Yesterday wo Utatte

I want to start off strong. What a disappointing end for an otherwise beautifully colored anime. I'm only basing my reaction from the anime, and boy I have to tell you why I was so unsatisfied. But first, I have to be generous. Art Style 7/10: The anime is very beautiful. There are a lot of wallpaper-worth shots here, and it certainly got my enthusiasm. However, it hurts to see some wacky animation frames, even in scenes that are supposed to be dramatic! Still, it definitely improves the atmosphere so well (but it's not enough for the atrocity of the rest...). Sound Design 8/10: Very immersive, I must say. I can only criticize the last ED choice, which is ironic since it sings the anime title itself. Apart from the song choices, the background music can be quite uplifting. It does carry a good weight for the anime's mood and atmosphere. Character 3/10: Here is where things fell off hard. The audacity of the anime to introduce so many heartfelt characters only to butcher the developments (even the most minor of such for what could have been the best characters) and plaster a terrible and pretentious open-ended conclusion. The pacing started off with gentle steps on the side of the road then it crashed on the river beside it, only to flow so fast along the raging water. Why?! Why ruin such a good setup of characters and conflict and "resolve" it over a measly face-value approach to the reality of things? Short breaths. Sometimes, it felt like only two characters are legitimate (even in their being stubborn). Sometimes, it felt like only two characters are reasonable. Then there were the frustrating parts where it felt like only two characters are given proper spotlight. I get it. It severely lacked a satisfying character progression for the size of cast that it showed. There was even an episodic take early on to explore the main characters further. Then the pacing, as demonstrated earlier, suddenly jumped to a mess. I felt like the anime only suffered from introducing multiple perspectives. There are strong quotes even from just the 1st episode, but it's the pacing (especially for a strongly character-centric anime and genre) that went up and down in a very disappointing way. I feel like it is a massive disservice to the characters and their reflections of actual people. Story 3/10: I rarely feel a strong and direct Visual Novel vibe from an anime, specifically due to the recurrence of specific points. This is not a complaint. I think it actually improved the immersion, and it could have allowed room for a smoother pace and better focus on the actual weight of the material. However, the anime managed to step on the good qualities of the anime by its sudden shift in progression. I hate to rehash previous points, but overall, I feel like the anime needed 24 episodes to be more convincing. Notes: Will I recommend this anime? Sure. Simply for the aesthetic. If you have an ounce of respect for immersion with characters, please do not give this a shot. I wish I did not project so much personality to the characters that overrode the level of the actual presentation. And I will stand by this thought. It is not petty. The least amount of thing you can do for a slice-of-life and romance anime (that is serious in nature) is to be considerate of the characters and the reality of their progression. This anime broke my heart. I entered into its world without any ideas, found myself feeling affection for the developments, then ended up with a terrible conclusion. I wish no one will get this feeling of disappointment for a once beloved anime.

I'm not going to reiterate the plot in this review just watch the show if you're that curious. I'm going to address some of the negative points people have brought up in other reviews and debunk them as well as add my own insights to some of the aspects of the show. 1. "The show is so slow paced it feels like its dead in the water", ok for this one it IS true the show is slow paced, there are very few defining moments that act as a large push for the characters to take action and even if there is sometimes they just don't (note that sometimes people just want to hide away from their problems not everyone is the type of person to tackle their way through life head on). However people are ignoring the gradual changes within this. Shinako is gradually coming to terms with the loss of someone who was very significant in her life, this takes time and expecting a giant amount of progress in months is ridiculous. And even beyond this she does change, making small gradual improvements to the point she can face Rou and Rikuos feelings where she never could in the past. Rikuo has a good development too, first working in a store, content with just scraping by with nothing to strive for in life. He was ok with a static life until he realised that he couldn't depend on Shinako or others forever, that sounds like progression to me. Its very rare in life for someone to make a 180 turn, it happens slowly over the course of years, we just don't notice these smaller changes. 2. "Rikuo is a man-child, Haru is immature, Shinako is bland and Rou is possessive" - All comments ive heard about these characters and with the exception to Shinako I agree with all of them. Theres one key thing that people are missing however... THATS THE FREAKIN POINT. Rikuo starts as a whiny dude who tries to rely on others to move him forward, after meeting Shinako again he has something to work for so he improves himself. Haru is the most innocent of the cast and probably the most one note that doesn't mean she's a bad character as such but it does make her somewhat predictable. Rou-kun is possessive because he always wanted Shinako to look at him the same way she looked at his brother. imo Rou is the weakest character of the show just because his negative attributes aren't really looked at until the very end of the show. 3. "Rikuo doesn't really care about Haru", Well this one is just not true. There are several occasions where Rikuo is shown to either worry or take pleasure in being in Harus company. Whether that be through dialogue or through action. He often tries to downplay these actions because he doesn't think of Haru as his perfect woman. She wouldn't look after him or spoon feed him because she has not yet began her life as adult. This isn't to say this anime doesn't have flaws. The soundtrack whilst very professionally written, doesn't stand out much or have moments that really make me want to listen to it alone. I just does the job well. The art is sometimes lifeless but the characters are animated with a sense of realism about them which is a nice touch. As I mentioned before Rou just doesn't grow out of his negative traits for me to like him. On the flip side though the sound design and dialogue can only be described as OUTSTANDING. The pacing of lines, breathing, tone of voice, reactions, they all feel as if you could say them yourself to someone. I think that takes a lot of work and a lot of talent to pull off in this medium. I can't recommend this anime enough. If you can't feel empathy for these characters fair enough its not for you, but thats not the story or the pacing that is to blame.

