OK, so Myself;Yourself is an adaptation of the visual novel of the same name. What we know about VN adaptations are they're generally crappy, with some notable exceptions (*ehem* Clannad). Though this title is not as great as Clannad it is still pretty good on its own.
What I liked about this show is that it surprised me a whole lot.
I really thought that it was just some crappy adaptation. The first few episodes really gave me that impression. All those jokes that just wasn't funny, the overflowing cliches that was presented and Aoi-chan's voice. *shudders* Seriously, listening to her was like fingernails on blackboards, F-ing annoying.
But by episode 8, all of those concerns went to take a backseat to the story that unraveled. The first few episodes did give us some glimpse into the plot but it wasn't really all that clear but then...
BOOM! The story kicked into high gear. From the conflict between Sana and Nanaka to Sana discovering the letters, that, for me, was the true start of the story. It had so much impact that it made up for the mediocrity of the episodes that preceded it. I actually felt my spine tingle and my body tremble when Nanaka cried in Sana's arms. I was moved and hooked.
Every episode after that just gave us plot twist (homicidal granny) after plot twist (lesbian Asami) after plot twist (Watanuki incest) after plot twist (father arson) after plot twist (suicidal Nanaka and Sana). It was heart-wrenching. It made me sympathize with the characters and feel the pain they were going through. It was because of this that I think of this anime very highly.
Though, this anime isn't perfect. The voice acting was poor, the animation was so-so and the pacing is bad. It would have been better if they cut the first seven episodes into a 2-3 episode span and used the other 10 episodes to expound on the conflict.
The ending was just okay. I felt that it fell flat in the end. They could have done better than cutting to ten years after and trying to vaguely tie up the plot holes but I think it was fitting with respect to the series. Personally, I wished that there was a kiss between Nanaka and Sana.
I recommend Myself;Yourself to people who like a good romance/drama anime. I am sure you'll appreciate it. Although some patience is needed, but if you can bear waiting this series will reward you.
