Like a lot of the single season anime the past couple years, this lacked that punch that makes it memorable and makes me fall in love with the characters. This was another series where I didn't get attached to anyone. That used to be rare.
What I liked about it:
1. It was pretty.
2. It started off with a lot of mystery and action.
3. The issues the characters had were relatable.
What I didn't like about it:
1. I never got attached to any of the characters.
2. It got melodramatic and whiny.
3. The ending felt lackluster even though it wrapped everything up.
4. There was not a single moment that pulled an emotional reaction from me.
This anime had enough mystery and interesting characters to get me over halfway through it before I started to lose interest but by then I felt committed and wanted to find out the truth of things so I finished it.
This is a story that is better understood and appreciated if the viewer has a good understanding of Japanese culture and the pressures and expectations on the people within it. Even with that, it gets melodramatic and whiny. The story here really is one of self-discovery and coming to terms with yourself, what you can and can't accept, what you can and can't forgive - in yourself and others. It's not my thing, honestly. I would have liked it better if it was more straightforward and less existential.
It becomes apparent fairly quickly that the characters aren't individuals as much as archetypes of people in the world. This makes it difficult to get attached to them. They're exaggerations and become more and more so as the anime progresses. I was disappointed, to be honest. The one character that was truly interesting, Shougo, became a quivering mess by the end for no real reason that I could discern and that really turned me off. Other characters did 180s as well with no build up or lead into the change so it was just ... whaaaaaa? None of them were complex enough to get attached to, but I'm not sure we were really supposed to.
The singing got really repetitive and distracting. Having the subtitles for the song in the background and the speaking in the foreground was a lot to try to process. I also didn't like her voice.
Overall, this was an okay anime, somewhat disappointing, mostly because of the expectations I had of the story and the characters from the early episodes. I don't feel cheated out of my time but I don't feel it was the best use of my time either.
