Art/Characters: So the art style for this show is pretty traditional for a stereotypical harem, but there are a few differences. The main thing being that a lot of the characters really look alike when you just glance at them. I had legitimate struggles telling the difference between three characters because their face and their hair styles are so similar. As for the rest of the cast, there are two Moe girls and one sassy/tough girl, and this is all exemplified through their art style. The interesting thing about this art is how cartoonish is can get at times. Sometimes things will be serious and really great art, but other times, things look more airbrushed. Another big problem I have is the use of CGI when it comes to some of the things in later episodes, and it really throws me through a loop. The characters themselves are pretty generic for a show like this: The stoic one, the moe one, the shy moe one, the sassy one, the childhood friend, and the overly happy one. As for the lead guy in Rewrite, he is your run-of-the-mill guy who gets embarrassed easily but is deep down kind of a pervert. He cares for his friends tremendously and that can be seen throughout the story which makes it very watchable.
Music/Sound: The music that we hear through the show is actually pretty generic, and pretty forgettable. For example, I just watched the last episode this morning and I can’t remember the theme this afternoon. There are some good songs that can be found in the background of the show, but really there is only one song that really caught my attention and that was at the end of the final arc of the show. Sound itself did a pretty good job however. There were a lot of times where I would catch myself looking away and not really caring what was happening but all of a sudden there was a sound that caught me and hooked me back in. This is a trait I don’t see often and I would like to see more of.
Story: Kotarou Tennouji is a seemingly average high school boy who just wants to be friends with the people around him. But something has been plaguing him and keeping him up at night the last few nights, a girl in a black dress with a red ribbon. He goes and tries to find her one night where he is seemingly killed by this girl. He wakes up, startled, and thankful that it was just a dream, goes back to sleep. But he has a new ability, the ability to rewrite any part of his body to give him more strength and more speed. He is convinced that this has something to do with the girl so he sets out and joins the Occult club, with his friends, to figure out what the heck has happened to him and what is so special about this girl.
Personal Reflection: So the first thing I figured out about this show was that the first episode was 45 minutes, instead of 23. I did not sign up for that, and it was a little unwanted. There was nothing that moved the plot a long in those extra 23ish minutes, and it should have just stuck with being a regular episode. I don’t know maybe this show had a lot of hype, but to me, I was watching and the beginning was just so slow. After things began to pick up with the occult club and the friend group began to grow I was more interested in it. Then all of a sudden, all hell seems to break loose and the plot of the show changes dramatically. I won’t give it away, but the twist came so far out of left field that I almost stopped watching because it was almost like watching a completely different show. The nice thing is that they were able to tie it all back together by the end. Speaking of the end, there was a firm conclusion. I feel like this is actually uncommon for a lot of shows because the anime adaptation is from an ongoing manga or light novel series, but because this was a visual novel there was a clear end and no room for the story to continue. It provided me with a sense of closure that I don’t normally get. If you are into crazy club antics and deep dramatics with a group of friends, you will probably enjoy Rewrite!
Overall Score: 6/10
