Just Because!

High school can be quite an experience for most young people these days. I remember a time during my high school years when everything seems to feel different. It’s almost like setting foot into a new world with new opportunities. Friends, activities, relationships. It’s a place beyond just about learning but for people to build a future. While it isn’t like college for career building, it definitely gives the chance for opportunities, even for relationships. For Eita Izumi, he comes back from his hometown after 4 years as he reunites with his middle school friends.

As an original anime, Just Because felt like a breath of ... fresh air despite the simplistic premise. It’s also made by Hajime Kamoshida, the brainchild behind Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. To me, this show stood out as a coming age of story about characters climbing the stairs to adolescence. It’s a time period for characters to develop and grow up to be more than teenagers. At the heart of the show, we have Eita Izumi alongside a group of classmates. The first few episodes gave me the impression of a melancholic story that’s filled with realistic themes that people can connect with. Beyond just the setting, the characters feel real and can be relatable. This is seen through the example of childhood friends Eita, Haruto, and Mio. As the story progresses, we see the relationship dynamics between the trio that will get viewers invested into the storytelling.

For a show like this to work, it had to make its characters feel they belong there. Luckily, Just Because pulls off the right stops through its characters of diverse personalities. Each of the main characters feel different ranging from Mio’s timid personality to Ena’s enthusiasm. It’s what can draw viewers in as we see how they behave around certain characters. Indeed, character chemistry is an important aspect of this show. It connects between characters visually, dramatically, and meaningfully. Romance is slowly paced and not expressed like a shoujo but rather in a melancholic style. To me, this show focuses on relationships through character building. It emphasizes on establishing character personalities first while giving them the chance to shine through them. Ena is a prime example in the show as her character interaction with Eita is often noticeable because of how different she is from him. Some people may interpret the show’s character relationship dynamics as part of destiny, like certain characters are destined to be with one another. However, that’s not truly the case as expectations can be different after realizing the person they want to be with isn’t what they would expect. Honestly, I think this show sells its ideas pretty well to express that.

To make things run better, the show never forgets about its themes such as adolescence. Every character has a goal for the future and although there’s a feeling of uncertainty, they strive to work towards that. Whether it’s becoming a photographer, be part of a band, or just to go to college, it’s inspiring and realistic. Think about the time when you were in high school and had that feeling of what you wanted to do in life. Relating to this anime doesn’t feel so different, now does it? At the same time, the storytelling continues to build relationships between the main characters. While it feels like a ship tease at times, the show never exaggerates or oversteps its boundaries. The drama is mostly lighthearted and doesn’t force it down viewers’ throats. It keeps its pace steady while getting its point across, like the way it should be. In several ways, the drama of this show is realistic enough to relate and easy to get attached to. There are some awkward segments between certain characters but the timing usually feels right. The downside about the drama is that it occasionally feels formulaic and repetitive. Not to mention, character relationships feel a bit predictable as to who will likely get who in the end. Still, it doesn’t hold the anime back. The characters are all very self-aware and realize what it means to be a high school student. Haruto is a good example as we see his life as a baseball player. The way he adapts to build his future becomes evident like a journey of life discovery. This also expands to other characters such as Mio and Ena. It’s like their chance to climb the stairs to adulthood and high school is one of the biggest steps they have to cross over.

Original anime like Just Because doesn’t suffer from adaptation standards but there’s an instinct to recognize if the amount of episode is suited enough. For 12 episodes, it honestly felt just right to sell its story without going over. The first half of the show does a well job at establishing characters like their personalities and roles. The remainder half builds on them through relationships, discoveries, and characterization. It’s like a life journey these characters take for their future and stories like this can be inspirational to viewers.

Adapted by Pine Jam, this show is expressive at crafting its visual elements. The key visual itself gives an atmospheric feel with characters being at a train station. Besides Eita and Mio, the others are going on about their daily lives like moving with their future. By raw quality though, Just Because’s biggest selling point is the character expressions. It fortifies their personalities and expresses attitude that connects with their personalities. It’s important to realize that human expressions often depict what a person feels at every moment. This anime does a clever job at capitalizing that to make them feel real. On the other hand, I can’t say the character designs are too impressive. Most of the main characters look too normal while the female cast doesn’t stand out much dynamically. Photography is also a part of the show itself and some of the photos taken by Ena doesn’t really make memorable impressions. Still, I think the show hits mark overall. Every character feels very alive and moves the story together.

For soundtrack and music, it’s clear that Just Because needed a melancholic style to make it work. Thankfully, this is accomplished thanks to the music director for its creative themes. It’s lighthearted, slow paced, and consistent to make every segment work. Both the theme songs has a very realistic tone and lyrics that matches with the style of the show. Character voice mannerism is also important to convey character personalities and it hits the mark just right. The dialogues makes the characters sound believable and that’s what it’s important.

Four years of high school really can really be quite an experience. For some people, it can feel like a quest to start a new life. For others, it may be like living a world of hell. Then, there are people who think high school may just be part of their journey to adulthood and there’s much more ahead. The characters in this show embarks on that journey and takes the viewers with them. For that reason, Just Because is worth watching as it explores high school relationships, making memories, and discovering what life really means.

(No spoilers contained in this review!)

