Xiao Lu He Xiao Lan

From what I understand, Beryl and Sapphire are two actors. I’ve never read the manhua they come from, but this show does not depict their real lives. Instead, it showcases their roles as characters within the movies/shows they act in. This series is essentially a catalogue of their acting careers, but it's not necessary to know that going in, as you get a feel for what the show is after just a few episodes.

What's unique and captivating about this Chinese animation is the fact that different storylines gradually build and are told simultaneously, so one episode will follow Beryl and Sapphire in one story, and ... the very next episode then picks up where another Beryl/Sapphire story left off. IT'S THE SAME FREAKING CHARACTERS EVERY TIME AND I LOVE IT, although they are actually different characters in each story... Or are they really.?.?.?.. We get to ship, we get to cry, we get to be angry, we get to think about profound ideas, and we are present while Shao-lan and Shao-lu experience sci-fi, drama, romance, and real-world problems.

Most episodes are about 5 – 7 minutes, with longer episodes occurring about once every five or six episodes. Most, if not all the main storylines in the series get at least one long episode.

The series flirts with a lot of different sci-fi concepts that are difficult to use well in anime. Whether it's the short-story nature of this series that gives it the freedom to execute these ideas so smoothly and in a creative way, the chemistry between Beryl and Sapphire, or just good writing, it's clear that Beryl and Sapphire is not afraid to tackle a wide variety of plots and genres. The show is able to shift, very smoothly, between a light-hearted mood to darker, more serious tones when needed.

The music is very nice, and fits the show well, especially during emotional scenes. Certain episodes really tugged me when those beautiful piano pieces started playing. There is one piece in particular I looked so hard to find, to no avail.

The artwork/animation, despite characters often reverting to bald, blank-faced figures at appropriate times, is colorful, detailed, and consistently pretty to look at.

Few episodes (of the one-off episodes/narratives) reached a little far in order to portray original or comically relatable content, and it was incredibly irritating watching Sapphire unable to function around Beryl for the entirety of at least one or two different storylines, but most of what this show offers is consistently entertaining and fresh.

It's worth mentioning that this series is shounen-ai, although I'm guessing that's how most people came across it. While the bl isn’t exactly subtle, I wouldn't say it's excessive either, and is also not present within every storyline. This relaxing and light sci-fi slice of life was definitely worth the watch, so I suggest you give it a chance, and I know you'll be entertained by this lovely ship.

Beryl and Sapphire is a show that I randomly stumbled across on an anime site. I thought the premise seemed intriguing enough and I didn’t have high expectations for it… I was wrong.

To say this show is different is most definitely an understatement. The first and most blatant thing you will notice from either the title of the show or watching episode 1 is that it is in Chinese. This kind of threw me off, but I decided that I would watch it anyways. Another cool thing that I enjoyed is that they are comprised of a bunch of different stories rather than just one ... long story. I think this approach was very effective as it connected the commonality of characters to different stories which gave it a unique feel. One last unique thing I found is that the episodes are divided into groups of 6. This is comprised of 5 - ~6 minute episodes and 1 - ~25 minute episode as a “weekend special” when it aired. I thought this idea was cool and it gave something to people who like the different types of shows so you don’t need to say “this would have been better as a short” or “man, I wish these episodes were longer”. This issue is tackled well and I can guarantee you will not walk away disappointed in regards to that issue.

With that out of the way, it takes more than just “uniqueness” to make a show good. As you can see, I scored all categories with at least a 9 because I truly felt like it exceeded and performed well in all the categories.

Story: 10/10 - The story was a bit hard for me to score as there are multiple stories to follow as I mentioned before, but I think the two main characters being a “pivot role” if you will helped keep it interesting in a fresh way (although I will touch more on this in the character section of my review). Using the characters as pivots allowed the stories to feel like the same show, but different in their own respects. I gave it a 10 because I haven’t seen another show tackle it like this show did and I thought it was very effective.

Art: 9/10 - The art looked great and they did something that I think seems lazy at first glance, but I think it helped the focus of the show. Almost all background characters and occasionally the main characters would go from having a “normal” animated face to just a simple round head with eyes and a mouth. For the background characters, this allowed social scenes to feel like real life. You don’t recognize faces and it allows you to focus on the important characters at hand. As far as the main characters, it would generally do this to help with the emotions of the characters. I never found it out of place when they would switch to the round heads. Also, small last side note, CGI animation is used at some points of large crowds moving. It looked weird, but it wasn’t important to the show and it was probably much easier on the team making the show, so I chose to let that one slide.

Sound: 9/10 - The OST wasn’t memorable but it wasn’t bad either. I can’t think of any particular tunes standing out as great or awful. I just thought during the show that it always fit well (which can’t be said for all anime). The OP and ED are pretty catchy too I might add. I’m usually pretty big on music, but this music just felt right and I just walk away with a “good job, it worked” feeling. Not much to say unfortunately, but it was good.

Character: 10/10 - As far as the characters go, the show generally revolves around two main characters: Beryl and Sapphire. Not matter what personality or arc is being played on any given episode, there is some sort of relationship between these characters that brings them together (whether a romantic relationship or not). These stories take place in a multitude of different demographics. You have them either in the work place, in school, or just out in public. The best part is that they all work and manage to keep a basic outline of the characters. It felt right in each of the roles that they were playing. Although I don’t think I would take a singular Beryl or Sapphire to my top 10 character list, the interactions between all of them has to be up there in some of my favorites (but MAL doesn’t have a place for that… RIP Hibike Euphonium interactions). I think having this level of interaction value isn’t something a lot of anime can do this well so hats off to the team.

Enjoyment: 10/10 - Not much to say about enjoyment that hasn’t been said already. What I can say is that I knew I was hooked after the first block of 6 episodes. I’d say give the show about 1 to 2 cycles of the 6-episode cycles to see if it’s a show you should continue. I think that there is definitely something for everyone in this show which makes me think the enjoyment of this show is something that can be shared among a lot of people in the community which is why I put it in such high regards. I could easily recommend this to a lot of people.

Overall: “It just felt right” 10/10

This show is so unique! If I had to equate it to anything, it's like you're watching animations of someone's fanfiction stories, jumping around between chapters and oneshots of the same pairing. I've never seen a show do that before, so it's quiet a novelty to experience.

I find it really nice that the opening and ending songs introduce you to these two being actors in a subtle way and styling the title cards also add to it. Additionally, not only do the cute lyrics show the bond the two actors have, but it just feels good to listen to! It makes me feel happier ... just listening to it!

The episodes are really short, so after a couple, I found it easy to adjust to the flow of jumping around. It's nice not knowing what to expect and being surprised. The episodes very from humorous to cute to heartbreaking, so there's a little bit of everything to love. Every so often there are longer episodes and they usually deal with heavier, more complicated themes. I found myself looking forward to those longer episodes as well as the storylines the show would revisit. I ended up liking even the ones that I started out with no preference for, excited even when I got a sneak peak of the next episode. That made me really appreciate the show. Making me care about storylines/characters I didn't care for before really impresses me so it has my praise.

Additionally, for as many genres as this show touches, it does them all surprisingly well. From daily life to supernatural to fantasy, the show really explores the themes just enough to make it work without putting too much to break someone from the experience. The art style really helps with those switching themes as well. It is simple, cute, and beautiful, emphasizing only what is really needed. And even though the show is based around two actors paired in several different projects with varying roles, you can still get a good idea of their individual personalities, which was a nice touch.

Overall, this is a great show with a very interesting way of telling its story. I would highly recommend picking it up to give it a try!