This was a major disappointment for me. The art looks great, the mature tone is adequate and it looked promising, when I still had hopes for a good character arc for the main characters. Sadly, there is not. The characters don't really change or learn anything and the flow of the episodes gets to a dead point in the second half. Up until episode 7, I was enjoying this anime quite a lot. Things seemed to be progressing. But from episode 8 at the very start it all begins to go down. It starts with quite many events that, although they are not a big deal they are depicted in a somehow more realistic tone than the usual, and they were important for the characters. There are a couple of scenes that show determination in some characters, and I was hoping the rest of them would learn from that and also have their moments later on. Too bad I was so wrong. The characters don't advance at all from episode 8. The episodes are filled with pauses, contemplation of the nothingness, and repetition of the same situations (the boring ones) we already saw. When something appears to change, it immediately doesn’t. Most of the times due to the extreme shyness, laziness or whatever craziness the main “adult” characters have in their heads. I feel like the show would have been so much better if Haru and Rou were the main characters. They know what they want and they work for it even if it means to suffer from it. Completely the opposite of Rikuo and Shinako… The worst characters are the main ones, Rikuo and Shinako. Both are so empty of drive that look just as bored as the audience. Haru is more interesting, but the whole thing of "crow girl" that gave her an interesting introduction doesn't really lead anywhere. In the end the reason she is so madly in love with such a useless guy as Rikuo is completely empty. Plus, we don't really see her much in the second half of the show. On the other hand, we see quite a lot of Rou, but it doesn’t really add anything new to what we know in the first half. Side note for a thing that particularly bothered me: Rikuo gasps, breaths and sighs more than he talks. It drove me nuts. It perfectly shows how passive this character is. At some points it was just too ridiculous. The plot is so limited that it completely relies on the characters, and the characters don’t hold up. The only way I think someone can enjoy this is watching it in a couple sessions top, so that the “power” of the initial episodes lasts until the end. First 7 episodes: 8/10 Last 5 episodes: 2/10 Note: Check the date when reviews were posted. This anime finished (1st season, in case there ever is a second one…) around the 20th june 2020. Some positive reviews were posted way before the downfall of the anime.

Four broken people trying to find happiness. This show is not for casual watching. To get the full experience you have to think/analyze the characters and their true motives. This show hides so much between the lines, therefore it requires the viewer to be actively watching. The characters in this show might seem simple at first but they are truly fleshed out and have a lot of depth. The real story appears as a simple love story, but the true story is about the progression and self-realization of the characters. It is important to realize that a lot of the show happens behind the scenes, which is told implicitly in the dialogue which gives a sense of these characters being real people with lives and thoughts continuing off-screen. This has the most realistic portrayal of love I have ever seen in anime, as it shows many different types of love and not just the romanticized form shown in most media. The characters show true frustration and consideration of their feelings.

