voiced by Sayumi Watabe a 17 year old high school student wanting to be in a relationship with her 45 year old MUCH older manager Masami Kondou voiced by Hiroaki Hirata but Koi wa Ameagari no You ni is definitely "different" in how it deals with this relationship.

Now Akira and Kondou's "relationship" has some obstacles here and there, like the ... blackmailing womanizer Ryousuke Kase voiced by Tomoaki Maeno and Haruka Kyan voiced by Emi Miyajima but for the most part, the obstacles shown aren't exactly deterrents in their unique relationship Akira and Kondou had built up as they never effectively try to break this relationship in the first place, mostly because of other grievances the character in question has to Akira (mostly), Haruka is the closest in breaking up their relationship if only because she's the only one that tries to question the legitimacy of their relationship. The "relationship" and the fundamental existence of their relationship is at the core of the anime thus spends ALOT of screentime on their relationship as well as Akira and Kondou themselves.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni's themes of self identity, failure and future expectations are very much linked to Akira and Kondou's relationship, self identity through if their relationship is even worth it (let alone social ethnics getting in the way) and their regrets spawned from their failures only fuel the relationship further and the future expectations of if their relationship works or fails, what next if it "works out then what?" or "will they go back to their regrets and bypass it or linger in it forever". Akira as a teenager hasn't been through too much failure besides her track and field and has more time to think things out BUT Kondou has gone through several failures and knows about regret and his future is almost set in stone. Akira and Kondou's relationship for LA is the manifestation and symbolism of self identity and it's crises of failure all put into one. If your looking at a surface level it's weird...but LA thinks Koi wa Ameagari no You ni kinda wants you to be a bit more introspective than "it's weird".

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni by all regards is a bit of a character study on Akira, Kondou as well as their "relationship" to put into question as well. Akira herself holds some regret about her leaving the track and field and became a loner but her clinging and holding some relatability towards Kondou while trying to also know him might be taken as Akira's delusional aspects coming in which puts even Akira and Kondou's relationship into question. Kondou aforementioned also holds some regret but not in track and field but him as a teenager wanting to be a novelist but having a family and then divorced crushed that dream he had and now works as a manager in a family restaurant. Both Akira and Kondou finds solace in their regrets but again this calls into question if they are just using each other as emotional leverage in their lives or if they genuinely love each other OR if their emotional leverage might make their relationship actually work. This is probably the main reason why this relationship is interesting if not unique already due to it's premise it set up.

The animation done by Wit Studio is a rather unique much like the core of the anime itself. LA doesn't know it feels like SHAFT's animation but retrained a bit and given the shoujo atmosphere to it, it's bubbly, shiny and mostly drearily with the obvious themes of using rain but also with some interesting base character designs (almost like a CLAMP character designer had a hand in the process, long neck, long faces, different costumes & hairstyles per episode etc). LA felt the animation was also exotically different of the Winter of 2018 from the character designs, atmosphere and overall look to it. Wit Studios doing a romance?...and doing the animation justice?...that's a first! (Note: LA hasn't watched Ancient Magus Bride at the time of this review soooo...)

As for voice acting, well LA hasn't heard about most of these voice actors most notably Sayumi Watabe who's only done 3 roles at this point (this one included), Emi Miyajima and Haruka Fukuhara. LA will have to say that Haruka Fukuhara was quite interesting as Yui Nishida, Akira's friend at her job, 100% genki and high toned to a fault and moe as hell. LA did feel that Emi Miyajima tackled down her dramatic chops and shown it pretty well and as for Sayumi herself, she did the aloof kuudere personality with 100% commitment. As for Hiroaki Hirata, he did pretty well in Koi wa Ameagari no You ni with his various vocals and cadence though mostly aloof. The other genki of the group would be Junya Ikeda who voiced Takashi Yoshizawa, Akira's love interest (but buttmonkey friend soooo you know where THAT'S going, still good comedic character though). VERY interesting voice cast if anything and only adds to the interesting elements of Koi wa Ameagari no You ni as a whole.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni is by far one of the most unique romances to come out of Winter of 2018, weird premise alone may take some people out of this anime if only looking at it on a surface level, but Koi wa Ameagari no You ni is something more than weird relationship, it's an introspective look at the regrets of lives living in failure and finding comfort in that with the social ethnics to this relationship being called into question aside, Koi wa Ameagari no You ni's philosophical take on failure and depression and takes light of it in an optimistic nature at the worst of times, but "comforting" at the best of times.

