Ranking the main characters in Quintessential Quintuplets

I did a post earlier ranking the six main characters in Quintessential Quintuplets. I have decided to scrap that list as it is no longer accurate and things have changed rather drastically since I started reading the manga. So let’s re-do this thing right this time.

6: Itsuki Nakano

The reasoning for Itsuki here is pretty simple. It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s just that her character hasn’t been built up as much as it could be right now. I’m sure there is a reason for that and perhaps that’ll cause her to climb on this list, but as of right now, she is the lowest on this list.

5: Ichika Nakano

Ichika’s stock has really taken a hit for me. I used to admire the way she was and enjoy her character. But recently in the manga, she’s been doing some things that aren’t good and that are very uncharacteristic of her. I don’t really enjoy how she is now. I don’t hate her and I can understand why she’s doing what she’s doing, but I hope she gets out this funk that she is in. I want to see her go back to like she was before. I don’t like the path she is going down. 

4: Miku Nakano

This seems blasphemous if you know the old me. I was all in the Miku train. But I don’t think that way anymore. As much as I like her, I just haven’t seen the character growth from her yet. I’m sure it’s coming to make me look stupid, but to this point she has only had a couple moments of growth. But the rest is just static as a character. I still do enjoy her relatability to me though. 

3: Yotsuba Nakano

Yotsuba is still just a delight when she’s around. That hasn’t changed. She is probably the most consistent character in the series up to this point, and I think that is needed with all that’s been happening. She is the steadying force in a sense. She is awesome!

2: Fuutarou Uesugi

Fuutarou is one of my favorite male characters overall. I really like this guy. His development this series has been great. He still is brash and prefers to study, but he has channeled in soft side and now actually thinks about the life issues that regular high schoolers think about. He’s grown into a dynamic character that is finding himself outside of having his nose in a book. He’s been refreshing as opposed to most main characters in harem series like this. 

1: Nino Nakano

I’m a changed man who has seen the truth I think. It’s crazy how much I used to not like Nino because of how she was portrayed early in the series. But the manga changed me a lot here.

The way she is handled later on in the series really paints a drastically different picture of her character. She exhibits outstanding character growth, and that not only gives me a better appreciation for her now, but it also makes me appreciate how she was early on too. Looking bigger picture, Nino is probably the best handled character in the series up through now. And I have been really enjoying the Nino we see nowadays. I hope it stays. 

As of now, these are the rankings. These will probably change at some point. And if that happens, I’ll make sure to update it accordingly. I’m intrigued to see how these characters get developed even further and see if it can change my mind on them. 

Quintessential Quintuplets: Chapter 83 review

We left off in chapter 82 with Ichika, disguised as Miku, pulling Fuutarou away to try to cover up her lie from previously as she is in a tough spot here. 

And as I predicted, Fuutarou saw right through this disguise. He quickly knew it was Ichika and figured out the previous encounter was her as well. What I was shocked about is that he actually confronted her about it. I was shocked he didn’t play it straight up like he usually does. 

Things grow even more complicated in this chapter as they approach the final day in Kyoto and each must choose an event to be in. Ichika suggests they all choose a different one and leave it to chance of who will be in Fuutarou’s group (sneaky Ichika already knows which group Fuutarou will be in). And by this point, each sister knows they all pretty much like Fuutarou (still iffy on Yotsuba though). 

This chapter left us with a lot to consider going forward. Firstly, now it is all out there about feelings for Fuutarou, so now an all-out war can ensue. None of these sisters will be giving in easily and they will all be trying extra hard to win Fuutarou over. I question how that’ll change the family dynamic and how that will be balanced out. The love for a guy vs love for family will be an interesting theme going forward. 

Another consideration is that Ichika said she was Rena from back five years ago. Given Ichika’s track record lately, it could be a lie, but we’ll see going forward. It seems obvious that Itsuki is Rena, but it’s possible a curveball is thrown here. I think it’s possible they all claim to be Rena at some point in hopes to win over Fuutarou, even though he says he doesn’t even care about her anymore after previous encounters.

With one last day in Kyoto to come, I think a lot of things come to a head in chapter 84 before we get to an exam arc that may see things get a bit back to normal for a bit (even though normal has left this story long ago). I predict an encounter between Miku and Fuutarou finally happens, which has been long-awaited since what happened two chapters ago. I predict a heavy Miku chapter forthcoming here. She really needs it and it’s been getting set up for awhile now. 

