Hi! Another Robert's Too Late reviews headed your way! Check the synopsis for the rundown of the general plot, and I actively try to avoid SPOILERS, but minor ones might slip through. Apologies if this happens. I'm for once working from the subbed version as none of the circles I run in to get my anime fix have a dubbed version. I've seen that this show has been rated highly in many reviews and for the life of me I cannot understand this. Why, there's not hardly any candy or boys, either one, in the entire series! As always, let's read to the end and find if there's any candy or boys either on the RTLR wall of fame, if its not immediately obvious. Let's break down why I'm recommending a pass on this.
Story: 3
The biggest selling point, or sticking point, for this is the idea of fraternal twin sisters being romantically linked. I trudged through this anime just to see how this aspect of the story is handled and the answer is, basically, its not at all. There are some things that seem to be coy references that the girls have a bond beyond being twin sisters, but its not something that is even really explored or explained. I've known twins in my life, and I know as relatively well as anyone can, that none of them were romantically involved, and I've seen my friends display equal if not greater levels of bonding between them. There's not anything all that provocative about twins holding hands or being very in sync with each other. I mean, come on people, twins usually spend more time together than any 'regular' person spends with anyone in the course of our lives. Just the sheer time invested in the twin relationship gives them a chance to bond in incredibly deep ways. That doesn't mean anything sexual at all.
I was expecting more to be honest. I am not much put off by the idea of forbidden love, and I'm willing to admit being a huge fan of anime like Strawberry Panic, Sakura Trick, and I'll even admit to having seen KissxSis. Well, maybe let's keep KissxSis just between us. Point is, I would have probably been entertained with an exploration of the sensitive idea of so-called 'twincest'. What I got instead was an aimless show with a creepy little stalker kid, and two boring twins. So basically there's not even any real overarching story, just random daily events that aren't even big events for the characters. At some points the twins themselves seem like they have broken the fourth wall and are bored with their own existence.
Art: 8
I'll give credit where due, I did like the art style, the overall flow of the animation. The girls are detailed and expressive, even if one's expression is mainly irritation and the other's is basically empty-headedness. (if there was such a word) So thumbs up for that aspect.
Sound: 6
Serviceable. Nothing stuck out, but that means nothing was overly terrible either. The twin with the deeper voice, miss bored girl, seems to mutter a little bit. I don't speak Japanese (yet) but I've been studying enough to understand a little bit of dialog, and the words that she says that I do know sound muddled and hard for me to understand. I don't really take much away on that as it might just be my ignorance in regards to accent, dialect, or my lack of fluency that made me notice this.
Character: 3
Again, we have one dumb as dirt twin, and a bored/annoyed twin. There's a little bit about their younger sister being jealous of their closeness, but she's not represented as much more than just resentful, with no real movement in her character's perspective. There's also a comedic element in a very young girl who idolizes the bored twin and has an unhealthy sexual attraction to her. I know she's meant to give the anime a little lift and lightheartedness, but in the end she just seems to be creepy as Pee Wee Herman at a peep show. There's not really anything else to this show, and even the twins seem completely static with moments of coy winks hinting at a romantic relationship. Just a flop all around in characters too.
Enjoyment: 3
Yeah, you didn't see me not enjoying this at all did you? Complete surprise there considering everything said to this point, right? The story could have gone so many places that would have been infinitely more entertaining, the slice of life styling could have carried more weight, instead of being tacked on almost afterthoughts. They even had a solid start with the impressive art, but alas it was not to be. I wanted to like this anime very much. I tried to be forgiving as possible, hoping for it to break out and pull me in, but I was left out in the cold, and therefore there is no candy on the RTLR wall whatsoever.
As Seinfeld's soup nazi might say, "NO CANDY FOR YOU!" Pass till you pass out.
