At its core, this anime is a soothing experience. Heartwarming and mellow, sprinkled with light comedy (notice the post-ending mini episodes!), and predominated by a soft, gentle atmosphere, further enhanced by its great audiovisuals. Nevertheless, it avoids being a fairy tale. Tsuki ga Kirei is essentially a story about relationships and romance in young students, and one if its top priorities is for it to be a rough crossing; like sandpaper slowly brushing on wood, it happily embraces the awkwardness, the anxiety, the doubt, the realistic dilemmas and struggles that ensue with the pursuit of such endeavors. Not only does it make character interactions convincing, it's also a show where even the completely inexperienced can learn vital things about relationships. It treats not only its beloved viewer, but every one of its characters with utmost dignity and respect.
Through its narrative and dialogue, Tsuki ga Kirei reveals its modern and realistic aspects. It acknowledges that this is an epoch of smartphones, and a large part of its dialogue takes place through text messages. True to being reasonable, it explores both sides of this equation: how much easier it makes it for distant people (both literally and figuratively) to talk in an instant, but also how it devalues emotional significance in conversations, and how it absorbs the attention and inflates the ego: "when will they send to me?" It tackles the irritating moment of wanting to send a message that doesn't feel quite right, the awkward stare or silence, the embarrassment of "people knowing"... Tsuki ga Kirei knows very well. It knows precisely what it portrays, be it the adolescent, down to the cultural distinction between female and male students, the variety in opinions (especially regarding relationships), the parental standpoint... seriously, speaking of, family plays a central role in Tsuki ga Kirei. In a f**king anime. PARENTS. It's just awesome.
As for visuals, they're generally nice, but there are some flaws to be spotted. Animation is good, raising to high frame rates every now and then, really showing the quality of this anime along with its colours and backgrounds. Very clean, comfortable to the eye, and reserved, without unnecessarily inflating emotional scenes visually (though it maybe does through music sometimes). While character designs are cute, they unfortunately ingrain the anime with an artificial aesthetic; largely absent of edges and lines, they're soft and chubby, like... a gummy bear, I suppose. Not that there's no value to that, but then again you have the CGI crowds... this feeling of artificiality is only further exacerbated by the one and only reality Tsuki ga Kirei ignores: the reality of hate. I truly mean it when I say characters are convincing, but the thing is, they're never purposefully mean to one another. Maybe accidentally, maybe there's some faint bitterness or hesitancy between them, but they never act out of spite, and this is sadly a reality, notably so when we're dealing with fifteen year-olds. There is one exception towards the end... though that is not enough for me. So, Tsuki ga Kirei retains a friendly and pleasant environment, but it also misses an opportunity to put the finishing touch in an already beautiful piece of work.
Another small problem with this anime is its pacing. I believe there are two major plot points in Tsuki ga Kirei, but the space between them is used dubiously. There is definitely progression to be found, but also a repeating pattern; already known scenes and events are being shown to us repeatedly, without a compelling purpose. I honestly do not know how one could use this screen time otherwise, but it is undoubtedly time that was kind of wasted. Thus, the middle of this show might be cumbersome, though not enough to be obstructive or annoying. Still noticeable though.
Despite my two previous paragraphs and an unfulfilled desire for a slightly different ending, in my eyes, Tsuki ga Kirei still remains incredible. In fact, my complaints come with one idea in mind: they are perhaps the only reasons I did not give this show a 10/10. It's an anime that handles the emotion and thoughts of our main cast with unparalleled solicitude. It's an anime that doesn't pretend side characters play an important role in the story, but nevertheless recognizes their input as indispensable in social interactions. It's an anime that craves for friction with reality. It swims in petals of romance, but never tries to dismiss the consequences of yearning for another: mental turmoil and blindness. It's an anime that made me feel that, whoever was behind my screen, actually cared for me. It's clever, it's touching, and most of all, it's sincere to everyone. There are one too many fine details for me to cover without turning this review into an analysis (I did not even cover scene direction), so the only thing I can ask of you is to give it a try. Don't expect magnificent personalities or a revolutionary story. It is merely a tale of two people, treading in the labyrinth of roses and thornbushes that is young, unadulterated love life.
In conclusion, Dazai once said: "there is such thing as love in this world. I'm sure of it. It's the expression -- the etiquette -- of love that is so hard to find."