When I first read over the synopsis for Just Because I couldn't wait to get my hands on the episodes. As a young adult not so recently out of high school myself, I wanted to torture myself by relieving the anxieties and emotions that run high during the last few months of senior year. And so as the story progressed, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in what was presented to me.

Perhaps it was my own fault for having such high hopes for the anime, but what could've been a compelling story full of heartbreak, fear for the future, and ... new hope, felt like a watered down version with ironically little depth. The story focused on a select few students, which was fine at first. That's where all the juicy bits of drama will go down, right? This is where friendships will break apart for the sake of final exams! This is where the long-standing relationship will feel the strain of their romantic clock ticking away until they have to part ways! But instead, what I found in that small group of friends was yet another cliched love triangle. (And let's be honest, we all knew where THAT was going).

I found myself having to force myself to continue, although I did manage to get through all 12 hellishly boring episodes while all the while hoping for something, anything, to HAPPEN. I'm no stranger to slice of life anime, I know they aren't supposed to be action-packed or anything but jesus, in an anime about a bunch of teenagers having to leave behind their friends and find a place for themselves in society I was expecting a few tears at the very least.

Just Because had so much potential and instead, it fell flat. The emotions never went deep enough, the drama never felt dramatic enough, it was almost like the characters just drifted through the story instead of it actually happening to them. Because of this, Just Because is currently sitting with a score of 3 on my list.

It's an excellent anime, with interesting characters and amazing storyline. Involves multiple love triangles and deals with real feelings of high school children. It's probably one of the best slice of life anime I've watched so far and definitely deserves a 10!

The development of the personalities of various characters and how an event is shown from multiple viewpoints is a lot like what happens everyday. Misunderstandings, confessions, unrequited love, liking someone, finding your place in the world; that is all portrayed in the series.

I've watched it twice, and even the second time round it had an effect on me!

*Minimum Spoiler Nostalgic Review*
TL;DR: Love Pentagon between high school teenagers trying to figure out their future while keeping their emotional spillage in check. Also... Just Because.
[Story: 7/10 , Characters: 8/10, Art: 5/10, Sound: 9/10, Enjoyment: 8/10]

"It's all in the past" - Eita Izumi

Just Because is an original anime by Hajime Kamoshida, the genius behind Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. However, just because at a first glance it may seem like this is a generic story about confused intertwined love relationships between group of friends trying to get through high school, the adaptation feels way to close to reality. For those that finished high school ... or those finishing up high school, it will definitely bring back memories of your teen years. This anime shines in the tear-jerking nostalgia department and just because of that, it outshines from the rest of the generic love stories in the ever popular genres of slice of life combined with romance and school. From it's use of orchestra music to piano accompanied backdrops whilst looking back at your past, despite it's suboptimal animation standard given it's by the studio Pine Jam, this under the radar anime is definitely worth the watch.

"I've only given valentine cards to my dad and my two brothers every year" - Hazuki Morikawa

Just because the story is generic doesn't mean it can't be interesting. The story in a nutshell is about the transfer student Eita Izumi, who moves back again and attends the same high school all of his friends from middle school goes to as well. Reuniting with them once again reignites all the unresolved love and drama they had between each other plus coupled with the new friends they make in high school further alleviates this love triangle to an all out love pentagon between each other. The story for this anime is simple but its the character interactions that gives its complexity. At it's core, the plot is linear driven however flashbacks from middle school days are used to explain why each character behaves at certain situations. It takes two episodes to get used to the rhythm of the anime but given what a stellar first episode was and how the anime continue to build up with the different characters trying to figure out their feelings for one another while trying to finish high school and graduate, really makes it worthwhile to watch. Who doesn't love riding the nostalgia train.

"Can I ask him out on a date?" - Ena Komiya

Just because the characters appear mundane at first does not mean they do not possess complexity. The fun part about this anime are the characters. At its core the five major characters are: Eita Mizumi (the transfer student with a crush on Natsume), Haruto Soma (best friend of Eita with a crush on Morikawa), Natusme Mio (old friends from middle school with crush on Haruto), Morikawa Hazuki (band chick too shy to confess), & Ena Komiya (CANON camera chick too eager to confess to Eita). This complex love pentagon really drives this show. This anime takes its time developing each of the characters and giving them enough time and backstory to justify their importance and reason for the love they have for the other. Not to mention because each character acts as a foil for the other and how unique each of their personalities are, you really start to identify yourself with one of these characters. Soon enough you will be cheering on for your favourite ship while reminiscing about your old high school ship. Like I said, all aboard the nostalgia train.

"If you tell him I'll kill you” - Natsume Mio

Just because the animation is subpar doesn't mean the music has to be subpar. Given the fact that the studio adapting this anime is Pine Jam, a rather small studio not really known for their outstanding animation standards, they've done not too shabby of a job adapting this original anime. There were a few scenes that weren't blended well and seemed a bit choppy however, the overall pencil drawn characters gave it a nice cozy feel to the anime. It's funny how despite each of the major characters being completely unique to one another, they were drawn pretty similar to one another. It could be that it serves as a metaphor for life how we may think we are completely different from our friend sitting next to us in class but we are more similar than we think in the hardship and struggle we go through in our adolescence and teenage years with school and love. Aside from the animation what really sells this anime is the music. From the first episode and onwards the quality of the music never drops. From the usage of trumpets and drums to build the tension up to calm relaxing piano medley to reminisce about the past, this show knew how to use it all. Not to mention the OP and ED songs are both amazing to listen to on their own. It really stands out as a complete OST to listen to on its own. Lastly, the seiyuus for this show did a great job in giving life to these characters. Kudos to them.

