Reviews

Boku dake ga Inai Machi features one of the most consistently heart-rending stories I have seen in an anime thus far. Though I am a complete sissy, never before has an anime had me on the absolute brink of tears in worry for the characters every single episode. This anime does an excellent job of portraying a very realistic-feeling narrative using very fantasy-like means. In other words, it maintains a perfect balance of magic and realism. Boku dake ga Inai Machi does an even better job of attaching the viewer to the characters (surprisingly enough, even ones that have little actual screen time), which serves to further intensify the plot. However, this title does not go without fault, as none do. Some of the characters (mainly the perceived antagonists) seem slightly dull or cliché as if they have no true reason for being the villain that they are. For an anime so vivid in it's depiction of human nature, I was a tad bit disappointed that the backstory of some villains were a little vague or left out (while this issue is cleaned up more in the manga, this is an anime review and will focus on the anime alone). Overall, though, Boku dake ga Inai Machi is an excellent anime that is able to take many forms and borrow from several genres in order to get its point across. I would recommend this anime to viewers who prefer realistic-leaning anime.