I’m glad I was wrong. It’s really hard to say without spoiling, but I’m going to try on the off chance that you’ve read this without actually reading the synopsis on MAL first.
The characters were developed well, some more than others. I will say I really didn’t like Yuki, the MC, but I could understand her. (It really didn’t feel like she was a high school student though.) The other 3 main characters started off quite one-dimensional but gained more depth simply as more of the surroundings were explored, and you could get a better glimpse of what they were dealing with on a daily basis. They did grow as people through their struggles, Yuuri-San in particular felt much older than her age sometimes. The backstory was brought in at exactly the right time, and to amazing effect.
I felt that the premise it was actually handled quite realistically (not that I’ve ever experienced anything remotely like what happened in this anime, but it was consistent with other decent literature I’ve read on the subject). Your perspective really changes once you realise that everything they do, all their cute antics, are just to maintain a semblance of normality that will allow them to retain their sanity, and it makes you wonder if you would do as well in their shoes. (Oops, that was kind of a spoiler, but an unavoidable one.)
Sound was good and art was good. No complaints on either of those two. Normally I’m not one for the ‘cutsey’ art style, but I can understand why it was needed here.
There was quite a big shift in tone right at the very end. It was nice (if a bit rushed), but it also undermined a lot of the build up in the rest of the show. Maybe I just found it disappointing because I was expecting it to take a vastly different turn. Either way, it felt a little out of place, and did make me lower my score a notch.
But all in all, this anime was a pretty good attempt at its genre. Why didn’t I rate it higher? Because I didn’t think it was THAT good. It didn’t feel like a masterpiece or anything. The series was enjoyable, but there wasn’t much to it apart from the premise (though, in its defence, I don’t think there was meant to be). And whilst I liked the characters and thought their stories were done well, the show didn’t make me that emotionally invested in them. Yes, I could appreciate them, and empathize with them to an extent, but nothing similar to what I felt in Shinsekai Yori or Zankyou no Terror. It was more a feeling of dread for their situation, an ‘insert yourself’ anime. Which is great, but as it’s not what the show was aiming for, it wasn’t a positive here.
Still, let me reiterate, it did impress me for what it was (enough to give it a 7, anyway), and I’d recommend you give it a go if you like cute girls dealing with the struggles of daily life - and then some. XD