One thing is certain, the last day in Kyoto should be a fun one for us to witness. There should be some quality schemes pulled here for the quintuplets to get close to Fuutarou despite doing a different activity than him. 

NOTE: Negi Haruba, the author of the manga, said there won’t be a chapter next week because of a magazine break. 

Roast or Recommend: Your Name

On today’s “Roast or Recommend” I will be looking at the anime film titled “Your Name”

This anime film came out in 2016. It was taken very well by most everybody that saw it, and it has reached major popularity in both Japan and the west, even almost three years after its initial showing. 

This film follows two people, Taki and Mitsuha, who randomly switch bodies at any given time. But they don’t remember what they did when they switched bodies as it is registered to them as just a dream, and dreams are often forgotten when a person wakes up. It also follows the journey these characters take to meet each other in their lives. 

This anime movie is absolutely stunning to look at. It is a visual masterpiece, though that doesn’t even do it justice. Being a movie, the budget and time are greater. Therefore, the quality of the art and animation is far greater than anime series that have an episode each week. 

You can tell they take a great amount of time, effort and care in every scene. The camera panning, the lighting, the detailed backgrounds, the character designs and just about everything else is done with the utmost quality. It is a delight to look at as nothing is shirked on with the art and animation. 

Being a less than 2 hour movie, the characters cannot be fleshed out as much as most people would like, but they fix this to a degree by introducing a relatively low amount of characters. The two main characters are obviously given the most development, but the other supporting characters aren’t fully blank slates.

The only issue I have here is that Mitsuha definitely sees more development and screen time than Taki. Mitsuha is given more time to shine than Taki. So, she is more interesting by default there. This kind of bummed me because I think the whole thing would have felt stronger had we seen more of Taki’s backstory and his drive and life. We saw a lot of that for Mitsuha, but not so much for Taki. 

The story is beautiful as well. Without spoiling anything, the story is layered, dynamic and takes plenty of twists along the way. 

The beauty of it, however, might be the sequencing of it. The story starts off innocently enough with some funny and charming moments that make you feel good. But later on towards the middle part of it, it just punches you in the gut and breaks your emotional stability. It lets you up gently only to knock you down hard. It is nicely down, and it really throws you for a loop. 

The one thing the story doesn’t do is explain why the body swapping is happening specifically. It doesn’t give explicit answers to the mystical and magical going on, but I don’t think it has to. I usually like being given those explanations, but in this movie, the why is not important. What’s more important is how it impacts the characters and what are they going to do to get through it. 

In addition to that, the story isn’t about the supernatural. That element is placed in there as a catalyst for everything else the movie is actually about. These smaller things drive forward the actual concepts the story is conveying. So you don’t find yourself needing answers to these things because you get engrossed in the impact it has on the current situation instead. This movie handles the bigger concepts awesomely while not sweating the small stuff, and it does a good job of making the viewer do that too. 

This movie will leave an impression on whoever watches it. I found myself thinking about it hours after I was done watching it. It has that kind of impact on people, and that shows how powerful it is. This movie shot towards the top of the list of my favorite anime production almost instantly. That is how much I loved this movie. The hype it has received is real, and it’s easy to see why it received that hype. This is a great production of very high quality that will withstand the test of time. 

Score: 91/100

Roast or Recommend: Very highly recommend

Quintessential Quintuplets: Chapter 82 review

I recently just got into the Quintessential Quintuplets manga after seeing the anime end and wanting more. After intense amounts of catching up, I am finally on pace with everyone else reading. 

So I’ve decided to add something new to the blog. A chapter review post. Every week after a new chapter of this manga comes out, I will do a review on it and give my thoughts and opinions on what went down, as well as perhaps some predictions on what’s to come. The first chapter I will be doing is chapter 82, since that’s where we are now. Trying to review chapters 1-81 would be time consuming and I think unnecessary since everyone reading this has likely read the manga and knows what is going on up to this point. Also, I won’t be summarizing the chapter as most people can go read it themselves and probably already have if they are reading this. So let’s get into it. 

This chapter as a whole certainly didn’t make anything easier than what it was before. We have even less of a grasp on what will happen next than before. 

Th main reason for this is because of the one-on-one “talk” between Nino and Miku (which is one of the best little scenes we’ve had in the manga yet) where Nino transforms into full yandere and tries to break Miku so she has less competition for Fuutarou (this was also the time where Nino officially became my new favorite). But what I also love about it is that the two still know their sisterly bond is important, so they respect each other’s motives and ways of going about it. It’s truly a great moment where a love rivalry is in conflict with a family bond, and I think that’s a conflict that’ll continue to come up. 

