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Once in a while you stumble upon a story that hits home so hard on a certain period of your life, that you can't help but laugh and cry along.

At the time of writing of this review Tetsugaku Letra has not been completed. And since no one else has done so yet I decided to write a review in order to urge others to read, what I consider to be, one of the greatest slice of life stories of all time.

I'll start off by saying that Tetsugaku Letra is realistic. There are no fancy dreams to be achieved, no flashy goals and boisterous characters, and ... when there are they are realistically so. Problems encountered, such as bullying, are not exaggerated and I've found the author's approach to be rather tasteful. An exchange of shoes, and with them the discovery of a new hobby, is the premise of the story, and through it unfold the insecurities and troubles of its characters. The story is purely character driven, something I usually don't prefer, but Sahara Mizu does it masterfully so. Character interactions feel natural, if not slightly gloomy, and the humour is suiting of the general atmosphere of the story, which is a charming mix of both pessimism and optimism and a good dose of everyday life.

I personally adore the art, it looks clean and simple and character expressions are rich. I can see why some people might dislike it though. Backgrounds are minimal and Sahara draws ears strangely, though I never had any issues with it. To compensate for the thin linework tones are used generously, which complement the story and art greatly.

The characters are what make the story. None of them fall in any of the typical cliches and they're all flawed in one way or another, yet not in such a way that it becomes their main characteristic, instead only adding to the realism of the work. Tetsugaku Letra isn't the kind of work wherein you'll find your new favourite character, simply because the cast works dynamically together, instead of any individual standing out on their own too much. The protagonist, Ichinose Kimitaka, is slightly depressive, but that slowly changes as he decides to move on in his life. I greatly enjoyed his family's depiction, especially his interactions with his grandfather and sister. I found myself rooting for him on many occasions as his simple and naive approach to life was, if anything, heart warming. The cast is diverse and while not over the top, each character plays an important role in order to properly present the story.

I've greatly enjoyed Tetsugaku Letra so far, and certainly hope there will be some kind of update to the manga soon. As of now there are 12 translated chapters, the last of them having been released last November. I do however urge you to read it despite the bleak prospects of getting an update any time soon, as it truly is worth it.

Thank you for your time; feel free to contact me if you spot any errors or want to comment on anything mentioned above.

The core reason this particular movie scored so high with me was the art. While the character animation could have used some polish here and there the backgrounds were simply amazing, and probably the film's most memorable part. With Shinji Kimura as the art director the quality comes as no surprise. Detailed and richly coloured the entire movie was visual eye-candy, scoring a 10/10 from myself and I'm sure it could satisfy even the most demanding viewer who watches animation more for the graphics than the story. There was however slight repetition of specific backgrounds when it wouldn't have been necessary but I doubt that's ... going to affect anyone's viewing experience.

Speaking of story; I personally found it weak, relying heavily on certain predictable cliches, however still managing to be entertaining. The whole fleshing out of the plot was done nicely, with the use of an object from the past, but was so obvious from the beginning that, at least for me, failed to bring in some much needed excitement. Multiple smaller events tied the plot nicely by the end of it, but I personally would have prefered it if the main plot had been a bit better developed. I am, however, giving it a six because, despite all its holes and weaknesses it held its own.
One of my biggest issues though, was the fact that background characters in the movie seemed to be familiar with the concept of demonic existence and did not showcase the kind of emotional response you'd expect from people that just saw giant monsters walking among them. Needless to say that in the manga it is heavily implied that the majority of the human race is unaware of the presence of demons.

While the music was good its usage was one of the poorest I've ever witnessed. A lot of scenes that would have been far better with dialogue in them were covered with boring tracks that felt out of place. However, when it counted, the music was used well, for example the very few action scenes, and on its own stood out.

I did enjoy the film. There were quite a few issues I had with it but overall it was good. It didn't focus as much on fighting, as you'd expect from a movie adaptation of a shounen series, which for me was positive, but be prepared to be disappointed if that is what you went to see. Hadn't it been for the exceptionally good art however I'd have hesitated giving it the eight I am giving it now and would have settled for a seven or a six and a half.

I'd certainly recommend it for those of you who have read or watched the series but would hesitate to do so for those of you who haven't.