I won’t even beat around the bush for this one: I adored this first episode and I absolutely cannot wait to watch more. It’s been awhile since I’ve sat down and watched a series slice of life anime especially one that didn’t revolve around a high school cast. In that way, I think this anime will be incredibly refreshing and will focus more on the trials and tribulations outside of the school setting. And as someone who graduated university a little over a year and a half ago I can already relate pretty heavily to our main character Rikuo.
It’s only been one episode, but I really appreciate all the characters that we’ve been introduced to and within the first few minutes of the anime I was already feeling called out by our protagonist. He’s a recent college grad who has now found himself faced with the reality of adulthood, and quite frankly he wants none of it. He passes it off as “oh I’m just a societal failure” as a way to shrug off the situation he’s found himself in. He’s not particularly proud to call himself one, but in being able to do it he can justify his lack of effort to himself and those around him. He claims that there isn’t really anything that he wants to do and by taking the part time job he’s able to make it by but doesn’t necessarily feel as if he’s officially locked into that life style essentially locking himself into a perpetual transition cycle. I loved when he was able to articulate this to his visiting friend because they were able to acknowledge that many people end up doing thing they aren’t interested in doing (I mean, if I’m honest I feel like that’s a good portion of the workforce), but they have to in order to “succeed in society”. It’s really nice to hear it articulated in the anime, because, if I’m honest I feel very similar. I don’t know what, or even if, there is something I particularly want to do, so here I am working a job that I have no interest in under the guise of “oh this isn’t permanent, I’ll find something that I’ll want to do eventually.” As a result! I’m very invested in Rikuo’s story already!
Our other characters, Haru, Shinako, and even Kinoshita are also very exciting to see! Haru is definitely the wild card type character where I have no idea what to expect from her, but she provides a very good balance to Rikuo’s dismal outlook. They’re very similar but are definitely choosing to look at the world in different ways. Also, I just really like that she hands out with a crow. I like the addition of Shinako to the plot and I hope she stays a significant part of it because her connections with both Rikuo and Haru will make for a very interesting story. I love the idea of reconnecting with someone you used to be close to so I’m interested to see how that ultimately impacts her relationship with Rikuo. As far as Haru, I’m interested to see if they will explore more of that teacher guilt of being unable to support a student. And for Kinoshita! I have a feeling he’s going to be a permanent side character, but I do enjoy the interactions he’s had whenever he’s on screen. He’s your typical “haha! I’m going to start a band and society can’t stop me!” and he even acknowledges that was his way of avoiding the reality of the adult world.
I already can’t wait for next week’s episode to be able to dig into more about these characters and all the baggage that they have to unpack. I expect that it will be a very calm, but slow paced series while being filled with drama and very emotional moments. I also just want to say that I’m a fan of the art style that they’ve chosen to go with, especially when they opt to go for a more manga style for the flashback. Visually, nothing appears too harsh in this anime, giving it that calmer, more realistic vibe to it. And so, I have very high hopes for this anime and am excited to see what direction they will take with it!
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
Possibility of Blogging: Very High