“Never knowing when to stop — thy name is human.” — Krunchyman Each time a slice-of-life drama comes to the fore, we, the viewing public, need to ask a pertinent question: ‘will they half-ass it, of full ass it?’ For example, invoking themes of unrequited love, interminable ‘friend-zones,’ and romantic ignorance is a precarious undertaking that walks a thin tight-rope of becoming too clichéd or too dull. The former is pervasive to the point that we might as well classify it as an invasive genre in the anime medium; on the other hand, the latter is equally undesirable, as it fails to engage the audience in any meaningful fashion (a critical element in these types of anime). So perhaps the question then becomes: will a healthy balance be struck?—And if so, will it done with grace and ingenuity? Sing “Yesterday” for Me, in my estimation, establishes the balance with an anachronistic cast of characters…in fact, the juxtaposition of differing ‘philosophies’ is the engine that drives the show. Rikuo, the indecisive male lead, is primarily focused on what he could be and who we wishes to be with. But this prospect driven mindset thwarts him from living in the here and now; thus, ‘closing doors’ (i.e. Haru’s kindness) and limiting his overall happiness. This indirect ‘self-sabotage’ is the impetus behind Rikuo’s capitulating personality, allowing him to be manipulated by the unwitting Shinako. Hence, Rikuo would do well to adopt Haru’s ‘presence’ and begin exploring all the possibilities presented to him, rather than holding out for one long-shot. Shinako — Rikuo’s ‘one-and-only’ — has the antithetical problem, she cannot dislodge her mind from the past. Having the displeasure of watching her lover’s health slowly deteriorate, Shinako resigned herself to a life of solitude and emptiness. Numerous scenes show Shinkao reminiscing about her past lover in a way that demonstrates her unwillingness to believe in herself via moving on from the traumatic event. She, therefore, is apathetic toward her own future — precipitating an inner tumult that leads to emotional stagnation. Even when she initiates a relationship with Rikuio, it seems as though she’s sabotaging it via making fun of his limited vocabulary or blowing him off (as nicely as possible) on more than one occasion. But she hangs onto to him, nonetheless, as support for her own shortcomings and her inability to terminate what she knows is a fruitless endeavor (as noted by Shinako’s reluctance to kiss Rikuo). Rikuo and Shinako are both fleshed out characters that give the viewer much to ponder in terms of being too ‘nice’ and not knowing when to close a particular chapter in one’s life. Furthermore, none of the their actions or spoken sentences felt out of place, nor did they come off as tired character tropes. The subtle nuances in each character provided a slow-burning level of intrigue that was hard to turn away from. Haru, on the flip side, is more forward with her actions. Not all surprising from someone who embraces the chaotic beauty of living in the here and now. While some viewers may interpret her character as ‘obnoxious’ or ‘creepy,’ I much prefer to classify her as passionate, resolute, and, yes, a bit foolhardy (this is a compliment!). While her proposed competition with Shinako seemed a bit outlandish and rude, it is precisely what we all do in pursuit of the ideal partner. If one questions the rationality of this statement, then I suggest they neglect taking showers, become homeless, uneducated, and attempt to woo the girl/boy of their dreams. Whether the other ‘competitors’ is known is of no consequence, as we are all ‘competing’ for the right to date/marry a worthwhile, loving partner. Haru acknowledges this hidden reality and makes no bones about her wanting to make Rikuo hers. Sure. Some men see this persistent as annoying, but this commitment to achieving her goal is admirable and praiseworthy. To make the topic crystal, I’d choose an ‘annoying’ girl with self-awareness and the courage of her convictions, over an equivocating, over thinker any day of the week. Of course, that is not to say that Haru doesn’t have doubts or regrets about her decisions, but she knows the path she is on and does not allow mishaps to deter her future ambitions. Plus, the fact that she constantly goes out of her way to see Rikuo and show her admiration for him with gifts and warm smiles is proof that she cares about his well-being; whereas Shinako is, inadvertently, neglectful about Rikuo’s happiness. The characters, without a doubt, were the strong point of the anime. The plot, also, was exceptionally consistent, save for an episode where Chika stumbled into Rikuo in the convenience store back alley and pleaded to stay with him until she got back on her feet; causing Shinako and Haru to become distraught about Rikuo’s ‘playboy’ lifestyle. I would have preferred if this episode didn’t exist, as it felt like the plot was being accelerated to inject a certain level of ‘excitement.’ But it felt superfluous because the methodical, emotional build up was entertaining enough in its own right, and needed no additional ‘spice’ to liven it up. Although some may argue the plot was a bit leisurely, I would contend it never laggard, as most of the events felt organic. And this authentic approach not only kept events grounded, it also made even mundane experiences feel important; like when Rikuo was having a difficult time giving Shinako the necklace for Christmas or when Shinako’s lip was quivering when Rikuo gently stroked her hair. So while there were no overt plot devices that would give the viewer metaphorical whiplash, there were enough small events that added nervous anticipation about possible events to come. Mix this with the pleasant backgrounds and placid OST, and Sing “Yesterday” For Me was just an overall satisfying experience. “It burnt slowly, but it never lost its heat.” — Krunchyman

This is a story where we are able to see the perspective of four different characters that are all unconditionally related, whether it's love or friendship or past memories that tie them together. Before each episode's "drama", we are able to get in to the mood by seeing the characters living their daily life and daydreaming. It's so simple, yet it roots its viewers about the realism of this story. Our lives aren't packed with action or emotions or reflective thinking. Sometimes we are just breathing and working and we'll all have an uncomfortable silence during our days. Every episode we are able to slowly see character growth, but not in an outstanding way. It's normal and slow and extremely annoying to watch. And that's fine. This is real life. The characters are chaotic in their own way and that's why it upsets many viewers. It's the grasp of familiarity colliding with us. Besides the story and the characters, I have to mention the camera work. During the dialogues, It's really nice to be able to see the character's surroundings. It somehow creates the reality that the characters are in. They are not just speaking or walking in a random street. It is the same exact street they walk everyday. And if you turn right, you'll see the park where they met. And if you walk 400m, you'll find the school. It reminds me that while we are watching one character's "important screen time", there's always going to be something going on the other side. I can see why many people are annoyed at this series. I am too. I hate every single character except Haru. None of the characters are perfect, but the toxicity that some are portraying makes me extremely mad. At least we are on the same page on that. However, discrediting the work just because the character is making the wrong decision or being toxic is really stupid. The creator is not trying to make flawless relationships. Adulthood is a mess and if you think that " he/she shouldn't have done that ", please step out of your moral ground and think about your bad actions while you were in a relationship. AND if you don't have any experience, just be quiet and learn ??? If you meet a Rikuo or a Shinako in real life, you'll know exactly what you're going to do: ignore them. Because conflicting personalities exist. Insecurities exist. And grief may be there inside. PSTD too. Stop judging people like they are hell and acknowledge that people can be shitty sometimes. And it's your choice to forgive or leave. Something that does bother me is that, I think people should first be happy with themselves before getting into a relationship, you know... fix your own problems before joining someone else's, but I'm pretty sure half of the couples in this world can't understand this concept and that's why the author decided to go with this type of drama. Emotionally supporting each other is also a perk of being in a relationship, but the border between toxicity and non-toxicity can easily be broken. All in all, the last episode was a shipwreck. Haru is precious and she deserves someone stable and thoughtful. She didn't do anything morally wrong in the series but the way she clings on to her love is really childish. She should finish her high school degree instead of chasing a broke, insecure and ugly man. I hope Rikuo learns ways to boost his brain cells and self-esteem. Shinako needs a therapist before trying to date anyone. Rou needs to find someone for his age and stop looking at his dead brother's classmate/crush. But really, being happy and secure as an individual works wonders when getting in a relationship. With all that I've said, I recommend everyone to at least watch a few episodes if you like romance/seinen, but don't expect wholesome or heart-warming.