Another complication here comes from Itsuki. Itsuki, who is obviously Rena, was attempting to get a picture with Fuutarou in the same place where they took “that picture” 5 years prior. She was obviously trying to trigger something in Fuutarou’s memory to maybe get him to realize it was her. Fuutarou begins to think about it, but we are left off there before he gets pulled away.

Another complication in the whole thing with Itsuki is that it looks like Yotsuba is on to her. She even questions Itsuki if she is hiding something from her, but we are left off right there.

The other big thing here is that Ichika continues her underhanded tactics by disguising as Miku again and she pulls Fuutarou away to have a talk with him, presumably to sabotage Miku again. And we are left off there too. 

So we are left with three main things to be uncovered here. One is that Miku is not giving up on her love of Fuutarou. Two, Itsuki might be breaking. And three, Ichika is continuing her dirty games.

First, this is an excellent opportunity for character development for Miku. Her saying she’s not giving up while being hounded by Nino is a good step, but she has to put actions to her words, which is something she’s barely done. I’ll be interested to see how this goes, especially since Fuutarou wanted to talk with her about the whole thing. 

Secondly, being in Kyoto, where Rena (Itsuki) and Fuutarou first met, combined with all that’s out there about Nino, Ichika and Miku liking Fuutarou, Itsuki is starting to feel the pressure and is breaking. She is very close to losing it. She thinks if Fuutarou realizes the girl from 5 years ago is her, he’ll fall in love with her instead of the others. That’s the trump card she has. But she also knows this is her best chance to make that known. I’m not sure if Fuutarou will realize it on his own, but it should make for some good drama later on. 

Then there’s Ichika’s whole thing. She is disguising as Miku for the third time to try to cover her tracks. Fuutarou already knows how Miku feels about him, even before he heard the confession talk. He also knows the person who told him Ichika likes him was not Miku. So I imagine this one won’t fool Fuutarou once they begin talking a bit. 

Fuutarou is the kind of guy that would play this thing super straight up and play the fool for a bit even if he knows it’s not Miku. He did it the first time, and he may do it again because that’s how he is. Him being so good at reading both Ichika and Miku should really help him in this regard. I just don’t think he’ll actually be fooled here. 

Chapter 83 should have some fireworks. Between the possibility of Ichika being found out, the ongoing battle between Nino and Miku and Itsuki possibly giving in, there could be some grade A drama coming down the line. We’ll see what’s in store for us next week!

Quintessential Quintuplets is the best harem

The Quintessential Quintuplets has been something I’ve obsessed over the last few months. It is a series I really enjoyed as an anime and one that I couldn’t stay away from so I picked up the manga as well. 

But I was unsure about it when I first was considering taking a look at it. The big reason for that is because of the harem tag it received.

Harem is often very played out. So much so nowadays that every harem that comes around is given the stink eye. And for good reason. Most harem is way overdone and ridiculous. 

But the thing Quintessential Quintuplets does is make its harem very different than most I have seen. Between the way they go about it and the dynamics it brings, this might be the best harem going in anime/manga right now, and that’s not hyperbole. 

Usually in harem, the main character gets all the love interests fawning over them from almost the very moment they meet the others. This is the first hurdle this series gets over in a unique way. Instead of making all the quintuplets like Fuutarou initially for no reason, they all actually don’t like him that much, if at all, at first. Fuutarou actually has to do things that cause the quintuplets to begin to develop feelings (even if Fuutarou isn’t trying to do so). 

This is actually very refreshing to see because Fuutarou isn’t some hero that gets love for no reason. He’s just a guy tutoring these five girls who are bad in school, and the five don’t want to be taught by him at first. He instead has to work his way to get the girls to trust him and like him. He’s not given any favors here. It’s a good thing to see this random, regular nerd get to the point he gets to. 

Another thing that makes it very good is the dynamics of it all. These five girls are all quintuplets and they are all falling for the same guy. This is a totally different thing than we are used to seeing. The sisters getting all at war with each other over Fuutarou while also trying not to ruin the sisterly bond they share creates a different mindset and a totally different conflict that most harem don’t have.

It makes the interactions and drama between the characters way better and it drives the story along even further than it would otherwise. A lot of harem use it as a gimmick to create fan service moments. This series uses its harem to actually further things in the series in a way we aren’t used  to seeing. 

