Story (6/10): Acchi Kocchi in translation means "place to place", entailing that the characters, or at the very least, the story, moves from place to place. Which, indeed it does. Acchi Kocchi branches itself into very well known slice of life animes like Lucky Star, and Nichijou, for having very simple plots. The story itself focuses heavily on the daily life of 5 distinct friends, in various situations and various "problems" that they face. I say problems with quotations due to the fact that none of the actual problems they face are really of any significance later on. As well as the added fact that they're solved incredibly easily, and seem almost pointless to begin with. (Looking at you, K-on.) Every episode is almost independent on one another, with having a Part A, and Part B within each episode, which provides a whole new individual story with every new part that is introduced, similar to the format Lucky Star presents itself. While the story itself does have a romance aspect to it, with the main female lead Tsumiki having a huge crush on the main male, Io, this, like most slice of life animes with romance, goes nowhere. While yes, it does give the viewer a ship to root for as they're watching the series, it disappoints greatly as the series simply teases the viewers on what could've added more to the show.
Character (7/10): The characters in this anime vary in a way that compliment each other. First is Tsumiki. Tsumiki, as the main female lead, has a huge crush on Io, the main character lead. She also possesses a tsundere personality that ends up being the focus of all of the "romance" this anime provides. As many people know, tsunderes do not at all, like to confess that they have feelings for someone regardless of how obvious it is. It is because of this tsundere rule, that adds in as a key factor to the nonexistent romance. Next is Io, the main male. Io can be described as your typical run of the mill "nice guy" with glasses, that likes to help out everyone as much as he can. Added to that, he is also extremely oblivious to Tsumiki's feelings, no matter how obvious it is. It is this factor as well, that downfalls the romance further. Because of these opposing forces that exist within the anime, which have been known to fail romances in the past, the anime sets itself up for failure in the romance department right from the start. Next is Sakaki, your typical best friend/punching bag character. As my description entails, Sakaki is the "comic relief" character. He is constantly getting harassed by his friends, and constantly gets thrown into the sky. (Not kidding.) He is entertaining, but the anime troupe itself has been done many times before, and this is really no different. Next, Mayoi. As one of the other existing girls in the main 5 characters, Mayoi serves as the female comic relief character. Constantly getting hurt like Sakaki does, and usually brings it upon herself. Again, this has been done before, and the whole character itself seems pretty generic. And last, is Hime, my personal favorite. As probably one of the most moe characters I've seen in a slice of life, Hime is the blood donor. What I mean by that, is the fact that Hime has constant nosebleeds. Constant. While yes, I think she's an adorable character that talks with a -desu ending, her real purpose is kind of pointless, seeing as how half the time she has a nosebleed that doesn't seem to kill her from blood loss. The side characters aren't really that special, considering that they don't get all that much screen time. They're more like background characters that get to speak.
Sound and Art (7/10): The sound for the anime is very...cute. The OP is very catchy and overall adorable. With an upbeat tempo and a very happy sound to it, I found myself dancing in my seat as I watched it. Yes, it was simply that adorable. The ending to me was a bit disappointing, as it sounded like cute fodder. The ending was a generic cute song with a single singer, and I wasn't compelled enough to really sit through and listen to it. The tracks in the anime are basic background tracks. Nothing special there. The art itself has a very striking resemblance to the 2 slice of life shows I've mentioned before, Lucky Star, and Nichijou. The characters are all drawn in a chibi art style, with the occasional evil glance, blank stare, erupting cat ears, and over exaggerated expressions. The colors they use is more of a lighter tone, giving it a more simple feel with some proper shading. While yes, the art is very cute, it's still very simple, and has been used several times before. I don't find anything special with how the characters are drawn, compared to the actual character designs themselves.
Personal Enjoyment (8/10): Acchi Kocchi is very cute. It's adorable, even. It was so adorable, that I literally had a nosebleed as I was watching the series. While Acchi Kocchi has its flaws in its romance aspect, the overall sound, and quite possibly the less in-depth characterization of the characters, I throughly enjoyed it. Slice of life animes are meant to be simple, and should be enjoyed as such. The comedy of this anime was over the top and can be dramatic when it wants to be. It doesn't try hard to be entertaining, and it doesn't need to be. I found myself watching episode after episode, enjoying every second of every side plot they introduced, and laughed at the weird tangents that their conversations can turn to. In the end, Acchi Kocchi is a very simple anime, and should be enjoyed as such. I would recommend this show to anyone who would want to watch an anime where they can sit back, and just relax. And word to the wise, bring some tissues; you don't want to stain your carpet.
