I haven't cried for a show for a long time. Before this it was "Honey and Clover II" and "Wolf Children" that sincerely moved me.
My overall rating for the show is 8.5, somewhere between very good and great.
[Characters]
I'm not a super fan of any of the characters, but the anime did an excellent job making me like each one of them. The character development is pretty impressive.
For example, I didn't like Ami when she first appeared. She was really a double-dealing arrogant badass girl who took advantage of her pretty face to fool the people around her and couldn't face her true self. But later she became very considerate as well as savvy, knowing how to comfort people around her when the time is right.
Minori seemed to be a simple optimistic girl at first glance, but she actually thinks deep and sincerely cares about her best friend Taiga. In fact, the jolly girl certainly has her breakdown too, especially when she loses her favorite people, but she eventually still faces the bitterness of life with her cheerfulness.
Kitamura, as Taiga said, is really kind. He likes Taiga and was there for her when she needs help. But he fell in love with another girl, Kanou. It was surely a shock when he finds out that girl's gonna leave the country and study abroad. He lost himself once for that, but the people who loved him brought him back.
The series really making almost everyone has a relatively full character. Many supporting characters left a deep impression on me as well, like Ya-chan and the class-teacher Yuri. Ya-chan raised up Ryuuji all by herself after the guy left her for another woman when she was pregnant. It broke my heart to see her telling that Ryuuji that his dad died in an accident and that she will protect him so it would be fine. Yuri isn't just another single class teacher who knows nothing but complains about being single. When the class was complaining about the change of location for their travel, Yuri wrote on the blackboard that "Not everything in life goes smoothly!" to shut them up. It was an interesting and effective move. Indeed, "Not everything in life goes smoothly!" That's how the stories of every character show. That's what makes the show a more realistic story. And That's what makes me feel connected.
Back to the main characters, Taiga and Ryuuji.
Taiga had a hard time to feel abandoned by her parents in her luxury apartment, had a hard time to see someone she loved to love someone else, had a hard time to try to let go of someone she love to someone he likes a lot, and had a hard time to face her true feelings too. She gave me the first impression of being violently defensive, but I later find her to be quite sensitive. Other tsundere features like blushing too much when facing the boy she loves probably are just part of fan services, which I do not wish to comment on.
The show doesn't have as much to depict how Ryuuji feels; it's more about what he does. It keeps me wondering what he thinks about Taiga and Minori. If Minori hadn't kept rejecting him from the beginning, would he keep thinking Taiga as a sister, and would it end differently? But I guess love has a lot to do with timing after all.
[Story]
I've already talked a lot about the story when I talked about the characters: it helps develop the characters well and has a realistic touch. But I'd also like to add its downside. Although the development is good for a 25 episode show, but I don't think it's a perfect story. It has the cliche part and unrealistic part too.
Many have complained it's almost evident from the beginning that Taiga and Ryuuji would be together. True. That they'd like to get married seems too sudden. It was balanced off by Taiga's leave without ruining a good ending by bringing Taiga back at finale, but it's still pretty unexpected in a not-so-good way to hear Ryuuji say that he wants to marry Taiga not long after he decides to switch his love interest from Minori to Taiga.
The confession of love from Kitamura to Taiga at the very beginning feels like a duh. The reason of that is very lighthearted: there's a pretty girl in the class, and he wants to begin the high school life by finding a girlfriend. Really?
Ami in the first few episodes after her debut follows some pretty girl stereotype too much, although that impression was largely wiped out later.
[Sound]
Music works well. There's a soundtrack called "Lost my pieces" that was used often in emotional scenes. It contributes a lot to those scenes, but it's not something impressive if you hadn't watched the show and listened to it as a stand-alone. I like it a lot though.
[Enjoyment]
I start to take the show seriously after hearing Minori's talk about horror and ghost, and implicitly about love. I'm really moved and feel deeply related at episode 16, since it's similar to my own experience in many ways and it feels so real. After that, it was a wonderful experience to see the characters I mentioned before, Taiga, Ami, Minori, Kitamura, Ya-chan...to see them going through what they go through.
"When I try to laugh, my heart hurts a little. When the night ends, I think maybe everything will be alright."