And it doesn’t just further the story either. The character growth for the quintuplets and Fuutarou throughout the series is great as well, and the development and realization of romantic feelings towards another person is at the core of it. It’s not as wishy washy as most harem, as it feels like these characters are actually having real feelings and having real conflicts both internally and externally. This helps creates good drama too. 

It’s not just a surface-level harem that does its gimmick and moves on. It gets deeper than that, especially once you get through the beginning parts. It surprises in that way, and it’s mix of comedy, drama and romance is done beautifully to make it, in my opinion, the best harem currently out there. 

How a Fuutarou and Nino shipping has become my favorite one of Quintessential Quintuplets

Before I begin: HUGE SPOILER WARNING AHEAD! You’ve been warned! 

I have become the hugest fan of Quintessential Quintuplets over the last few months, as is evident since it seems like every post on here now is discussing something about it. And if you’ve seen my twitter, I’ve talked almost exclusively that for a bit of time now.

Since season 1 of the anime left me wanting more, I decided it was time to pick up the manga and continue the story since there’s no guarantee the anime will ever see another season. 

And the manga is terrific. The series gets so much better after the part where the anime leaves us, which justifies the starvation for wanting more. The big reason for this is because we actually get to see the quintuplets start to figure out their feelings for Fuutarou and even make it known.

The biggest example of this is probably the most shocking: Nino. Yes, Nino. My appreciation for Nino has grown a bunch since I began reading the manga because she is not only handled better as a character in the manga, but seeing her development as the series goes is fantastic to see. 

I have begun to root for her and Fuutarou to be together. That is the ship I have decided to support going forward. 

The reason for this is because I have really enjoyed these two’s little moments they have had in the second part of the manga. From the motorcycle scene when Nino confesses her love originally, to her having to confess again because he didn’t hear it the first time because he was on a motorcycle and wind is a thing, to her giving him a nickname and blowing him a kiss, it’s all cute. And it’s not just Nino pushing these cute moments either. Seeing Fuutarou try to conduct himself when he knows about Nino’s crush on him just shows a different side to him that his character really needed. He is clueless on what to do. Also, seeing him blush around Nino and his reaction to when she blew him a kiss was a sight to behold. 

Besides that, however, there is more reasons I like this ship. The development of it all is a big deal to me. Nino was definitely the last one to accept Fuutarou as a tutor. But yet, here she comes on later and is actually somehow the most upfront with Fuutarou about her love for him and she is the one pushing it the most. Given how they began with not liking each other much, it was a big change and I love to see that. It makes a story like that even more satisfying, and I’m rooting for an even more satisfying conclusion because of it. 

The shock value also comes into play here. You see throughout the series that Nino was always pretty hostile towards Fuutarou and she always puts on that sort of act on around her sisters especially. So, it is strange to see her acting so nice to Fuutarou to that level. 

So if they were to consummate a relationship and were to make it public, it’d be a curveball, not just to us the followers but also to the other characters. They’d never see it coming and it’d be awesome! 

So with the shock value this ship has brung with it combined with the way it developed and just a hint of underdog story concepts, this has become my favorite potential pairing of the series, and I’m gonna root for it to happen (even if I don’t think it will for reasons I mentioned in a previous post). In any case, I’m rooting for Fuutarou x Nino. Got get them, young ones! 

Should you try it: Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

For this week’s “Should you try it” I am taking a look at the anime “Kaguya-Sama: Love is War”

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War is an anime that came out in this recent winter anime season and it spanned 12 episodes. While it is complete with no announcement of a season two, I expect there will be a season two down the line, hence why this is in the “Should you try it” category instead. 

This anime follows the President of the student council at Shuchiin Academy, Miyuki Shirogane, and the Vice President, Kaguya Shinomiya, as they both try to get the other to confess their love because they both think a confession of that nature would lead to the other having the upper-hand in the relationship.  

This anime’s premise is overall so dumb. However, it is also done beautifully. An anime about two people refusing to confess their love to one another for such an outlandish reason should probably not be that great because it is such surface-level stuff and seems like it could get boring quite quickly. But it doesn’t. 

I think the reason it doesn’t get stale is for many reasons. The first of which being the characters. Miyuki and Kaguya both approach things so differently in regards to manipulating the other to confess. Miyuki is more of a guy that thinks on his feet while Kaguya is a meticulous planner that plans her strategies ahead of time. Watching these two go to outrageous lengths to try to win this love war and not get tricked into the other’s carefully-laid mind traps is a joy to watch every single time because it is all so outrageous. And this is before the other main characters, Chika Fujiwara and Yu Ishigami, come into the mix to make things even stranger. 