((Review: English - Español)) ** English= If you are looking for an anime that only offers these three things: romantic drama, love triangles, and emotional confusion, this is the anime for you. Don't ask for anything more. This is a slow-paced anime (some might find it boring), focused on the romantic drama experienced by the characters and thus, on the three elements previously mentioned—no more, no less. And as for the final, it is an unexpected conclusion that many people won't like, but I personally enjoyed it because it’s a “non-predictable” final. In conclusion, I recommend this anime to anyone who is satisfied with just the three elements I mentioned at the beginning, but if you're looking for something additional or more "action-packed," this is not your anime. ** Español= Si buscas un anime que solo tenga estas 3 cosas: drama romántico, triángulos amorosos y confusiones sentimentales, este es tu anime. No pidas algo más. Este es un anime lento (a algunos les puede parecer aburrido), enfocado en el drama romántico que viven los personajes y por ende, en los 3 elementos anteriormente mencionados, ni más ni menos. Y en cuanto al final, será un final inesperado, que a muchos no les gustará pero a mi me gustó porque es un final “no predecible”. En conclusión, recomiendo este anime a quien solo se conforme con los 3 elementos que expuse al principio, pero si buscas algo adicional o más “movido”, este no es tu anime.

So I just finished watching the show to put it simply. I'm not gonna make this long, so I'm gonna keep it short. This show clearly shows that love is complicated. And sometimes we have to realize that some people are just. They are for a space to fill in and I'm saying this. I think it taught the difference between love and friendship.And just because you're a strong friendship for someone doesn't necessarily mean that it's gonna push towards a better relationship. Not to say that friendships don't turn into co relationships in the future. But this show clearly just it was a tear jerker. And honestly I can't say was completely horrible because it definitely kept me watching each episode. It was addictive and it was very dramatic. I personally feel the authentic data. Really good job, keeping the audione more. Why in the find out? How bad this is going to get was a slow pace on my dad. Was it very boring? I didn't really mind it. I think What really irritated me the most about this show was the fact that it was Confusing Frustrating and very vexing. And I don't know why the purpose for the anime was to get the viewers to wait till the last episode for them to get their s*** together. Well for the main characters to get this s*** together. 11 hole episodes gas. The most irritating part. It took 11 episodes for them to get it together. So I couldn't say it was horrible because I kept watching it because it really? May be I really want to find out how bad was it going to get? The at the just finishing news.I'm gonna put it to you very simple or even a monkey can understand. If you want to watch the most dramatic dramatic frustrating rollercoaster of the anime between 2 main characters that obviously don't know each other that well to be in a relationship. And won't get mad until the last episode. Then I say watch it. But if you're expecting a happy ending isn'the game is just run just run. It's not going to be a happy ending. It's gonna make you extremely mad. And it's gonna make you feel like why in the World did I waste my time watching this started off great piece of shit anime!!!!!!???

This anime really captures the reality of growing up and finding a place in society. The characters try to find their path, but stumble upon their past experiences that they can't let go. Rikuo, the MC had a crush on a girl in the past, and now when she appears before him, he can't seem to even look another girl. It's not romance, just nostalgia that locks him in one place and unables him to move forward. Life goes on, and he meets another girl, who is the total opposite, but she loves him with all her heart, not demanding anything in return. In the end you will see who will Rikuo chose and what will he learn as he walkes trough his life, as well what other characters will learn facing their own struggles. Btw: Music is really good I would give it 10/10, as well as character depth. Watch this anime if you love Drama and love triangles/webs.