LA might sound sadistic but Koi wa Ameagari no You ni might have given "misery loves company" an optimistic edge to it.

Story 7/10
Art 10/10
Sound 8/10
Character 6/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Overall 9/10

This anime is what I would consider shoujo or josei. It's not some fantastical amazing unique plot. I would even say the plot is mundane, but it is sweet, and the efforts the animators put into the art and music truly imbue a certain magic in the appeal of each episode. There is nothing perverted, demented, or vulgar. It's the adorable story of a teenage girl who whimsically falls in love with a pushover adult man and it does a good job of displaying his circumstances and personal feelings. You get a more complete ... picture of the couple as their struggles aren't simply comedic misunderstandings.

This isn't realistic, as it is anime. We don't watch anime for the realistic scenarios. This isn't some blockbuster 10/10 anime, as that isn't really this genre's style.

However, I guarantee this is sweet, enjoyable, and a good change of pace. The writers don't waste time in creating developments, and every moment is a feast for the eyes.

an excellent innocent love story idc what anyone else thinks about the story or about what they read in the little synopsis the story itself is harmless it’s definitely not what most of us thought it would be lol but I’m glad I gave it a shot. In the anime world the old man almost always portrayed as this old pervy scumbag but surprisingly not in this anime which I appreciate people already were jumping on the bandwagon hate towards it and him being pervy loli-con old man would’ve made the whole community disgusted but thankfully this scenario did NOT happen but instead we ended ... up having a good & innocent love story. 9/10 highly recommend. * thumbs up*

Proofread and has no spoilers. I will give a review of both the first and second half because both are vastly different in quality.

As someone who partially read the manga and finished the anime, I just want to say that in my defense, The series has 12 episodes and I loved the first 6 but it lost its charm during the second half (episode 10 is the only good episode in the second half)

Anyway, I will try to keep this short.

7 for story

This is not really a spoiler, it is just how you view this anime, this is a romance plus achieving goals/ ambitions ... type of story, and it did it really well with great story telling and narrative.

However, why did I give it a 7 and not higher, some character interactions are pretty weak and drags on for a while and some unnecessary drama with sub characters getting a pretty okay character development.

10 for Art

Come on, it's WIT. The background and animation is fluid and works well with good directing to make the scenery look outstanding.

9 for sound
Intro and Ending are catchy and memorable and iconic.
Background music or OST gets annoying after a while on repeat.

6 for character

Other than Yuuta and the blonde chick at the restaurant and the managers friend from University, all other side characters are pretty dull and annoying and sometimes doing actions that are out of their characters like Drama Queen Haruka.
Side characters keep getting introduced and never mentioned again countless times. Akira friends show up so often and never did we get to learn their names or if Akira likes them or not. We have no clue, it isn't Detective Conan for crying out loud.
Weakest aspect in my opinion with unknown side character resolves, only the main characters get some development.
I do not even know if Akira's dad is alive or not.

Enjoyment, I will give it a 7 overall. First half gets a 9 and second half gets a 5.

With these flaws mostly noticeable during the second half, it made me cringe so many times and I ended up forcing myself. For the first half, time went by so fast and I absolutely loved it. As if they were two separate stories.

