Story - 7.8:
Read the summary that MAL displays above and you will completely, 100% understand what the plot of this show is. Its not a mind-bending psychological thriller, or an action-adventure with underlying political conflict. No. Isshuukan Friends’ story is as simple as the 2 sentences that MAL describes it with. Although simple, it is something that is rarely (if ever) seen in anime. A story based around someone trying to become friends with somebody else. What makes the story of this show amazing is its understanding of what it can do, and how to do it. The plot isn’t meant to keep you on the edge of your seat, it is meant to make you smile. Each episode has a handful of heartwarming moments that just make you feel all warm and gooey (and not the warm and gooey you might feel in your pants while watching hentai). Although the show easily could’ve gone a more melodramatic/depressing route due to its premise, it instead did something much more beautiful. The characters almost never pout and cry “why me!?!?!?! ToT,” instead they try to make the best out of their situation. Towards the end of the show a character was introduced that really was unnecessary, and the pacing of the show is very slow for all of you with short attention spans. However those few negatives hardly scratch the simple beauty of this story.
Art - 7.7:
The artstyle in this show is very reminiscent of the artstyle found in Usagi Drop partially due to the character designs and partially due to the simplicity. I have to point out that there is no fanservice whatsoever as far as I can remember which I found to be refreshing in the panty shot filled world of anime. For such a simple show, they really do go out of their way to make a variety of locations and pay good attention to all the background characters in each scene. Really the art was just beautiful and perfectly fitting to the feel of the show and there really isn’t much to nit-pick about it. It wasn’t jaw-droppingly amazing like a Fate/Zero but it was fantastic none the less and has to be commended for its beauty.
Sound - 7.6:
Isshuukan Friends’ OST was very fitting of the show. I wouldn’t say it was good enough to listen to without the visuals from the anime, but it was definitely good and set the mood for each scene perfectly. The show knows when to keep the music down, and when to just not even have music. I must note that I personally loved the OP and ED songs and thought they were some of the best in a season where there were plenty of noteable OPs and EDs. What was easily more impressive than the OST in this show was the voice acting. There is a wide variety of personalities in this show, and the cast fits these characters wonderfully. There are A LOT of shows where I can’t tell the difference between characters voices due to my lack of familiarity in Japanese language. However, this show easily let me distinguish the characters from each other even if one wasn’t in the shot. In short: OST was good, VAs were better. Very good job.
Characters - 8.1:
As I said earlier, there are a wide array of personalities in this show. The characters might not seem it, but when it comes down to it, they are all archetypes. You have your shy/kind girl in Fujimiya, your innocent/nice/slightly pussy main character in Hase, your ditsy/moe/awesome sidekick girl in Yamagishi, and your male tsundere/bro in Kiryuu. Like I said before though, you probably won’t notice this on the surface. The characters are all extremely easy to like and they all grow from one episode to the next (except Fujimiya cuz her brain has problems… jk she does too). This show absolutely would not have worked if any one of the main 4 characters were removed or replaced with someone else, and they all keep the balance of the show steady. Yes, they were all archetypes, but they were all pretty damn good archetypes and one of my personal favorite overall casts of main characters in anime. The side characters were pretty good, although for the most part out of the picture which is a slight shame, because Kaori’s mom was pretty fucking awesome. Also…. Hajime Kujou was absolutely unnecessary and annoying. That aside, the characters in this show were superb.
Enjoyment - 8.0:
So if you’ve made it this far in the review it should come as no surprise that I enjoyed the hell out of this show. There were plenty of shows I liked this season (No Game No Life, Kawaisou, Captain Earth to name a few), but none had me as excited to watch the next episode as Isshuukan Friends. It didn’t have that next level enjoyment that equates to me either shitting myself out of excitement or crying my eyes out due to sadness, but this show made me smile from ear to ear a countless amount of times.
Overall - 7.84:
It’s interesting that my two favorite shows of the Spring season this year are complete opposites. Where No Game No Life is the quintessential anime experience (fantasy world, fanservice, over the top characters, action, etc.), Isshuukan Friends is just a simple tale of friendship. No it wasn’t ground-breaking, and yes it did have it’s flaws (I’m looking at you Hajime Kujou), but Isshuukan Friends is still a MUST WATCH for all.
The Verdict:
The simplicity of Isshuukan Friends led by wonderful characters and beautiful production create a true piece of art that never fails to bring a smile to the viewer’s face.
Pros:
+ Extremely loveable characters
+ Story doesn’t pour on the melodrama
+ Makes me happy
+ Art and Sound departments perfectly match the show
Cons:
- Unnecessary addition of a character near the end
- Kaori’s mom didn’t get her spotlight
If you liked Isshuukan Friends, watch:
Usagi Drop
ef: A Tale of Memories
7.76/10 - Great