I think a majority of the anime was good. However, that ending. Well it's really bad. The relationship (part from the end) was believable. They felt like real characters. How they interacted with each other felt real. It does a good job sparking conversation and questioning what it means to be mature or how to handle drama. Unfortunately, getting us to think about that isn't the same as answering that. Although, it did a good job at giving us these questions, that ending undoes most of the leg work put in to resolve it. It's not that I hate the pair that the writer decided to take. I'm fine with either pairing, with the caveat of one rule. It makes sense. That heel turn makes absolutely no sense and disassemble all the build up. It really isn't best way to end your story. To explain what I mean I need to go into spoiler territory. You see a relationship is about being there for each other, working each other's problem, feeling each other's pain, and work to help each other overcome their struggles. The majority of the story Rikuo and Shinako have been doing this. It is extremely believable for me to see that they are in love; they're just bad at it. (Which is understandable considering their personalities.) They are willing to suffer for each other to be together. That felt like love. They stumble a lot and made many mistakes because they have reach peak maturity yet. But that how relationships are. You make mistakes and mature for each other. Haru on the other hand didn't go through this with Rikuo. It felt more like an immature crush. Haru has "best girl personality" and did what considered a favor. Pushing Rikuo to chase the job he wants is a extraordinary favor. But it doesn't bond a person closer in the way you think. It just makes you appreciate them more. They didn't put in effort take on each other's struggle at all. The only suffering being experience is when Haru experience heartbreak or jealously. Rikuo never felt that. He didn't feel her struggles. He just felt bad for her and tried his best to not make it worse. They do support each other. But only in out of nowhere moments that wasn't present through out the series like that break-in thief moment. This is more akin to friends support rather than romantic support. Haru has "best girl personality" which makes her likable, yes. But that's not the same as pairing her up with what Rikuo and Shinako experience together. What they went through together was special. Trading that away for someone with a better personality leaves many viewer feeling empty. I'm not mad at pairing her up with Rikuo. I'm mad at how it was handle. If the author wanted to pair these two up at the end, he needs Rikuo and Haru to go through something special. They need to have a moment where Rikuo sees Haru differently for the first time. Rikuo needs to accept Haru's struggle and he also needs a struggle that doesn't depends on Shinako so Haru can accept his struggle. Since his struggle revolves around Shinako, Haru can't exactly accept it the same way Shinako and Rikuo accepeted each other's struggle. How the author paired up Haru and Rikuo was poorly done and failed to be special like what Rikuo and Shinako had. Haru should have had a different happy ending. Let's talk about Rou now. Rou whether it was intentional or not, represent immaturity. He would have been the perfect allegory for what all the other character should be trying to get away from. Every character are on a path to maturity. He is the most immaturity character on the show. He constantly lashes out and make create selfish drama. He would have been a great foil if the show used him right. The most logical step for his character is finally mature at the end. If the show actually done that, I would've like his character. Instead, every screen time he gets, we never see him make steps into growing as a person. He remains the same person throughout the story. This makes him my least favorite character. Pairing him up with Shinako was a bad idea. Shinako states over and over again that he is nothing more than a kid brother to her. She cannot see him anything other that. Nothing's changed. Why did Shinako choose him out of no where. It makes no sense. Where did that come from? Yes, she loves Rou more than Rikuo. But it's she over and over states it's because he's like a little brother to her. He is family. That's why she loves him. How is loving Rou more than Rikuo an excuse for the break up? Her relationship with Rikuo never changed. It was stagnate. Nothing happened to change how she sees him. Even if she did love him all this time and never realized it, it doesn't make sense. Why did she reject him in the begin and throughout the series if she loved him back the same way all this time? Why about being in a relationship with Rikuo made her realized she loves Rou. This is never explored. It just comes out of nowhere especially since her perception of him never changed. Although I don't agree with the decision, there is a way to make the pair work. Include a scene that shows Shinako seeing Rou in a different light. Then show a scene where Shinako finally sees him as a potential love interest. I still would like it but it's workable. That at least have some level of working. Her conflict with Rou didn't even resolve. She just kinda says I love him and that was that. Having that be the other half of why Shinako and Rikuo's relationship fall apart just insulted the audience really bad. At the end of the day, The first 11 episode showed two adults reach the next level of maturity. But then the 12th just plummeted to high school maturity, which is worse than where the show began. That ending was beyond bad. I do still think it's a good anime. It challenges the viewers to question what it means to be mature. Just don't expect it to give you answers because the answers it give are bad. There where much better ways for the author to end with the pair they want. You can enjoy series, but you most certainly won't enjoy the ending.

Probably the worst anime I have ever seen. Oh, whos this person? Oh, another new person? Oh and another? Basically they introduce new characters one after the other to make an awkward interaction between the main characters, making each other believe that they've got a thing going on with this newly introduced character when in fact it's all misunderstandings and just overall dumb stuff. It honestly started becoming annoying to watch this and highly obvious what was going to happen next since the exact same thing had happened the episode before and the one before that, just with other side characters.

