Jiisan Baasan Wakagaeru

Shouzou Saitou and his wife, Ine, have been married for nearly sixty years. Though they have not become wealthy or been able to go on a honeymoon in all that time, their love has remained steadfast. The couple spend their days peacefully tending to an orchard of apple trees and receiving visits from their loving family.

While tending to the apple tree they planted on their wedding day, which had snapped in half during a typhoon, the couple notices a golden apple hanging from one of the branches. They decide to eat the apple back at home, and the next morning, the couple awakens to find that they have become young again!

In their new but familiar bodies, Shouzou and Ine are able to live life as they never had before: they engage in more modern activities together, such as participating in a sports festival and playing video games. As they revisit the memories of their young love, the romance between them is rekindled, inspiring similar feelings in the younger members of their family.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Saitou, Ine Main

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Saitou, Shouzou Main

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Saitou, Mino Supporting

Mikami, Shiori Japanese

Saitou, Shiori Supporting

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Takahashi, Setsu Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Igarashi, Shouta Supporting

Terashima, Junta Japanese

Nakata, Kousuke Supporting

Kinoshita, Suzuna Japanese

Nakata, Shunsuke Supporting

Mitoma, Kouhei Japanese

Takahashi, Hajime Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Saitou, Kaoru Supporting

Sasaki, Mikoi Japanese

Iizuka, Aya Producer

Ueda, Kiyoka Producer

Fujiwara, Yukiko Producer

Takemoto, Kentarou Producer

Reviews

Jul 21, 2024

joemaamah

Recommended

This series needs more attention. It's simply beautiful, and has one of the best endings I have seen in over 50 years. In an industry that regularly fudges endings horribly, this one was about perfect for me; a very welcome change of pace.

The series itself is a fantasy/slice of life, that is laid back and focuses mainly on the mundane aspects of being a family. The unclean isekai/shonen/mecha masses need not apply here. The writing was sweet situational comedy, not so much gag driven, although there are some good gag sequences. The character designs were very believable for me. All four generations of this ... family, and their friends, are loveable and treated with respect by the writers.

Let's address the elephant in the room, though. I've seen lots of comments insinuating incest once grandpa turns young, and turns out to be a hunk. When I saw those scenes, I saw nothing of the sort. My impression was the daughter-in-law and granddaughter were teasing grandpa, trying to embarass the hell out of him, which they accomplished. Anyway, those were only one short minor scenes in each of the first two eps, and then that goes away. The word 'wholesome' actually applies for this series, and is not just a throw-around adjective.

OK, the artwork isn't super special, but it has a soft, comforting quality that fits the vibe the producers are trying to convey. The animation is not going to knock your socks off, and frankly it doesn't have to, as this is a character driven series. What does have to pass muster is the voice acting, and this cast knocks it out of the park, all the characters are so well portrayed, even minor ones. Huge kudos to not only the cast, but to the direction who kept this right on track.

If I was grading, this series earns a 94/100 for a solid A. It's not perfect. But it does so many things well, that I can't help but recommend it to someone that is looking for something soothing to their soul.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 24, 2024

Jonyodisa

Mixed Feelings

I loved the story, it was simple and straightforward, an old couple suddenly become young again, and the surprise that comes along with it (quite lower than it would be in reality). There's the lovely joke of them still acting like an old couple despite being young again, and all the simple yet romantic shared moments between them that can only be achieved after a lifetime together.

I loved this anime, but it's not for those who dislike slow paced, simple stories with a simple argument.


Now, to answer the questions it offers when saying my review needs more information:

Is the story unique?
Yes and no. Yes ... because I have never before seen a romance/slice of life with this argument, but at the same time no because it doesn't have any kind of ground-breaking artwork or a completely unexpected never before seen romantic scenes or anything of the sort.

Do you think the art style is fitting for the story?
Yes, it isn't extremely elaborate or extremely simplistic either, in my opinion goes perfectly well with the story.

