ART - 8
SOUND - 6
CHARACTER - 9
ENJOYMENT - 9
See, the thing about young love is that it brings out our inexperienced selves. Many of us turn into an awkward, flustered, and cringey bundle of foolishness because we have no idea how to initially go on about a relationship, but despite the embarrassments, lovebirds will try to make their relationship work together. That's the part that touches me the most and Tsurezure Children shows us just how endearing that quality is.
A simple change on a fluffy anime genre is all you need to describe the heart of the show: Cute Couples Doing Cute Things.
Romantic love is multifaceted as there is virtually a limitless number of ways two people can fall in love with each other. It's the reason why love is such a complex thing, and Tsurezure Children manages to explore the diversity of this powerful emotion in a very heartwarming way. Rather than focusing solely on one couple, we are quickly introduced to several ones. It might have been a recipe for disaster to have a large variety of pairings in a short anime, but thankfully, the show understands how to treat every relationship with light care. Each episode delves right into the many ways romance can affect different couples, and because of this constant switching of perspectives, the wide assortment of lovey-dovey exchanges leads to an engaging story. Really, it's a simple show, but the fact it knows how to keep itself dynamic and fresh at all times—with a healthy dose of cuteness—makes it easy to indulge in its light-hearted atmosphere.
As playful as the show is, there are also some angst and mild drama to be found here. Remember, young love can be a constant struggle because of this thing we call inexperience, so it's obvious not every relationship will be smooth sailing. It might be frustrating to see some of the couples seemingly return back to their status quo when you know their infatuation for each other is strong enough they should just get married already, but it's all part of the reality the show wants to communicate to us; the things that love can entail to young people including the problematic sides. Setbacks can happen in a relationship and Tsurezure Children is not afraid to show that, which makes the experience even better when the characters learn from their mistakes to develop further. For the most part though, the show is like a velvety wedding cake with a great comedic flavor and enough sweet personality to die for—all of which are the ingredients of enjoyment.
And just like the simple narrative elements, the audiovisual lies in the same basic spectrum too—but it works for a show like this. You can easily distinguish every character even with their straightforward designs and the visual is fluid enough to capture the feelings of being love-struck. The soundtracks, on the other hand, are really light they're honestly forgettable, but the voice-acting is a lovely accompaniment to the vast amount of personality, whether it's for the comically flamboyant or the awkwardly shy.
So, all things considered, Tsurezure Children is an ideal anime for those looking to enjoy some young love appeal in the form of a short rom-com. It's heartwarming yet believable at the same time, and the diverse range of relationships works to unite the complex feeling we call romantic love into a simple heart-shaped sweetness. Seeing all the affection bloom in this show has definitely been a pleasant experience.