Possibly the most underrated anime on this site (at least out of the ones I’ve watched). Of course, I don’t think that this show would impact everyone the same way that it did for me, so I can partly understand why people might not like this. That said, I wonder if people are simply missing the point with this show, especially considering its serious tone. Just to get it out of the way, I can think of a few reasons why this isn’t as highly rated as I think it should be. One weak point that I saw was the last episode, which felt like it was shoving half of a season into a single episode. I won’t go into too much detail into everything that seemed rushed or left out (although there might be more spoilers later in this review), but honestly, I don’t think this ending broke the show. Rather than taking away from the overall experience, I would argue that it’s only the absence of something that could have been. I didn’t know that the anime cut content from the manga when I watched it, so it didn’t bother me too much when I watched the last episode because nothing was out of place or atrociously bad. In fact, as I neared the end I knew that whatever happened the ending would not make or break the show, but I’ll get into that more later. Besides that, the only other flaw that I could point out are characters that needlessly show up for a single episode or even a single scene, but don’t have much of an impact on the plot. Given that the anime would have to cut out a lot of content towards the end anyways, I would have rather them cut out the two episodes featuring Minato and Yuzuhara and move that extra time to the end, but again I didn’t think this was a fatal flaw. It’s not like a filler episode, and these characters do help characterize the main characters they’re connected to, so again this “mistake” doesn’t take away anything from the show. But I’m sure that the big thing that turned people off was the characters and their interactions with each other, which I actually saw as one of the strongest parts of this show. As I’m sure many of you watching might have noticed, the main cast are (mostly) adults, yet throughout the show they act like prepubescent middle schoolers with their first crush when it comes to love. They are all to some extent clingy, and don’t know the importance of distance when it comes to relationships. Rikuo follows a self-fulfilling prophecy, where by calling himself a loser he becomes one. Shinako is indecisive and can’t move on from someone who died six years ago. Haru is persistent and obnoxious, and her entire character is pretty much consumed by her attraction to Rikuo. And Rou, as the youngest one out of them, acts more like the ten-year-old in Shinako’s memory, expecting Shinako to stay in his life when she has her own to live. On top of which, Rikuo and Shinako only go halfway in rejecting the people who like them, selfishly wanting to keep them close without realizing that it would only hurt them more. Understandably, these personalities and the way they clash with each other can be grating to the viewer, and the maturity level suggests an environment more akin to high school drama than adults braving the real world. But, surprisingly, none of this comes off as criticism to the show. We all have a perception of how mature adults act, but what if that’s only how they should act? Not everyone behaves the same way all the time, and this show seeks to capture how people act in real life. That is not to say that everyone can relate to these specific characters, but it’s like how Rikuo is able to capture good wedding photos because he knows the people so well—taking shots that other photographers would pass over. An often heard mantra is that for a good story, the audience should sympathize with the characters. Like I said, the characters hardly do anything to deserve our sympathy. But what if their weaknesses and flaws draw us to them? I found myself connecting to Rikuo the most. Not really sure what I want to do in the future, wanting to stay friends with a crush even though it would only make it worse, making self-deprecating remarks because I want the attention and pity. It’s not like the author is supporting the actions that some of these characters take. To the contrary, I felt like some of the advice given was true to said characters was true and pertinent to people in a similar situation. Maybe those that can’t really relate to any of these characters will find it hard to get invested in the characters, and that’s fair. But even for those who don’t, it’s hard to deny that the characters are based more on real people than stereotypes. Even Haru, who embodies an over-the top personality that is prevalent in a lot of anime, shows her human side more often than not. Another part that I appreciated is that, no character out of the main four was elevated above another in terms of screen time, and everyone was given a chance to be fleshed out. To be fair, having everyone involved in a giant love chain is a bit unrealistic, but I think it was necessary both to give everyone enough attention and to really drive home the theme of unrequited love. As someone who has had a crush but never had one realized, I can acknowledge that I may be a bit more biased towards this story than something like tsuki ga kirei. But even in terms of the characters, you don’t get the feeling that everyone else in the group is being left out except for the main couple, which is quite refreshing. Another criticism I might see is with the plot, which I also thoroughly enjoyed. Throughout the show, you have a lot of tension between the characters, with silence and awkward conversations abound (especially in any scene with just Rikuo and Shinoka). But rather than being annoying or tedious, I would say that it is another example of being a “snapshot” of real life. And even just for entertainment value, I didn’t find these scenes to be tedious or annoying, as the conversations and monologues are easy enough to follow along and often serve to develop a plot point or a character. On that note, having a bubbly, almost preposterous personality such as Haru was a wise decision to act as a foil to the more reserved, overthinking Rikuo. This is not a depressing show, but even so her antics and dialogue add a splash of color to an otherwise completely serious story. I would also add that rather than being a mundane experience where watching each episode seems like a chore (the bane of many slice-of-life shows), there is definitely enough drama going on to make you want to watch the next episode. The lack of any progress in terms of romance until the very end may be frustrating to some, but I don’t think this experience would have been the same any other way. Because you don’t always get what you get in life, and sometimes the struggle is more interesting than the reward. Although in most shows you tend to start rooting for a certain ship, I think this show is unique in that by the time I got to the last two episodes, I knew that I would enjoy the ending no matter who did or didn’t get together. Because these characters are all flawed, but share a commonality in the desire to be loved and cared for. Maybe one episode romances aren’t your thing (going back to the pacing of the last episode), but even though I had been supporting Rikuo and Shinoka’s relationship in the previous episode, I was pleasantly surprised with how they handled the break-up. More often than not, relationships don’t work out despite the underrepresentation of break-ups in stories, and this is just another facet of reality that the story captures so well. To be fair, the way that Rikuo went back to Haru when he had clearly treated her much worse than Shinoka in the past was selfish and inconsiderate, and Haru should not have accepted him so easily after all that he had done to her. But it’s not like he was proud of it, and Haru can make her own choices. Besides that, art and music were amazin…