Overall, I will give it a 7

It is not bad in the end, the ending is pretty good and it feels rushed at times but the atmosphere and the story and the sound plus outstanding WIT art style made the anime enjoyable, even if the story and characters might fall flat at times, it was a enjoyable watch. Re watchable, I don't think so, probably I will watch this again up till episode 6 and end it there.

after the rain was spectacular. what i expected was an age gap where a young girl is pining for an older man (well, i never expected them to actually end up, hint hint) but what i got was a story about two individuals growing together.

many have questioned the 'romance' tag. i haven't. it's definitely a romance. the love that they have for each other, no matter how different, has pushed them to be so much better and to pursue the other things they love.

it's a romance story that i haven't really had in anime all that much. it's a type of love that's ... pure and wonderful, and i couldn't dissuade it. i really love the story, and i'm extremely biased for the manager's. as an aspiring writer, his story really hit me hard.

the animation and art is quite beautiful as well. the opening and ending is drop-dead gorgeous, and i'm always left in tears in many of the episodes. this anime just spoke to me, with its melancholy and beauty.

the anime has interpreted akira's feelings so well that i felt what she felt with the manager. everything was just handled so tastefully that i want to continue on their story.

i'm extremely picky around anime nowadays. everything is just the same to me, but after the rain definitely isn't. it's heartfelt, realistic and beautiful.

don't expect it to focus more about their romance. it isn't. you would be disappointed if you just expected a sensationalized story. you would be even more disappointed that (spoilers: they don't end up. of course.). that isn't the point of the story. i said earlier that it's realistic, right? then it would also be bittersweet. but i love it to bits.

if you're interested after whatever i said, and the odd age gap, then give this a try.

I stumbled upon this anime accidentally, I didn't know what it was about nor its genre because I was looking for something new. Thank god, I found After the Rain. At first I was skeptical with the theme of long age-gap couples, but as I continued watching, the anime was more into coming-of-age genre rather than romance. I am personally not a fan of long age gap romances but this anime really handled that topic well.

The story was bittersweet to me, like I had this huge lump in my chest while watching it because of the 'lost soul' vibe the characters gave off. The ... studio really did an amazing job with the visuals, music and the direction of the series. I would say this is a masterpiece because of how the series was directed. It did a good job on squeezing the series into 12 episode, although there were some changes compared to the manga but nonetheless didn't became a negative factor. I love the dialogue and metaphors of the anime and the theme of 'rain' metaphorically their time they were lost in life.

Spoiler-free should-you-watch review:

Elephant in the room: the premise of this anime is that a high school girl has developed feelings for her 45 year old boss. I opted to watch After the Rain after being disillusioned by so many modern anime that sexualize kids and young teens. It seemed like an extreme scenario, one that would be ostensibly indefensible if it happened in the other anime I'd been complaining about. What finally convinced me to look into it were the many reviews that assured me the subject matter was treated well. They were not wrong.

After the Rain's story is like eating pufferfish; poisonous if handled ... improperly, but a delicacy when perpared by someone qualified. After the rain is tender and thoughtful, and it does an incredible job of juggling, just in view of the camera, the clashing perspectives of people with very different life experiences. This series is well aware of the great responsibility it owes its audience when dealing with a story like this, and it does not disappoint. I was never once uncomfortable, except when the show wanted me to be.

I quite like the art style's tenderness, although I think some of the women's eyes are just a smidge too big. Other than that, though, it conveys the mood quite well, and results in some really beautiful shots. Even though the animation can be a little simple at times, it succeeds because their attention to detail makes the world feel alive; After the Rain features some of the strongest wardrobe work in an anime that I've seen, in not just the variety of outfits, but in how they use them to convey mood or desires. Their work with ambient sounds fills out each scene, and the cast for the dub is great, although I noticed (based on the subtitles) that they sometimes left lines out. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, as they were usually extraneous lines and it was probably a deliberate choice to translate the tone, but it's worth noting.

