The story. I can’t say for certain what caught my eye with the story, since it’s a slice of life. I’ve always loved this genre and the calmness behind it, which was very well portrayed throughout the anime.
The awesome first-person narration manages to describe, without explicit telling, exactly what goes through Rei’s mind and his feelings at the moment. I could even say that every line has some kind of poetic depth to it, with the main focus being the confusion and sadness of the character. The addition of the three sisters in contrast to Rei’s apparent depression was a big yes for me, along with the no-romance path this first season took, showing that a slice of life can be very joyful and entertaining even without a dramatic relationship.
The art. I wasn’t used to Shaft’s drawing style, (and i had a problem specially with the mouths) - not meaning that it’s poorly drawn. But characters’ aside, the art with the background, the city and mainly the expressive way of showing Rei’s feelings with distinct images, added a huge depth to the story. In this anime, i must say narration and art had a complementary relationship. That perfect mix gave me chills during some parts of it! Simply a piece of art in storytelling.
The sounds. Aside mundane sounds and narration in general, nothing else caught my attention in special. Notice that anime didn’t require much of it, and when it did, it was a perfect job overall.
The Characters, as mentioned, were a good mix in contrast. The three sister’s home being Rei’s safe place added a warmth tone to the story that the main character was lacking, due to all his emotional scarring. Calmness was noticeable with all the characters. But there was constant sadness within Rei and even the sisters, even though they were portrayed as the safe zone and contrast to Rei. Another example of the explendid of narration lays right on this point. The emotional baggage with all of them was so unbearable it could almost be palpable. Merging with the joyful scenes between them in the sisters’ house, it was discreet, the “elephant in the room”. Not talked about, but seen, felt.
I’m including “enjoyment” and “overall” scales in this last topic. This anime was sowmthing to pay attention and just feel. It didn’t require you to do anything else. A mere art to be enjoyed. Although, i have to admit it got tiring on some episodes, for example the ones with only shogi talk, it was probably fun for those who knew the game, but that wasn’t my case. Overall, i hope you guys had a nice ass time watching this, because i did!
