The anime starts off with a rather strong premise given its nature as a Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (CGDCT) series. Main character Shinobu Oomiya takes part in a brief homestay in England, under the care of her mother’s friend. While there, she meets a girl her age, Alice, and after some initial awkwardness the two become friends. During their time together they break down language barriers to get to know each other while also learning more about their respective cultures. This is all done in a way that’s fitting for this type of show, and all in all it was a great start.
After such a strong opener, it wouldn’t be strange for one to expect more of these kinds of developments. However, the show instead begins to drift into a different direction, for better or worse. It is one that’s more standard for a CGDCT anime, but I still believe there are more positives than negatives to this approach.
Story and Plot:
Outside of the premise of connecting despite cultural differences and learning about others’ cultures, there isn’t much of a story to Kiniro Mosaic. In the first few episodes there is a more distinctive focus on the original premise, but after the main cast gets to know each other, things shift to a more typical formula. The show is mostly episodic with a series of loosely connected moments of the characters interacting with each other. These range from comedic bits to more wholesome and heartwarming moments between the cast. Most of the comedy stems from the cultural differences or characters acting absurdly in their affections for the others, while heartfelt moments also revolve around the difference in values along with the cast’s growing friendship. Overall, the anime offers a good mix of comedic and wholesome moments while continuing with the slice of life approach as the show progresses; this is all while it offers its own unique flair as it mostly builds on the foundation of the original premise.
7/10
Characters:
This is probably Kiniro Mosaic’s strongest aspect. The main cast is rather small and the show revolves around five main characters: Shinobu, Alice, Aya, Youko, and Karen. Shinobu, along with Alice, is the token cutesy character. She is a fanatic of Western culture and has a strong obsession with blonde girls; these two traits are often played on for comedic effect. Alice comes from England and has learned Japanese in order to be with Shinobu in high school. She is typically shy but at the same time very affectionate of Shinobu. Aya is the smart and reliable one of the group who also gets flustered easily, especially around her best friend Youko. Youko is more of an outgoing “genki” girl and also a jokester, but at the same time also acts as the “straight man” in some cases. Karen also comes from England, but in contrast to Alice she is very easygoing and carefree, never hesitant to speak her mind. There are also recurring characters like the homeroom teacher and Shinobu’s sister to fill out the supporting cast.
Coming into the show and having seen the legendary “Ayaya” scene, I figured that Karen would have stolen the show the moment she appeared. Surprisingly though, none of the main characters seemed to get special treatment, and no one was overshadowed by another. Each character gets their moments in the spotlight. Along with this, their antics and interactions with each other are a joy to watch. Definitely the highlight of the show.
9/10
Audio and Visuals:
The anime’s opening is upbeat and energetic, certainly appropriate for the tone of the series. Meanwhile, the ending closely matches the energy of the opening, while being a little more lowkey as to befit an ending. As for the background music, it isn’t exceptional but it tends to fit the respective scenes quite well. For example, the exaggerated depiction of Western life is often accompanied by a classical music style. On the other hand, the slice of life scenes are typically complemented with what you would expect from a standard CGDCT/comedy show, with different tones depending on the mood.
As for the art, the show is quite colorful and vibrant. But for the most part the art style and animation are fairly simplistic outside of the nice character designs. Particularly notable to me were the watercolor-esque backgrounds, most prominent in the early episodes when it came to showcasing the beauty of Western culture. I though the approach to background art was neat and went well with the show’s style. Overall, the production value isn’t too much to write home about but was still quite fitting.
8/10
Enjoyment:
Looking back, I enjoyed this series a lot! When it had started to drift into the episodic format, I was a little worried that I would lose interest, but that wasn’t the case at all. There wasn’t a moment where I was outright bored of the show, and it gave me a lot of laughs and entertainment along the way. Equally so, the wholesome moments really resonated with me in addition to the overall message, despite the show’s seemingly simplistic nature at first glance. It also has some of the most endearing Engrish I’ve heard in an anime.
9/10
Overall: 8/10
I think a good way to describe this show would be that it reels you in with its premise while still having more to offer outside of that. “Come for the premise, stay for the endearing characters and their interactions” might be a bit of a mouthful but explains it well enough. The first impression wasn’t everything to me, and I found a lot to love even as the series changed its pace.