Yesterday wo Utatte has a cast of characters stuck in the past and unsure of how to move forward with their life. The protagonist is Uozomi Rikuo, a college grad tired of living and works in a convenience store. Uozomi Rikuo wins the award of the most infuriating and pathetic character I have ever watched. As of writing this review, I have watched just over 200 anime shows. *spoilers ahead* In the first episode, Uozomi confesses to his long time crush in college and is rejected. The story is set up in the first episode as a great redemption story but none of this potential is fulfilled. This would be the one time he demonstrates any sort of proactivity for the remainder of the show. There was no moment where he takes charge and tries to be a better person. His two jobs came to him courtesy of his friend and his boss respectively. He did not achieve them on his own merit. Typically when a character is talentless, they are at least kind to others in order to provide him/her with at least some qualities fitting of a protagonist. Uozomi is not a kind person. His treatment of Haru throughout the show is dejecting to see. Haru is a bright light that comes into his life that he ignores and drive away. There are moments where he demonstrates some empathy and realizes how much he hurts Haru, however he fails to take action to make things right. His long time college crush Shinako even tries to tell him to be more assertive in their relationship. Even when Shinako was with him, he has to be reminded by his coworker to be thankful for all the lunchboxes he has been recieving from her. Uozomi as a character is so utterly devoid of any qualities that even the writer seems to struggle with coming up with any reason for Haru to like him. The reason we are provided is that Haru likes him because he thanked her once for picking up his student pass. His supposed 'redemption' moment in the finale comes as he realizes he likes Haru all along. Through out the series Haru has been blatantly ignored, and treated as a nuisance for the previous 11 episodes. This romance at the end is simply abhorent writing. Overall review: do not watch this show unless you want to watch a show with ultra-realistic characters to the point of infuriation. Uozomi Rikuo is the kind of person that will work in a gas station all his life with no ambition or motivation to improve in any form. The writer has truly succeeded in creating a pathetic character lacking of any redemption.

Yesterday wo Utatte or as I would like to call it "Battle of the Simps" is what would you get if you took a mediocre manga and tried shoving it into a 12 episodes anime. The producers tried to trap people into watching this with a cool introduction and atmosphere, but everything is just dull afterwards. The story revolves around 2 guys "Rikuo and Rou" going for the same whiny girl "Shinako". Now Shinako doesn't know what to do, she grew up with Rou and she wants him to stay as family, she sees Rikuo as a best friend, yet manages to keep both guys hanging for her. We also have Haru, the cool girl with a crow who follows her everywhere and she loves Rikuo more than anyone else, but he doesn't really care. As a manga reader, Shinako comfortably took place in my top 10 most hated anime characters. Going further than that would force me to spill out spoilers as I don't really have much content to talk about. The amount of frustration from watching this was overwhelming. After omitting third of the manga characters and events, story progression could be simplified to teenagers walking others home. No appropriate character buildup. Repetitive and disappointing overall experience. TLDR, What is cool: Crow and girl What is bad: Everything else. If you are interested, read the manga.

I picked this anime randomly recently to watch. Overall, I can't say it's "bad," but I can't recommend it in good faith to anyone. The story is painfully frustrating. Yeah, that's the best way to describe this story. Frustrating. Like, one of the main dudes in the story has a gal waiting for him every day after he is done with work. Dude can't put two and two together that maybe this chick is into him. But, of course, he is hung up on a previous gal from college (and she has mixed feelings because she is caught up with a guy who passed away when she was younger). I feel this whole story could have wrapped up in fewer episodes somehow (maybe contained in a short movie) versus being dragged out into a bunch of episodes where the pacing is, again, painfully frustrating. I'll give it credit for being something different, but nothing really happens for most of the episodes. It's a SLOW burn by definition, but in an unsatisfying way.

I don’t mind slow stories . I like sometime emotional stuff, real feelings, all that. But this show? It’s like watching people emotionally procrastinate for twelve episodes straight. Rikuo spends the whole time being confused about his life and love life, Shinako’s out here collecting regrets like Pokémon, and Haru’s just the chaotic crow girl trying to inject some energy into the world’s quietest soap opera. Spoiler: it doesn’t work. It’s not that it’s bad it’s too real sometimes. The problem is that “real” doesn’t always mean entertaining. After a few episodes, I stopped feeling sad for the characters and started yelling “please just talk to each other” at my screen. The art? Gorgeous. The music? Melancholic in a nice way. The story? Imagine emotional limbo stretched into an entire season. moody, mature, but painfully stuck in neutral.

NO SPOILERS first of all never trust ratings or the reviews. this show is amazing its more realistic than any other anime there are no fan services, yes it's a little bit rushed but in a good way. overall the anime has a convincing and beautiful ending. probably the first time a romance anime where the main character actually ends up with some one. I cant write a review longer than this c'mon myanimelist i Already said what i wanted to say. fine then i will just put some random jokes joke number zero: What anime do you get when you mix a melon and a collie? ' The Melon-collie of Haruhi Suzumiya.' joke number one: What is common between Light from 'Death Note' and a lift? They are both L-evaders. joke number two: What do you say to MonkeyD. Luffy when he says he wants another piece of the pie? You can only have 'One Piece.' ▄▄▄▄──▄▄▄──▄▄▄▄────▄▄▄▄───▄▄▄▄──▄▄▄──▄▄▄▄ █───▀▄█──█─█──█──█▀────▀▄--█───▀▄█──█─█──█ ▀▄───██──██──▄▀─█───────▀█▀▄───██──██──▄▀ ─█────█──────█─█─────▄───█─█────█── ────█─WOW ──█─────────█──█───▄▀─█──█──█─────────█── ──▀▄───▄█───█──█▄──█──█──█──▀▄───▄█ ───█──WOW ───█───█▀▄--█────█───▀▄▀─▄▀───█───█▀▄--█── ───█--█──█▄▀─────▀▄────▄▀─────█─█──█▄▀─── ───▀▀▀───▀────────▀▀▀▀───────▀▀▀───▀────