"No one likes getting rejected" - Haruto Soma.

Overall, Just Because was a simple anime with a generic premise that surpassed expectations it set for itself. It was not only a great coming of age story dealing with high school love and struggle of school to figure out your future, it served its purpose as a nostalgic ride to let viewers reminisce about their past. As the story progressed you start identifying yourself with the characters in the anime and though it was a slice of life anime featuring a love pentagon, it wasn't a cookie cutter romantic plot that made itself predictable from the start. Plus, who ends up with who in the end will really surprise the viewers. For that reason alone and just because how many puns you can make while watching this anime, I would highly recommend to everyone, not just fans of this genre, to give this anime a watch. Let me know later how you like it as well as share with me your favourite ship and your favourite quote from the anime!

P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!

I would like to straight away point out the fact, all that happened in 12 episodes, ending makes no sense, no development is shown leading towards the outcome of the ending.

SPOILERS:
Best girl looses, despite putting in so much effort and her character was the most developed. and we end up with the girl who liked the MC's friend and out of nowhere realizes her feelings for MC. No development is shown for ,for the MC, ending makes no sense. Bullshit.

Thats all I have to say for this anime, feel like I wasted my time watching it, komiya best girl forever.

An original anime that have a lot of potential to be great but ends so disappointing.


[Story: 3/10]

The story is slow (and with bad pacing) in most of episodes, mostly in the episodes 1-4 and 9-11. Sometimes some scenes are out of place, for example the baseball scenes with the adults in the middle.

[Character: 3/10]

Besides Komiya and maybe Haruto, all the characters feels boring, lack of personality and are one-sided. Komiya and his outgoing personality makes great moments for the anime, more that most of the main cast. Haruto in some scenes is good, in others not so much. Eita is boring character unless he ... is with Komiya.
Their moments with Natsume feels awkward and out of place. Morikawa lacks of personality until the last episodes. I like the friend of Morikawa, Yoriko. Finally, Nastume, a character that is so jealous and indecisive that feels annoying and as a plot device in much episodes. The worst part is that the anime is pro-Natsume and anti-Komiya.

[Art: 6/10]

I like the animation despite some episodes (ex. 5) have bad animated scenes.

[Sound: 5/10]

I have no problems with the soundrack. In my opinion, is not bad neither good. The opening is forgettable anyway.

[Enjoyment: 4/10]

Again, the only moments with decent comedy are Eita/Ena and Haruto. The scenes with Natsume makes me angry, she is jealous because Eita is with Komiya when she have some feelings for Haruto (because of an erase, really? ). I like the scenes with Yoriko, Haruto (sometimes) and Komiya, they are worth of watching.

Overall

Just Because! is bad. If Eita have ended up with Ena, it will receive a 6 or maybe 7 of my part but nope, a generic ending with the main girl that did nothing in the entire show. Poor Komiya. 4/10

the first episode throw me off little bit , but i decided to keep watching and so far its look pretty heart warming , its my favorite type of slice of life anime, no exaggerated comedy , heart warming and slow pacing , the character are little by too cliché, the love triangles and the unnecessary screaming gets in the way of enjoying the anime, the art is great although there one thing that i find annoying but its opinion based which the finger nails color change in the close shots which is not exclusive to this anime but i find it annoying , but ... all in all its relatable and feels good to watch and i hope it stays this way...

Short Answer: It was honestly average. The anime, overall, felt quite rushed. After completing it, I feel the same as I felt before. No change... I would recommend that you watch the anime if you have free time but don't expect a masterpiece.

The story itself was basic and not very interesting. It was cliche and nothing new so I would rate it a 3. When I first watched it, I was confused. The story felt as though it could be summarised in one sentence.

The art was great but there were some moments where it was mediocre, especially some of the running scenes.

I enjoyed the ... opening song: it was relaxing to listen to so that's one thing that's good about the show. The ending song was also decent.

The characters were all cliche. The 'quiet girl', the 'loud girl', the 'basic girl', the 'basic boy' and the 'sports guy'.

I felt as though the anime was a waste of time so I didn't really enjoy it.

Overall, I would rate this anime a 4. It was definitely not a masterpiece in my opinion but it was something at least...

I'm a big fan of the romance/drama type of slice of life, which is why I was fairly happy to stumble upon Just Because! in this season. Mood and setting of the anime are quite fitting for winter, so you'll be likely to identify when watching this right now.

Story
The anime starts off with a transfer student coming back to Tokyo for his last half year of high school, after his father was transferred back from Fukuoka. He's soon reunited with his long lost best friend from middle school and is finding himself confronted with some unresolved things from the past. As the story continues, the ... characters have to face the reality of graduation and resolving their plans for the future, while love and disappointments are quite hard to handle too.
This seems quite uninteresting at first -you know, just your typical life of life story- but the characters get interesting and after two episodes I was hooked.

