Reviews

My review of True Tears isn't free of SPOILERS, but I try to take a novel point of view in this controversial visual game based anime. I see it as a percursor of almost one decade for 2017 spring's celebrated Tsuki ga Kirei series (a.k.a. As the Moon so Beautiful). I won't say TgK is an adaptation, but the creators obviously took a hard look at True Tears and borrowed what's good from the story:

- The male protagonist is a literary author in both series

- The MC's love interest is a sports girl in both cases

- Both male MCs frequent a folk dance circle and participate in the historic festival, where the love triangles culminate

- Girl MCs re-locating serve as the event which catalyzes the relationship

- The female love rival has a major role in eventually cementing the MC couple together in both series

- Both series have unqualified happy end, sort of, which is rare in Japan, due to different culture

- There don't appear to be truly vile characters in either series. Some have undignified motifs, but they are victims of circumstances, rather than consciously ulterior.

- Girl MCs have a kind of butthurt attitude, which may lessen viewer sympathy for them

On the other hand:

- The MC male friend is well rounded-off within the True Tears storyline, an aspect lacking in TgK or only found in it's after-ED comic sketch scenes. Regrettably the sidekick's role is a bit painful in TT, due to:

- True Tears having an unnecessary all-girls-on-MC harem aspect, a leftover from the visual game storyline. This theme is only prominent during 2-3 episodes about halfway into the anime series, but luckily gets discarded by the end and never wades into NSFW territory.

- True Tears has a spiritual depth missing fom TgK, which may or may not leave a hiatus in viewers, depending on personal opinion. Miss Chicken has a mystic air around her, which partly masks the fact she's way too young to be part of any love triangle.

All in all, just because Leonardo, Michelangelo and Bach crated nigh unsurpassable masterpieces, doesn't mean museums discard the vast body of work left by their lesser precursors. Their creations still hang in galleries and visitors observe them on their own merit as well as poining out what kind of inspiration they provided to those giants of art. Giants are tall since they stand on the shoulder of men and dwarves and all deserve praise. Thus, I think True Tears is worth watching in it own right as well as a reminiscent if you have seen TgK.