Characters: Since the characters were in different stages of their lives, I feel viewers will have aspects they can relate to, whether it is what they're currently facing or have faced before. For example, we have a 20-year-old university student who is uncertain about his future and adores pets, an athletic 17-year-old high schooler who is focused on the present, a 27-year-old office worker who is afraid of horror, a 19-year-old vocational student who is inspired by his surroundings, a 27-year-old writer whose passion began as a child... The list goes on. We see the characters' backgrounds and the people they're connected to. Kokone Nata (author) saw their characters as individuals with their lives that we can focus on and appreciate. The characters are approachable, and they are the people we would be friends with in real life. In other words, it was a convincing portrayal of how these characters were the everyday folks you could walk past on the streets.
Art & Sound: The music was cheerful and suitable for this lovable series! Mafumafu's voice lifts one's mood as the singer of the first opening theme song. The voice actors of our main four characters sang the ending theme song, and it was so encouraging when the lyrics expressed that a mistake is no one's fault. It's so easy to be critical of oneself when we make a blunder, and the music was very accepting of our flaws, notably expressed by syudou (singer of the second opening theme song) about how our quirks can be charming. The voice actors all did a fabulous job conveying their characters' states of mind, which you can also recognize from events featuring the voice actors (how I learned about this series in the first place). And the art was consistent with the manga (including the colours), so there are no complaints here.
Enjoyment: I walked into this anime without expectation - I'm so glad I gave it a chance! This anime was convenient to watch on public transportation or during my lunch breaks since every episode was only 11 minutes long. I enjoyed watching the characters' daily lives, monologues of their perceptions after a blunder, and when they felt a common ground with each other. This series reminds me of how simple life can be, yet we have a way of being critical or thinking negatively about our behaviour. And the people around us may not be as harsh as us or find our clumsiness cool or cute. I enjoyed that this anime took small moments in life and looked upon them positively. It's a bonus to me that the characters are of different ages and areas of life and form friendships with each other, which I like seeing as it's more common to encounter stories when folks are the same age or in similar areas of life.
Overall: A month after I finished this anime, I still replay the opening and ending theme songs, and I even came back from Japan with merchandise of Souma when he asked a retail staff for help before realizing they were a mannequin. I didn't recognize how much I missed this series until I spent this weekend putting the manga on my wish list and watching the live-action drama adaptation. I felt the urge to write this review before bedtime, and I recommend this series to anyone who wants to enjoy light-hearted and relatable content.