Art
The art, well, nothing all too special, but the natural colors and realistic settings (if you were in Tokyo (Enoshima) before, you'll recognize some parts) are comforting and easy to watch. The story is set in winter and the colors are therefore not too saturated. I like the character design because it's not too 'sparkly', the characters have their own trademarks and don't look all the same. Another thing that I found to be interesting was the format of dialogue via messaging, as the characters use a lot of LINE.

Sound
It's super refreshing to hear some new voices, especially Izumi and Natsume's seiyuu sound super good and I hope they'll get more jobs soon! The BGM is subtle and there are some nice pieces from time to time too, I'd say it underlines the plot when it has to.

Character
Very diverse cast and character development is expected (Episode 5). I like how the characters have their families introduced as well, their motives are clear and you get attached to them very easily.

Overall
The theme of this anime and the general undertone are quite melancholic and emotional. It displays the different notions of adulthood and difficulty of being honest with your feelings, as sometimes you'll just don't know what is best for yourself in this moment. Will you be able to keep up with the people you love when you tell them you do, even though they're precious friends and you might lose them? Or would you rather shut all those feelings uptight in your heart and deny they're even there? Do you even want to know? If you ever were confronted with those questions, have a look at this anime. I think it might carry a very soothing subliminal message.

~WARNING: EXPECT MINOR SPOILERS~

(A 6 to me means that this anime is slightly above average at where I am currently watrching)

What keeps me watching this anime, along with the reason why I decided to write this review is that it reminded me of one truly important fact, one I hope resonates with you in the future:

THERE IS BEAUTY IN SIMPLICITY.

As this review is being made while this show is in progress, most of what I say is subject to change at my discretion. As the name of the anime implies, I truly did watch this anime "Just Because." (You can shoot me later for that). ... Interestingly enough, I will begin by saying I'm actually enjoying the anime for what it is so far, though I hope to see improvements in both pacing and detail as time goes on.

Story ~5~

As of episode 3, the story from my perspective is average. A handful of students who are about to graduate slowly change as one of their childhood friends moves back after four years. As this is a slice of life, I got what I expected in the first few episodes: Reunions, re-connections, and changes in relations and communication relative to each character. Nothing particularly stands out story-wise, though I believe that is fine in a "Slice-of-life", especially this early on.

Art ~7~

Most people seem to be on-or-off with the art, which is understandable because of how much the art shifts in detail between scenes. Throughout the first episode alone, I was taken aback at the stunning background art melding with the animations. The fluidity between 2d and 3d movement impressed me, and I could hardly make out when they genuinely used CG during certain scenes.

Despite their successes detailing art and animation, the anime has the drawback of decreasing character detail during faster animations, such as in the baseball scene in episode 1. As for the characters looking "Plain", I see nothing wrong in a realistic anime with realistic designs, regardless of blandness, especially with the beautiful background scenes.

Sound ~9~

WELL HELLO THERE. I will say now I am HEAVILY biased towards the orchestral/piano side of music, otherwise I may have given the sound more of a 6-7 score. Allow me the pleasure of saying that the tonality of each piece fits into each scene perfectly so far, most especially in the climax of the baseball "duel" at the end of episode 1. The joys of reconnecting and success in one scene, along with the subtle peaceful string instruments and slightly awkward beats during piano pieces help make each scene come alive. In anime, a media form where emotion can be conveyed through more than just its characters, music can become a "make-or-break" factor. I can confidently say that this anime certainly does NOT break.

Character ~5~

*sigh* Well hello there. Welcome to single scenes that establish every character and the awkwardness of not being at a point where any true conflict has occurred to allow any true emotional development. At this point, I have no choice but to give the characters a 5 simply because the anime hasn't developed enough to show me any depth behind many of the main characters besides their given personalities.

Enjoyment ~6~

Allow me to explain for those of you who don't understand why I could give a slice of life in its early boring stages a 6/10 (which IS good), allow me to restate: There is Beauty in Simplicity. That's truly what this anime is: Simple. That's what I truly expect out of any slice-of-life anime I watch. The music, art, and potential of this anime impresses me, as did 3-gatsu no Lion; one of my favorite anime to this day. I truly understood it during the second half of episode one: allow me to warn you:

~SPOILERS~

During the second half of episode one, the MC finds one of his old friends from their baseball club. Their dynamic after four years is awkward and stoic. The school baseball team has recently failed their attempt at winning nationals and his friend wants to hit one home run as both revenge and as a "prayer". The MC (Who hasn't played for years) pitches for the friend, and the band members watching play a beautifully empowering piece in the background. Eventually, all the other main characters watch as the piece slows to a beautiful string orchestral piece as we see a slowed down home run, after which the MC's friend runs and hugs him, laughs, and proceeds to leave to confess to a girl he likes.

THIS SCENE CONVEYS SO MUCH. The reunion and re connection between close friends, the attachment and encouragement a shared hobby gives between characters, the joy of mutual success, the awe of simply watching as the scene truly comes to life in its climax. That emotion paints a picture describing what I'm talking about. That's the beauty in simplicity.

