Jun 22, 2020
I'm not going to reiterate the plot in this review just watch the show if you're that curious. I'm going to address some of the negative points people have brought up in other reviews and debunk them as well as add my own insights to some of the aspects of the show.
1. "The show is so slow paced it feels like its dead in the water", ok for this one it IS true the show is slow paced, there are very few defining moments that act as a large push for the characters to take action and even if there is sometimes they just don't
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(note that sometimes people just want to hide away from their problems not everyone is the type of person to tackle their way through life head on). However people are ignoring the gradual changes within this. Shinako is gradually coming to terms with the loss of someone who was very significant in her life, this takes time and expecting a giant amount of progress in months is ridiculous. And even beyond this she does change, making small gradual improvements to the point she can face Rou and Rikuos feelings where she never could in the past. Rikuo has a good development too, first working in a store, content with just scraping by with nothing to strive for in life. He was ok with a static life until he realised that he couldn't depend on Shinako or others forever, that sounds like progression to me. Its very rare in life for someone to make a 180 turn, it happens slowly over the course of years, we just don't notice these smaller changes.
2. "Rikuo is a man-child, Haru is immature, Shinako is bland and Rou is possessive" - All comments ive heard about these characters and with the exception to Shinako I agree with all of them. Theres one key thing that people are missing however... THATS THE FREAKIN POINT. Rikuo starts as a whiny dude who tries to rely on others to move him forward, after meeting Shinako again he has something to work for so he improves himself. Haru is the most innocent of the cast and probably the most one note that doesn't mean she's a bad character as such but it does make her somewhat predictable. Rou-kun is possessive because he always wanted Shinako to look at him the same way she looked at his brother. imo Rou is the weakest character of the show just because his negative attributes aren't really looked at until the very end of the show.
3. "Rikuo doesn't really care about Haru", Well this one is just not true. There are several occasions where Rikuo is shown to either worry or take pleasure in being in Harus company. Whether that be through dialogue or through action. He often tries to downplay these actions because he doesn't think of Haru as his perfect woman. She wouldn't look after him or spoon feed him because she has not yet began her life as adult.
This isn't to say this anime doesn't have flaws. The soundtrack whilst very professionally written, doesn't stand out much or have moments that really make me want to listen to it alone. I just does the job well. The art is sometimes lifeless but the characters are animated with a sense of realism about them which is a nice touch. As I mentioned before Rou just doesn't grow out of his negative traits for me to like him.
On the flip side though the sound design and dialogue can only be described as OUTSTANDING. The pacing of lines, breathing, tone of voice, reactions, they all feel as if you could say them yourself to someone. I think that takes a lot of work and a lot of talent to pull off in this medium.
I can't recommend this anime enough. If you can't feel empathy for these characters fair enough its not for you, but thats not the story or the pacing that is to blame.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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