talking_about_movies

This is probably the most thought-provoking anime I've seen since Frieren. It's one of those shows that are painful to watch but they hold very necessary themes.

On the surface, this is an alien invasion sci-fi anime. But at its core, it's a sad, frustrating drama about different sides of humanity. You'll realise that within the first few episodes. This is just the author's take of what might happen on earth during a certain "alien invasion", and sadly it feels plausible. It sort of reminds me of the movie "Don't Look Up", but this is a pretty serious take on the situation.

While exploring human greed, arrogance and short-sightedness, this story also has many thought-provoking themes like the difference in understandings of justice for different people. How is that sense of justice formed? And how it can get entangled with convenience and affect one's actions. This is also a story about friendship, loneliness and guilt.

This show was also a lot more gutsier than I expected because there was some very disturbing stuff that happens even if not on frame. The animation and the soundtrack are pretty good too.

While I loved this anime till the 14th episode, the final 4 episodes were definitely not what I thought the story needed. But this story is very emotionally complex, so maybe a difference in perspective might change this opinion. But as of now it felt rushed to me. I really didn't understand the unreasonable decisions that the people in power made towards the end of the story. I get the point the author was trying to make, but there wasn't any build up to those decisions. While I understood the conclusion, I didn't really feel satisfied.

This is a very weird and complex story having numerous themes about humanity so there are some unnatural shifts in tone across the show.

But overall, I think this was a very impactful story. If it was marketed differently outside of Japan, it would have been a lot more famous.

This anime is based on another school-mystery novel from the author of Hyouka. It's adapted by studio Lapintrack (which brilliantly adapted the mystery novel "Undead Murder Farce" as well). These were the reasons why it was my most anticipated anime this summer.

So how was it?

I think this should have been a consecutive-cour (20 episodes) anime rather than a split-cour (Season 2 is scheduled for next spring). Because of the kind of story this is, I can't really decide how this anime is with the first 10 episodes. As of now, I think it's fine and enjoyable. There are plenty of things I admire about the adaptation, but I don't know enough about these characters to judge how the writing is.

This is a very slow-paced story. It's full of small-scale school mysteries, so the story doesn't always feel that happening. But at the same time, it builds up a very strange, mysterious aura around its main characters, which makes the viewers curious to know more about them. But that's exactly why as of now, while I am curious about them, I find them a bit unlikeable. Especially Yuki, from the very start of the anime, I found her a bit unreasonable. There is just something about her that makes her feel fake. The reveals in the final 2 episodes didn't help her cause either. But again, season 2 might make me understand her more.

That being said, I did like the mysteries, even if they were small-scale. The author really understands the thinking behind deductions. I had fun watching how the main character, Kobato, approached the mysteries. We are given the opportunity to follow his way of thinking while he's solving them.

Studio Lapintrack's work on this anime is as good as it gets. They're really great at adapting mystery novels. The staff did a great job (especially the director) and I'm really liking their style of animation. I can't wait to see what else this studio does.

Overall, this is a nice anime but I can only give my final thoughts after watching the second season and understanding these characters.

"I want to openly say that I love the things that I love. I don't want to give up on my true self. I want to live as myself."

I was wondering if I would like this anime because it's barely animated. The production by Project No. 9 is really not good. The staff just didn't have the budget or time to animate this show.

Thankfully, I still ended up really liking this anime. The well-explored characters, thought provoking drama and heartfelt coming-of-age arcs broke through the animation.

I think this is a very well-written drama. There are 3 protagonists in this story. There is Makoto, a boy who likes to cross dress. There is Ryuji, a boy who likes Makoto. There is Aoi, a girl who likes Makoto too, but I shouldn't spoil more about her story right now. Each of them is struggling to find out who they really are. What do they like? Will their likes or dislikes harm others or not? Whether society will accept them or not? What is right and what isn't? This is a story about each of them finding out more about themselves and coming to terms with their identities. The author was able to portray the coming-of-age for all 3 of them, and somehow intertwined their arcs very well. I'm usually not a fan of love triangles, but here, the romantic feelings between the three of them is only part of their coming-of-age.

I loved the arcs for each of these characters and teared up as they came to a close. The arcs are sad but very satisfying. The story starts off while focusing on Makoto, but later the focus shifts on Aoi and Ryuji. The author did a great job in exploring all of their perspectives. Aoi was probably the most complex character among them. Despite her body language, her story was probably the saddest too.

I'm sure we'll see the continuation of these characters' growth in the movie. A quarter of the manga story remains and it will be adapted in the film releasing next year. 75 chapters adapted in 12 episodes did feel rushed though.

Animation aside, I did like the soundtrack.

Overall, this was a very nice drama. If it was adapted well by another studio, it would have been a stand-out drama anime this season.