Overall: ~6~
The reason my overall is so low is because the anime hasn't given me enough to truly know whether or not it is "good". So far, I'm enjoying the ride, and have probably ranted long enough. As the anime continues, I hope for the pace to quicken, drama to occur, and ships to both sail and sink, all set to beautiful music pieces.

The plot, in my opinion, had great potential, BUT it went really bad.
I liked the fact that main character was obsessed with his past and his love. But in the meanwhile Komiya did everything for Eita, but this moron threw everything away from the window and trated her like a trash as she was not really important. to be honest i really could accept it, but the final was so forced i could not apprecciate at all.

I liked every other characters except for Eita, so dumbass.

By the way music, opening, were really cool and nice to hear.

Same about the art. Really good for eyes ... to see those drawings, nothing to say about them. Nice animations and nice particulars.

Another thing i really liked it was the storytelling and the atmosphere created. Really good and well done. But with that forced final it was so wasted.

Just Because! is a relatively slow-paced anime which focuses on a group of students in their last year of high school, approaching the end of their school days. Along with that, they must make important decisions for their future, as well as for the each person likes.

All characters develop at different speeds when they come to realize their feelings. That's what this anime clearly showed. Each of the characters thought in their own way to come to have the courage to be together with the person they like. This anime is pretty distinctive in that aspect, which was what i liked.

Along with the romance, ... you've got all the characters' futures to be decided. Some of them don't know, some of them already decided and others don't care as long as they get a decent job. The fact that they used the last year of high school is particularly effective in presenting the amount of pressure on all of them as they also have to consider what to do to make a move on the person they love. I guess that's why a lot of anime series use this time to create some drama.

I liked the art, it fitted well with the melancholic mood of the anime throughout. But their were times when it was not at its best, the movements looked pretty forced at times too.

As for the characters...
Izumi, Eita:
Nice character, I can relate to him a lot. The effort he puts in when helping out Natsume is incredible. Interesting that his future is kind of already planned, unlike the other characters.

Natsume, Mio:
Debatable here. A lot of people hate her, I understand that. Some of her actions were ridiculous and stupid but for me it got cancelled out when she realized her real feelings towards the end of the series. Very slow development but it was interesting to see her change bit by bit.

Komiya, Ena:
MVP. Does a lot for Izumi all the he way until the end. Direct and honest character who always knows what she's doing. Her determination to achieve her goals is amazing, easily likable character.

Soma, Haruto:
Best friend of Izumi, he gives advice to Izumi and gets advice from him too. Their friendship is emphasized throughout the series, even if they didn't meet for quite some time. His face expressions were really funny.

Morikawa, Hazuki:
A character who cares a lot for her family and others' feelings. The way she responded to Haruto towards the end was a bit odd for me but since it involved her future I guess it was the right choice. Liked the hairstyle change.

A lot of the story was predictable, but I guess wanting more original ideas is a bit too much. I enjoyed a lot of Haruto's scenes because of his face expressions, and i also liked Komiya's efforts to get closer to Izumi. Overall, I was planning to give this a 8 but since it ended with my ship coming true I'll give an 9.

This is the first time I'll write a review because I think it deserves more love.

First of this anime really capture something beautiful, there is a lot of feelings involved both sadness and happy moments.
Great art style with good music matching the scenes. It might be short but it doesn't have to be longer even though I wish it was.
I'd say this is what a Slice of Life/Drama/Romance series should be like. There are interested characters and you'll want to root for every main characters happiness. I can see why people have different opinions about it, but from my perspective it's really a masterpiece.

Life is not fair, maybe that's one of the points this Anime will show you. More over it's saying "Nothing ever goes as planned"

Just Because is surprisingly near to the normal life we all experience every day with a lot of failures, misunderstandings and missed opportunities.

It also have a good Charakterdevelopment, some more of it and some less and that's totally fine because why should a well Build Eita evolve the same way as his Junior kohai.

In my opinion the end is a bit fast coming and should have been built with a 13. Episode but it's like life and the Show, ... not a wishing well.

You will enjoy this show for his realness, the natural emotions and relatable characters. I like the artwork too, it's suits the setting very well.

This show requires at least two episodes to find if it's your flavor. Watch a third and you're in for the long run.

StOrY 8/10
The story is slow as first and moves similar to a train. Once you are at a cruise, you feel very comfortable. You watch the scenery just fly by while losing yourself in your own thoughts. After 3 episodes, you will find yourself thinking about what will happen with the love triangles, relationships, and school lives of the characters.

ArT 7/10
The artwork reminds me of certain old movies but it is very suitable for this kind of storytelling. Sometimes can convey a mood ... of depression or just normalcy. As if nothing extraordinary is going to happen. I think it allows you to focus more on the emotions being laid out to the viewer.

Oh and the lighting detail is very charming. I can't ignore that. I love the art.

SoUnD 7/10
I'll be honest, I was so engrossed in the visuals and story that I didn't notice the soundtrack. Some shows actually do a bad job with synchronizing what's happening or transitions in scenes. You won't experience that here. More often than not, there isn't any music. Just the natural environment. It does its job and that's what matters- to set the mood.

