Imagine HiHi Puffy AmiYumi with that FCC warning, and you wouldn't be far off. Every episode begins with one of the two talking fondly of the past, looking back at the events to play out, to us the audience, with nostalgic hindsight. While never talking directly to each other in these future monologues, they refer to each other in a very loving tone wishing to tell them how they felt at the time.
I honestly began to wonder as this became a constant theme, of their relationship budding, if the story would end with them just ending up being lesbians. ...not that there's anything wrong with that. But the story is very much just about friendship, its about two female women dealing with love, drama, sex, life, money problems, and helping each other through it. While very 90's and the technology of the time definitely plays a part, its seems almost timeless outside of that. That these two and their problems could exists in any other time and you would still believe that they were friends.
Something I did find distracting that I did joke about earlier is the frequent drinking and smoking. It's not trying to be edgy with it, glamorise or even use it for humor. But I don't think there was a single episode where a character didn't have a cigarette or open a beer. It was kind of distracting. The small amount of nudity there was, was never lingering shots, but more focusing on the intimate moment that was usually playing out. But with it's heavy subject matter of affairs, slut shaming, pregnancy as well as abortion, on top of all the smoking and drinking, it always feel natural. It feels like a real world story, that these are things people in their mid twenties deal with. It's not the kind of anime set out to change the world, or give a new twist on things. It's just the story of two women sharing their lives, their friendship, and their name.
