(NOTE): I should state now, that when I say Slice of Life, I don't really mean it in the purest sense. I am aware that Slice of Life anime are really things like Aria the Animation, or K-on!, but I consider series such as Clannad, Toradora, etc. to be Slice of Life.
Story: 33/37
The story of Kokoro Connect gets a 33/37 and is the weakest part of it, so that should tell you something. Being an odd number of episodes, the story is broken up into 4 distinct arcs. Each of these arcs corresponds to a phenomenon that the five main characters are put through. The first one is in the plot synopsis, and is a arc all about random body swapping. Now, right here, with reading only the synopsis, it's easy to dismiss this anime as some fan-service ridden school fest (not that there aren't good anime of that type), but Kokoro Connect is anything but that. Each Arc lets the friends find out more about each other and, as the “antagonist” puts it, they all get something good out of it. However, each arc also has a central conflict that's... well, not Higurashi dark, but dark for a slice of life anime. To put it simply, the show is not afraid to get really serious, and does so more often than not. It's in these serious moments (although I shouldn't discredit the rest of the show, because there are TONS of hilarious and cute moments) that the show truly shines to me. The reason for that, is because Kokoro Connect is, in my opinion, the most realistic series out there. Now, I don't mean realistic in the purest sense, because they swap bodies, read each others minds, and turn into child versions of themselves, but I mean realistic in their approach to everything. In almost EVERY anime, especially Slice of Life anime, the majority of dramatic moments just feel so contrived. Not so in Kokoro Connect, every single conflict, every single reaction, even, feels like something that I could see myself doing or saying in the situations these characters are in. There aren't any hyper-dense main characters, or any over-the-top moments. I honestly can't stress enough how important and rare (if not non-existent) this is in anime. This alone is why all other anime should learn from this series. The only reason I subtract points from Kokoro Connect, is because of the third arc. To be completely honest, the third story arc is good, and there's nothing wrong with it, but... compared to how flawless the other three arcs are, it's just lackluster enough to take points off of the total score.
Characters: 37/37
Kokoro Connect has the best collective cast in any anime that I have seen. Not only is there an awesome Male Lead, but every single one of the five main characters, along with most of the side characters start out great, and develop greatly. Even Aoki Yoshifuma, who gets by far the least amount of development is so much better than most anime characters out there. To give you an idea of what to expect, my friend describes Himeko Inaba as the perfect cross between Ritsu from K-on!, and Mikasa from Shingeki no Kyojin, and that description isn't too far off in my opinion. To make it even better, I will restate what I said earlier in the Story section. The characters are just so realistic. There were no points that I can remember EVER thinking, even a little, to myself that their responses to given situations were weird, and would never happen in real life. Even their banter was just too well written. Actually, if I had to put it in words, I'd just say that the entire dialogue for every character was absolutely perfect. While Rintarou Okabe may be my favorite Male Lead, and Gasai Yuno my favorite Female Lead, aevery character in Kokoro Connect holds their own when compared to both of my ultimate examples.
Art/Sound: 22/25
Normally I don't talk much about the art, because I really only watch anime with graphics that I can get into. However, I do think that the aesthetics of Kokoro Connect deserve at least a little bit of a shout out, because they are just great. The characters are really fluid, the guys are cool looking, the girls are cute, the backgrounds are really colourful, and, while this might seem inane, each of the main characters has a different hair colour!
The sound is Kokoro Connect is really good. There are a few things that decide sound for me: the opening/ending (more emphasis on the OP), series soundtracks, and voices/sound effects. The OP and ED were both average, with the OP being a bit better, but nothing I go out of my way to listen to. The background music is actually really good. I particularly liked the harmonica piece that plays during peaceful moments. The voice actors/actresses all are simply amazing, and pull off the BRILLIANT writing very well. The sound effects are essentially irrelevant.
Romance: 1/1
This section is basically whether or not there was a romance that I enjoyed. Sorry if this is a spoiler, but I particularly enjoy watching a romance develop, and I wished that other reviews would tell me if I was going to get to see one.
Overall: 93/100
Here it is: the highest score given to any of the anime I have, or will review for the next while until I find something that can surpass it. While in terms of my personal enjoyment, I can't place this above Mirai Nikki or Steins;Gate, I can safely say that this ranks in my top 5 anime, and might even be number 3. This anime should be watched by every single fan of the genre, and even many that aren't a fan of it. Even if Clannad and Toradora are considered the classics of the Slice of Life genre, they just plain out, aren't as good as this one.
Deductions in points from the score will be listed here, just in case anything that I subtract means more or less to you, although I didn't deduct almost any points from this masterpiece:
-The third story arc, while still extremely good, isn't up to par with the 1st, 2nd, and final arcs.
-The sound and art are great, but I cannot give anything except Shingeki no Kyojin a perfect 25/25 since, even though I think it's overrated, nothing else even comes close to it in that aspect.
If you have any questions about my review (or want to talk about anything at all, really), feel free to email me at: nickwillis64@gmail.com