ChArAcTeR 8/10
The characters do seem boring or bland at first. But they all have somewhere they want to go and are hung up in some way with their own feelings and inexperience. Izumi might be the most interesting to watch because he doesn't say much but his actions do all the work. He's very likable. I feel like they could express themselves a little more but I'm pretty satisfied with what I'm getting.

EnJoYmEnT 7/10
It's a slice of life/romance. The comedy is scarce but the drama is ever building. I'm 6 episodes in and the cliffhanger is REALLY good.. I'm enjoying what I'm seeing and I can't comment more on that. If you don't have patience, pass on this one.

VeRdIcT 8/10

The show isn't finished airing but going in with little expectation and knowing it was a slow show that requires two episodes to get into, I am very happy with what I've seen so far. I'm definitely looking forward to next week.

Tip: Watch 3 episodes at a time if you can. ;]

This is an anime you'll either like or hate right away. It's either one.

Story: 5/10

Izumi is a boy that is moving back to his home town from Tokyo and from that moment on he starts to interact with old friend Souma which he met when he was walking around his new school. From that point, he starts to interact with the other people knew and interacting with new people that interact with his old friends aka Souma and Natsume. The story tries to make it feel as realistic as possible and don't try to over dramatic it's characters and the story itself. But at the ... same time, the plot is almost like not there or sometimes its everywhere. When you watch the first few episodes, there is almost no story at all. You don't know what's happening beside Izumi is moving back to his home town. The story doesn't really explain much either. I assume they're trying to be realistic and let you see how the characters develops overtime by interacting but I'll explain that later. The story do start to pick up around episode 6-7 but I feel like that's already too late when the series only have like 12 episodes. It's like a story that has no story. That's why you'll either hate it or love it.

Art: 6/10

The art is not to be praised about but it's not terrible either. The characters sometimes feel flat to the point that there is not much depth into it. The art just feels flat but it's not like terrible either. I just wish they added more depth into the drawing which could raise the score up for this anime.

Sound: 8/10

The music is the best part for this series. The Ending song is really good personally and the Opening is pretty nice to listen to. The ost itself isn't really that great but I guess it fits some part of the story. I guess the OST is a bit bland.

Character: 4/10

I won't go too much in depth for this because it can spoil some stuff in the anime. The character development in this anime is just so PAINFULLY slow. It's so painfully slow that it's almost like there isn't any development at all. The show is trying to make the character and story realistic as possible but it fell short. There is barely any backstory for each characters.. You will barely know the characters backstory which literally makes the character development so slow. The idea of realism for each characters is executed so badly when the PLOT relies on the character development to make the plot itself.

Enjoyment: 5/10

I'm trying to enjoy the series as much as I can. I had watched tons of Anime so much to the point I got nothing left to watch. I watched so many Anime that I gotten to the point I'm too lazy to add it on my MAL list. The series is just so painfully slow but episode 7 did start to get a bit interesting for me to keep watching till the end.

Overall: 5/10

A plot with almost no plot. Realism executed so poorly. If you want to watch something to fill your over post depression of a series you watch or just bored then I guess you should watch this anime. If you love strong character development, strong plot, meaningful plot, or even something you truly want to enjoy then I will say stay away from this series.

Ah, the time of high school. Good memories, futures being decided, new opportunities, and blooming relationships. Many different things happen during this period of our lives, and Just Because! explores the last leg of high school in it's mundane, yet compelling storytelling.

Just Because! explores Eita Izumi and a group of classmates in their final semester of high school. The story slowly progresses through their interactions with different people and the world around them. The first few episodes set up the group and their new bonds with each other. As the story progresses, the relationships between the middle school friends (Eita, Mio, Haruto) create an interesting ... dynamic that pulls viewers in.

Just Because! lets us explore the story through the different characters and their personalities. They each have a role in the story that bounce off of each other. This lets the different dynamics progress, albeit at a slow pace. For example, the friendship between Ena and Eita is fueled by their completely different personalities and worldviews, but empathizing with each other later on.

The themes in the story, such as adolescence and romance, are crafted carefully to be as realistic as possible. It's easy to relate to the characters due to how similar it could be to our real dreams in high school. The relationships are also more realistic than a lot of anime, looking at it from an accuracy to real life standpoint. The pace of the story is simple, yet fast enough to keep the viewer's attention satisfied. Even if the ending is predictable in the end, the anime still feels very relatable and realistic. The anime also lets the viewers know that the characters have many things going on with their lives, and deals with this almost as if they were in a real life situation, which is a breath of fresh air in the Drama/ Romance genre.

The sound design is great and works well with the atmosphere the anime tries to convey. The key visuals and songs also fit in perfectly, not straying over their boundaries of accidentally overemphasizing sounds.

A big point of this series is how the characters are drawn as. Some may criticize the plainish artstyle they went for, but they managed to make the character expressions really great. It allows us to fully understand what they are thinking, even if it wasn't explained in exposition/dialogue.

High school is an unforgettable experience for a lot of people. Our characters embark on the journey to adulthood through this stage of life, and we get to see their thoughts and dreams in real time. Just Because! is an anime that is recommended to watch if you like relatable characters, realistic stories, and discovering different things in life.

