Reviews

A complete and marvellous love journey between two very interesting and compelling characters is a rare gem. However, Golden Time easily accomplishes and even more this anime emits a very romantic and honest story. Golden Time has completely changed my perspective in the romance/drama anime genre because this anime has a typical love story but enhances it by making every moment worthwhile. This journey begins with the main character, Tada Banri, entering college which was a very fresh setting as almost every romance anime takes place in high school. But what made my jaw drop and my heart flutter was seeing the main heroine, Kaga Kouko, in the very first episode. Her beauty, vigour, and simply radiating personality from the moment she entered the story was a sight every anime viewer must experience. Contrary to most typical love stories this one between Banri and Kouko seems very realistic and genuine, as the relationship is not built out of happiness and innocent love, but it is founded from sadness, jealously, commitment, and trust in addition to the positive aspects of love. I was constantly drawn into understanding what creates a strong and everlasting relationship, and I learned that true love can only be acquired from trust in your partner, but more importantly trust in yourself. Understanding your own goals and desires is the foundation of a strong relationship because it removes uncertainty and allows both individuals to become free from many burdens.

Kaga Kouko is one of my favourite characters, not solely because of her enchanting appearance, but due to the fact that she portrays a genuine female in a new relationship. The audience simply cannot hold back their sympathy towards her struggle in finding a partner who truly loves her despite her very envious and insecure nature. Throughout the anime we come to understand that her friendly and cheerful attitude is only a façade and that she is far more unstable that she seems to be; however this flaw did not undermine her character, instead it made her a more lovable and relatable character. Aside from the main heroine, the other characters have also been well developed. The most prevalent supporting character would be Linda, who is Banri’s childhood friend and Kouko’s rival in winning over Banri. Linda is a supportive and caring individual and many of her traits contrast to Kouko’s which adds to both of their development. The competition between Linda and Kouko was very mature throughout the anime and despite being rivals they were able to build their friendship. What surprised me was that I honestly did have difficulty in deciding who I wanted to root for because both Kouko and Linda managed to sway my emotions greatly and for different reasons.

The animation and music was nothing that stood out as the main focus was character development, however both of these aspects were able to effectively compliment the story and really elevate the tone and mood for many emotion scenes. The animation was definitely smooth and flowing and the soundtracks were limited but were able to make me grow attached to them.

I gave Golden Time a rating of 8, however this is my rating as an anime critic since this anime was far from being perfect. But this anime was something special as I was able to become attached to the characters and story very easily. Therefore, my enjoyment rating would undoubtedly be a high 9 as I have never before been more enthralled by a romance anime as I were with Golden Time.

This anime is something that I will always cherish because it showed me that love is much more difficult in reality, but through perseverance and commitment a strong and lasting bond can be formed.