Honestly, I've never really been emotionally invested when it came to seinen or coming of age stories. Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, March comes in like a lion, A silent voice, etc...they touched upon depressing matters, but they never felt very realistic to me. Rather, it felt more of a melodramatic story no matter how you spun it. The fact that Yesterday wo Utatte tries to capture this sense of "realisticness" that I don't think other coming of age stories quite manage to cinch. I sympathized with Uozumi. Not sure what exactly you want to do, don't want to take that extra step forward because it might end up not working. Frustrated because things didn't work out the way you imagined it to be. Honestly, I felt like I was in his shoes, and I felt like crap. I felt like crap. Damn, it was pretty depressing, and I think the show makes you understand Uozumi's feelings. Then, just like that, right around the point where he just got rejected and was depressed, a strange girl. Haru comes over into his life. Uozumi, however, still hasn't moved on, and the story becomes a touching romance and coming of age story as to how he becomes a better person and finds the courage to move on with his life after dealing with rejection. At least, that's what I think should have happened. So why exactly does this show turn from a melancholic coming of age story to a straight up drama and romance show? Uozumi's character is clearly childish and it really doesn't feel like he ever becomes mature. In fact, Haru is the character that shows the most composure in the entire show. Uozumi never really changes in that aspect, and I was hoping that the show would be focused on his coming to age and with Haru. Instead, I get this convoluted love octagon (the anime skips a lot of this). Yes, you heard me right. there's like 8 different people that are introduced into the story in order for there to be many, many love interests. I just don't understand why this show devolved into a romance drama where Haru likes Uozumi, Uozomi likes Shinako, Rou likes Shinako, etc. Not only do I not care about anyone that's not Uozomi, Shinako, and Haru, but these strained relationships ruin the entire show. Uozomi is standoffish and cold towards Haru for a majority of the series. Shinako is ambiguous with Uozomi from the beginning to the end. Uozomi doesn't move on with his life and romance for the entire series until the very end. I had to read the manga in order to make some more sense of the series. Trust me, it doesn't get much better. The only thing that you miss from the manga that's important is the fact that Haru and Uozomi have a lot more bonding moments/making up moments that aren't touched upon in the anime. This makes it so that Uozomi is less of a psychopath towards Haru, I guess. The entire series comes crashing down when the show isn't about Uozomi's self development, but rather, it's more focused on romantic interests and drama between these romantic interests the entire story. The manga is 112 chapters long. Clearly, the anime skipped quite a few things. But the reality is that 90% of the stuff that the manga skips is the filler content that's about useless romantic interests that litter the story. The author thinks that it's necessary for there to be people in love with other people out of the blue in order for there to be any semblance of character development. Plus, there's even romantic development in random side characters that I really didn't give a damn about. The show gets so sidetracked with this love drama, that it lost the essence of reality that it was trying to ground itself in. I didn't really care about who Uozomi gets paired with in the beginning, honestly. But the fact is rather than feeling sympathetic for Uozomi in the end, I find him to be pretty psychopathic. I can't even begin to figure out his thought process, especially towards the conclusion of the series.

I am all for slice of life and learning who you are and growth as an individual sort of stories. This aint that. The adults act more like children and the children are the best characters in the show. The relationships that ultimately pan out are the ones you want the entire time, but they aren't allowed to be fully fleshed out. Basically Guy A has crush on college friend Girl B, but has a confession from a notably younger and independent girl C whom he doesn't even remember why she knows him. The show spends 90% of Guy A and Girl B trying to form a relationship and goes into EXTREME DETAIL over them trying to make it work. The entire time Girl C is way more likeable and genuine and honest and you like her SO much more, but Guy A treats her like actual GARBAGE until the last fucking episode where suddenly everything goes 180 and it all gets resolved in the span of half an episode. Thanks, I hate it.

Based on other people's negative reviews, I felt compelled to write about this. (no spoilers) A lot of people disliked this anime because of the character's behaviours, getting frustrated because "everything could be solved if such and such did this or that". Perhaps as anime watchers we get used to headstrong, consistent main characters who have only one goal and strive to achieve it. But in reality, everyone deals with conflicting emotions, thoughts of "what if" accompanied with a looming sense of regret, and and struggling to what they think and what they actually feel at the time. That's what I love about this anime. It's so rare to see our main characters (Rikuo and Shinako) fleshed out so deeply, struggling to make sense of their situation. Choosing to throw away this logical idea of stability in order to chase something that makes them passionate and alive, is such a raw display of emotion that is so rare to see, even in slice of life. I doubt we will ever see this sort of internal conflict expressed so elegantly. The art in this anime though: wow. Expectations aren't really that high for slice of life anime, but I was shocked to see the effort put into the animation here and how realistically the characters move. It just brought everything to life for me and drove it home for me. In the end, I fell in love with the characters, and I felt relieved that everyone was able to find peace with their relationships with each other. If you're looking and expecting a tear-jerker, this isn't going to be it. In the end it expresses emotions as subtly as we feel them in real life. Still, brilliant writing and brilliant execution. Definitely worth a watch.