I have heard that this work was announced as an April Fool Joke, did they decided to proceed JUST BECAUSE?
Terrible joke aside, “Just Because” made me write review because there are certain things it brings to the table worth discussing.
At its helm is the author of Sakurasou and Seishun Buta which have achieved raving reviews. Which is not to say there’s much drama to be expected from this. On the contrary, the tone of the story is quite relaxing, considering this is somewhat of an ode to students and teenagers about to enter society. It is quite a hot pot: those who are already accepted ... into university, those who are still trying to get into one and those who are going to university at all. To be honest, I am quite disappointed in the story. I constantly asked myself “what’s the focus of the story?” Before anyone even mention Slice of Life doesn’t need a focus, every slice of life has a theme about friendship, companion ship, adolescence, stress, love etc… This show has all of it yet focus on none of them, quite bewildering. I’m not saying I wasn’t entertained by the dramatic romantic relationship but the series backdrop sort of divert away from that. I get that having a backdrop of students about to leave for the next step in life would impose an air of urgency: confess your love before it’s too late! But instead of that, the series adopted a relaxing, calming air. Considering that the exams are 2 episodes, involving 2 characters. One of which has nothing at stake which kind of destroy the setting. Worse, some implication could be controversial even though the series denies it like: taking an important exam just to chase after your crush or conveniently getting jealous without making clear your feeling. The most serious problem is character growth. There was little sign of it. Characters experiment with love and that’s it. Except for the one taking the exam that changed their choice by having a short conversation, nothing else memorable really happened. There’s a lack of big moment in the story that truly dramatize the events. Everything was just so calm but not in a good way. Aria the animation is calming, this started out with a bunch of drama seeds, but things just seem to resolve itself by the middle. Because of that the last half felt like a marathon instead of being excited to see what happen next. Overall, the plot is almost nonchalant, nothing seems to matter and akin to a better written convenient plot that could have Shinkai drawn up, nicely transit into my next point.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr Shinkai has a finger in the production but thankfully, he didn’t. While the plot is almost at Shinkai level of convenience i.e. swapped choices but someone conveniently couldn’t pass so they could reunite, the art is quite adept seeing as Pine Jam was only founded in 2015. The winter atmosphere drew heavy on the entire 12 episodes with really nice background, bright back drop, detail objects and sometime feels like a better Shinkai or KyoAni production. Which is to say that this has been a gigantic waste of budget. I would rather Shinkai taking up production instead. I understand the dark and grey tone because it is depicting winter, but this has not contributed to the plot at all. Shinkai always add in unnecessary details or segments to his overblown productions but I can appreciate that he’s always trying to set up things in his own crazy way. The art is excessive while not being able to match up to the atmosphere of the plot. Here’s something from Shinkai playbook: put in transport -> trains to create a scene association to daily life/movement/change/shifting situation/separation, sport is associate with competition/special event/effort/disappointment/youth/heat. The art seems to be a love letter to Kanagawa instead. The plot and the art production focus on different theme completely lost me in the middle of the series. Troubled production was noticeable as well with many strange morphing happening on characters. The show seems to be unable to use colour in a bold way, falling back to using grey tones and very uncharacteristic spectrums that brings nothing to attention. More troubling is while I’m sure Kanagawa is beautiful, the art failed to impress with its iconic locations. I think it is important that the industry trying to imitate Mr Shinkai madness, remembers that we learn to love the location depicting in the story because we love the story. Haruhi, K-On, Durarara, Steins’Gate etc.. all successfully captured the audience attention with its colourful cast and story before people start to take pictures of the location in the show.
The other small things like music and sound is decent enough. While its piano BGM brings calmness, it is also very forgettable. Nothing to rave really.
I asked myself why did they make this show? Was it all worth it? Why did Hajime write a bunch of stories that amount to nothing? I’m not sure did any of the characters really learn anything throughout the process. The art is great but why it is so great but in an average way. There’s no focus in the scenery, completely greying out the pretty bits that somehow makes it unremarkable instead of striking. The amount of Shinkai in this show scares me. After Violet Evergarden baffling mediocrity, a similar but decent show like this lack so much soul. I reminiscence to the days animations have so much characters while is art is hilariously terrible. To be honest, I think the troubled production ruined Hajime plans for the show. If there had been even more struggle to figure their feelings out, more friction between the characters, more spirit shown by anyone other than the side chick of the MC, more thoughtful scenes to convey change in characters instead of the extremely disappointing haircut part, the show could have reached much higher height. For now, I doubt it will be remembered for long. I hope this original show won’t be the nail in the coffin for original animated series. So many have fallen due to the industry expansion, demanding more quality, more episode, faster and cheaper.
The important question is always: who is this show for? If you have plenty of time on your hand and would like to reminiscence about your exam period (you can see how the premise is quite flawed), this is a very calming show to get away from the everyday life rush. Other than that, I think this could be Pine Jam milestone project. The art team has shown promises and the general direction has been very positive. If Kobayashi is able to polish his direction, focus more the theme and manage his time table better, he could supersede Shinkai with hopefully more substance.

The way this anime is, it should be all of the genre, simple, direct, beautiful animation, relaxing soundtrack, realistic characters and above all, real-life problems and real-life emotions, it is a spectacular slice of life, never seen in anime characters so close to reality, they are not stereotypes, they do not have exaggerated standards, they are just young people sharing moments of their youth, facing both romantic emotions and uncertainty about their future, the construction of their relationships seemed great to me, they simply shared their casual days high school without any exaggeration, that made me feel very connected to the characters, since it was ... a very casual and typical environment, like the beauty of simplicity and I loved that.