Were the characters well-rounded? Did they have flaws and strengths, or were they unusually strong/smart/stupid?
They were all decently well-rounded. Besides the 2 main characters who were supposed to be the main focus there isn't too much development of the side characters, except for a few, which seems adecuate for me. They had both flaws and strengths, just like real people, with the 2 MCs showing the greatest strengths of being better than others in terms of strength, wisdom, etc, but I'm guessing that was the point, trying to show that the 2 elderly wise people who had gone through a lifetime of experiences would be better than others if they suddenly became young and strong all of a sudden.

Did the characters react to situations and events in a realistic way?
In my opinion, they did for some things, and didn't for others. They did in the aspect that some people are just so used to a certain lifestyle that if they suddenly went through a sudden improvement in physique, their lives wouldn't change all that much overall. They didn't in the aspect that if some old people suddenly became young out of nowhere, it would become news, and there certainly would be companies and governments trying to find out the way to become young once again.

Do you think others will enjoy/dislike this series, even if you didn't? Why?
I think there will be those who will enjoy this story just as much as I did, and maybe more, and at the same time, I think there will be those who don't like it at all. It has positive aspects that can also be considered negative ones depending on who is analysing the anime, such as the shortness of the story, it only has 11 episodes, which seemed perfect for me, since there wasn't anything more to add to the story unless the writers wanted to go off the rails. There's also the slow paced story, I personally loved it, and from now on this will be one of my soul-healing animes for whenever I'm stressed and just want to relax, but I'm sure there are many people who will hate this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jul 1, 2024

Cielord

Not Recommended

One of the worst anime i watched.

Firstly, let start with some positivity, and talk about the one and only good aspect of this anime. That being the premise/concept.

A old couple, who has been married for over half a century, one day found their body reverted back to their youthful apperence. The 2 who faced troubles in the past, weren't able to truly enjoy their time as a young couple. But now, thanks to their current stable life and this supernatural event, could they make up for the past?
This premise intrigued me, creating a ideal setting for a unique romance anime, one that will focus ... on a more mature romance. Which will diffrerentiate itself, from the hundreds of romcoms existing already. Yet, unfortunately, it didn't live up to my intrigue.

Plot, the series is quite episodic, mainly focusing on the eccentric events surronding the 2 main characters. eccentric events being others characters reacting to their transformation or to how amazing they are. When it's not this, it's a 'sad' story relating to the past, or romance between the 2 main characters or other characters. The romance part being the worst of it all, Shouzou and Ine, act like virgin middle schoolers, even though they have been together for over half a century (which the series constantly remind us of.) and had 3 kids together. This is so unrealistic and unnatural, and completely ruins my expectations. What also made me annoyed at it, is that the Mushoko Tensei sequel, aired in the same season, on the same day. Mushoku Tensei, being a series that actually capable of a depicting a mature and developing romance.

Characters, the characters in the series are the defination of shallow. And you can divide them into 3 categories.
Those who only exist to be amazed at Shouzu and Ine, be it their appearance, or driving skills, or cooking skills or anything else, cause they are so perfect.
Virgin middle schoolers, which is only really the 2 main characters. Cause everyone else need to be amazed by them.
And the combination of them both, which are any characters who their only purpose is not being a reaction gif to Shouzo and Ine. That purpose is having their own dull romance.

Comedy & Supernatural, the other 2 tags of this series, and like the romance part, they also suck.
For the comedy part, i don't have much to say, comedy being a more subjective thing so i guess i can only call it, not my cup of tea.
While the supernatural part... At first glance, i understood the series isn't gonna take it in a serious manner, but the way it executed it was ridden with plot contrivance. The main characters freely uses their 'powers' of changing their bodies from old to young, going out of their way to tell everyone they know about it. but do we get some consequences from it? do the goverment want to experiment on their body? do they gain national or international news coverage? And as you guessed it, the answer is no.

Animation, i don't pay much attention to the animation of not action anime, but in here the animation was so bad it caught my attention. Many scenes in the series, had the designs look off, to the point it harmed my watching exprience.

In conclusion, this series had a interesting premise but miserable exceution. The author seemed more focused on creating a comedic and wholesome anime, rather then use the setting he created to their best.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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