My big gripe with the series is that the story can be a little too spoonfed. While you do need a bit of a discerning eye to see past the premise and to take in the tone from the characters themselves, the series does dissapoint sometimes in how it tries to explain itself to you. There are some heavy-handed metaphors that might be fine left alone, but then a character will narrate it out loud to kind of poor effect. I could see some people really liking that aspect, but I personally thought a more subtle approach to storytelling would have fit the mood better.

I also thought that one perspective of the story felt a lot more relatable than the other. This isn't too surprising given that one of the characters is a 17 year old that makes some rather rash or stubborn decisions. Even so, I would have liked a more well-rounded peek into her romantic perspective. It's tough, because part of that unexplained-ness makes a lot of sense as the plot develops, but I still felt it was missing a *little something*.

But yeah, if you're looking for a soft interpersonal drama about when dreams and reality seem at odds, and you're intrigued by an unconventional theme, please check it out. It was a really nice watch.

Many people would read the plot of this anime and be like <a 17 years old with a 45 years old Hell no>. But this show is not just about love. after the first few episode the show becomes more focused on chasing your dreams and never giving up no matter what.
As someone who lost my dream 3 years ago this show really had a great impact on me.
I think the love story is really secondary.
The old guy feel like what would the heroine become if she really give up her dream.
The show ended with a good message and i really enjoyed it.

A neat little show with a slightly misleading premise. To be sure, there are some Kondou and Akari moments near the beginning, but it’s main purpose is for entertainment and not necessarily for any plot development. That said, although I was internally cringing at the thought of a romance blossoming between a high school girl and the man (45, divorced once, has a kid) who is her manager, I have to say that it’s played out as well as it could be. Although realistically it’s unlikely that a high school would develop such as unnatural crush and that a middle aged man would even begin ... to take her seriously instead of directing her towards some counselling, at least it’s dealt with in a light-hearted manner without any serious implications. It would definitely ruin the show if Kondou turned out to be sex crazed pedophile).

In fact, I enjoyed seeing their relationship unfold. The sparkly eyes and the rosy bubbles around Akari may have been a bit cheesy and overdone, but it’s not bad either. It was obviously meant to target the fancies of the demographics of this manga, and it does the job. Other than that, Kondou is actually more of a mentor figure to Akari despite her obsession with him. One of the aspects that this show is able to nail is making a sympathetic character in Kondou. Usually in shoujo genre works I end up becoming frustrated at the male character, who doesn’t seem to deserve the female lead’s love and is perfect at everything because he just is. In contrast, Kondou is so kind that it’s a little annoying, and his has own internal struggles with his past youth and aspirations. Rather than the popular, athletic stereotype of a girl’s crush, he is just a normal person if you look past the fact that he once went on a date somebody nearly a third of his age. There are some awkward romantic moments in there that are clearly meant to please the viewers, such as Akari being trapped in a hot closet in Kondou’s house, but at least it’s not taken to the extreme that it could have.

And then we get to the main point of the show, which is only hinted at the beginning and explored later on: the seemingly failed dreams of Akari to be a runner and Kondou to be a writer. The trope of following your dreams may be a bit overdone, but then again what theme isn’t. In here, it’s portrayed realistically, with parallels between Akari’s and Kondou’s situations. They both used to have a friend who was interested in the same things as they were, but later grew distant and left behind their passions. For Akari it was her foot injury and attraction to Kondou, and for Kondou it was his growing older and his marriage and subsequent divorce of his ex-wife. Rather than being depicted idealistically has characters who would give in their all for what they want to pursue, Akari and Kondou have since become disillusioned with their original goals.

But aside from the aspects related to Akari and Kondou’s development, the other characters didn’t seem to get as much love. Most of them are either one-dimensional and insignificant, and in the end I really only cared about the two main ones. But it’s understandable that it’s hard to fit in character development for the whole cast in a mere twelve episodes, and even just developing two is a feat in itself.

The visuals and audio were surprisingly fitting, and there were some parts that really shined as well.

Overall, this was an enjoyable experience for me, but it’s definitely going to vary according to the viewer. If you’re into slice-of-life or romance, then give this unique show a try.