In conclusion, a very beautiful anime, easy to watch, with a few lessons and above all, peaceful and relaxing.






Asi como es este anime deberían ser todos los del genero, sencillos, directos, animación preciosa, soundtrack relajante, personajes realistas y sobre todo, problemas de novenes reales y emociones de novenes reales, es un slice of life espectacular, nunca en el anime vi personajes tan cercanos de la realidad, no son esterotipos, no tienen estandares exagerados, solo son jovenes compartiendo momentos de su juventud, enfrentando emociones tanto romanticas como de incertidumbre por su futuro, la construccion de sus relaciones me parecio genial, simplemente compartian sus casuales dias de preparatoria sin ninguna exageracion, eso me hizo sentir muy conectado con los personajes, ya que era un ambiente muy casual y tipico, como la belleza de lo simple y eso me encanto.

En conclusion, un anime muy bonito, facil de ver, con unas cuantas lecciones y sobre todo, pacifico y relajante.

Rating: 7.7/10

This anime broke me. But no, not in the way that you might think.
After all, Silent Voice broke me. Little Busters broke me. Your Lie in April broke me.
But in this case, I was left completely broken in feelings of disappointment, confusion, yet joy? Sounds pretty dramatic right? That may be so, but what I truly felt was that a potential masterpiece with such a well set up atmosphere was ruined in just a few episodes.

Let's begin with the introduction to the main story. The first 2 minutes or so beautifully introduced the setting and each individual character by piecing together related scenes alongside ... the perfect instrumental music. What follows from there is your average high school life which manages to realistically capture the very essence of adolescence - even very early on there is already a heavy focus on what each character wants to do in the future, which only later on is cleverly linked with the romance between the characters. It just feels so real, and I can certainly say as someone who is pretty much at the exact same stage as the characters, that this anime managed to portray the beauty of this time of our lives. 9/10 for relatability and realism.

The overall pace is slow but steady, and the use of silence is common, perfectly setting up an almost melancholic feel. There's lots of space for the viewers to feel comfortable and think things through. The characters are done well with unique personalities (apart from one..), and they contrast each other nicely. Unfortunately, one of the main characters in particular - Natsume Mio - despite having most of the screentime was so poorly developed I don't think I can recall anything positive or special about her. Her entire personality is pretty much her being high on copium for the entire series by avoiding most of her problems instead of tackling them head-on. On the other end though, is the saving grace of this whole anime probably - Komiya. Her amazing character is hard to put into words, one word to summarise is her unrivalled Enthusiasm; But personality aside, let's talk about the inclusion of Komiya's hobby - Photography. Although this subject is very general, I felt that the use of this in this anime specifically was not a mere coincidence, but rather is symbolic of capturing their final moments before graduation (a running theme throughout) and preserving these memories for much later on. It also serves as a great medium for the users to reflect on the anime as a whole, appreciating its story from start to end - and as a result the viewers might also look back on their own pasts. It indulges a brilliant sense of nostalgia.

Now let's focus on the development of the romance between the characters, it's revealed that Haruto has feelings for ___ in episode 1 and plans to ask her out. The relationship between the tswo feels real, and is not settled until the final episodes. Although it was predictable at times, generally it was done quite well. In terms of the other ships: one ship steered amazingly smoothly, while the other was seemingly driven by a toddler and made anyone on the ship sick. But this is a romance anime, so guess which sunk? Yeah what you're thinking is probably correct. This section is what the majority of my criticism and disappointment lies, and it's not just due to bias. The story never even explains why.. and gives us very little backstory. You're pretty much supposed to just accept it. I can't really critique this part any longer without spoiling it so I'll leave this section here with a 5/10.

Lastly, let's talk about the Art + Sound. The art and visuals were not particularly special. Certain scenes could have looked much more appealing and pretty, but the art style seemed to fit the overall feeling. 6/10 for the art.
However, the music was astounding - the composer really managed to nail a very relaxing and suitable background music - consisting of mainly instrumental piano/guitar/orchestral music. A 10/10 for the soundtrack, and while I don't really care about OPs/EDs, they were also quite fitting, especially the ED. The VAs were also brilliant, with some very unique voices - like Morikawa's sister or MC's voice when he gets emotional.

My overall enjoyment for the first 9 episodes was a 10/10, while the story gets a 9/10. But for the last quarter of the anime my enjoyment turned into a 3/10, same for the story. The ending is INCREDIBLY rushed, and felt like it needed another episode or even two to correctly finish it off - which is funny because this is an ORIGINAL anime which shouldn't have pacing issues. Even so, they should have at least moved the ending scene forward, adding a follow up onwards from it. With that said, I haven't even touched on the worst part yet - which links in with what I've said already about the romantic development of a certain two - quite frankly there is none.

I can't not recommend this anime to anyone. It's a great watch, but prepare to be disappointed by the ending, even heartbroken. It left me confused beyond words in the moment - "broken"... but in the end I was glad I watched it. It was a good experience. Thanks for reading.