The anime defines a specific world from the outset, with high similarity to the world of Amachan, a milestone of Asadora. The story is an illustrated plot where the people are simple and predictable. The mood is relaxed till the end. Fear of losing someone is spare.
The problem is the connection between roles is weak. Ordinary life can be extraordinary. There is heibon na kiseki in Hibana, a well-known drama by Netflix. There isn't an ordinary miracle here but ordinary life.
Character: 67
Suzaki Aya is more surprising when I found it's her debut. Hidaka Rina's voice is fusing with her role. Yamazaki Takumi's role is anxious to ask for the laugh.
Production Design: 80
Cinematography: 77
As for production design, the day humans reached the black hole and quantum physics problems answered will be sooner than the day "Kyoto Animation" screwed up. The style, color, detail, hair, and clothes are above the average.
Editing: 68
Episode 1 is ordinary, which takes 4 episodes to grow up. I was swamped half of the time, dragged along another. It moves with some stops and starts. Occasionally, the characters are together physically, not mentally.
Sound and Music: 75
The second highlight comes in Sound and Music. Music is the key to achieve the impossible in the possible. Without shiosai no memory, there is no memory at all. With umi／demo version、yuukuriarukidasu and numerous gems by Otomo Yoshihide, Amachan became a phenomenon. Tomoko Kataoka is an emotional genius. It's so sad to know that she passed away last year. Her work is an example of Life Aesthetics. It is a common fallacy that ordinary life is the most beautiful. The truth is life isn't beautiful while lifestyle could be: to see life as it really is and to love it.
Directing: 70
Unlike most, I watched Koe no Katachi and Liz to Aoi Bird before I watched it. After seeing the pinnacle of her creativity, I can't imagine the expectations for her, for a young female director. As her first original work, the taste of Naoko Yamada is unique. The anime reflect ambition and vision beyond simply recording performances. The aesthetics choices within it pleasing, satisfying, perfectly appropriate for the material. It is idiosyncratic and individualistic, is unreproducible.