Miyuki and Kaguya have convinced themselves that the other likes them while also both thinking that the other doesn’t know they like them back. They both know the same thing but think they are the only one who knows, so they both try to pull off massive trickery thinking they have the upper hand. They are both fighting the same battle against each other but yet they both are losing somehow because they sabotage themselves more than they sabotage each other. And the narrator coming in every little bit to spell out how ridiculous this all is in the most non-ironic way possible is just the icing on the cake. 

As I said, the anime is very surface-level so there really isn’t any real story thread besides maybe one or two little things (though it looked like they were at least trying to build up a plot line later on in the season). It’s more so an anime that has three smaller vignettes an episode. So it almost takes on a short form style but they give you three an episode to make it a full-length anime episode. 

Done by A-1 pictures, this anime looks like a visual masterpiece. But not for the usual reasons most people think of. The art style is pretty unique in its own little way because of just how much the style changes constantly throughout each episode. While many anime do changes to the art style for a few frames or even a whole scene to depict a change in tone or mood and to emphasize it, Kaguya-Sama does it way more than many others. It is just another thing that makes this anime over the top. 

But the beauty of all these changes in art style is they all seem well thought out and are used in such a way that makes it feel as impactful as it is. They aren’t just thrown together changes of the art style just for the sake of doing it to try too hard to be funny or whatever else. They simply do it a lot, but at the same time they do not overdo it to the point where it gets stale and bland. Every scene is simply a work of art on its own given all the styles used. 

My favorite part of this anime is easily how funny it is. There were plenty of times throughout it that I found myself laughing so hard that I had to stop the episode just to collect myself for a minute. Most of the comedy comes from just how outrageous and over-the-top that it all is, but the characters and the art styles emphasize the comedy even more. The combination of all these things turn a pretty lackluster premise to an anime into one that has to be one of the best romantic comedy anime we have seen over the last few years. 

What makes this different from most romantic comedies is that the struggle isn’t about whether one will reject the other if they confess. No, both of these egoitistical super smart people don’t have any doubt they’d be in a relationship if someone just confessed. The struggle instead is that neither person wants to be the first to confess because they are too prideful and don’t want to risk being the loser. It is in a more strategic mind game style as opposed to the style most romantic comedies have. Kaguya-Sama: Love is War has a very unique way about it, and it is very different than what we are used to seeing in the genre. 

And if nothing else, the OP and EDs are great, especially the ED after episode 3 that became very famous online in the anime community because the Chika dance is just too precious. But the normal ED is good in its own right. I prefer the OP myself, but all of them are good. 

I really hope this anime gets a season two really soon, and I hope that new season doesn’t lose its way as to what made it a very enjoyable watch in the first place. I want to continue to see these two geniuses try to outwit each other over something that is being way overplayed by both of them. I also want to see more of the adorable yet manipulative nature of Chika and the outrageously dark life views of Ishigami. I just want to see more crazy antics that could possibly ensue before one of the two egotistical wannabe-lovers finally gives in. 

If you have yet to see this anime yet, you are going to need to get on that. If you want an anime that is an easy watch that is going to make you belly laugh, this is one that fits the bill perfectly. I am certain you will really enjoy this one, even if it is dumb and super extra at its core. 

Should you try it: Yes

Spring 2019 anime potential hidden gem: Senryu Girl

The spring anime season is underway. And while the slate of anime doesn’t look as strong as the winter season, there will still be a few that people find more than worth it. There will also be some that wind up surprising people a bit as a hidden gem. 

It is way early as we are only in week one, but I might have already found a hidden gem that not many people are discussing or have discussed. That anime is Senryu Girl.

Senryu Girl is about a freshmen named Nanako Yukishiro and Eiji Busujima as they go through their everyday life. Here is the kicker though, Nanako only communicates in senryu poetry and Eiji is an ex-delinquent who is trying to turn around his life and write in senryu himself. 

This anime is a short form, with every episode being only 12 minutes long. Short forms do not typically get the praise that regular length anime do, but every so often, one gets some major recognition. And while I do not expect this one to (Ao-Chan Can’t Study is going to be so on the edge of acceptable that it may garner more recognition as a short form), I certainly think this one could wind up being a hidden gem.

I think this because of the vibe it gives off. It is categorized as a slice of life/comedy, which is light-hearted enough. But watching the first episode, I can just tell this story is going to just be a relaxing and charming watch. It’ll be a really enjoyable, light anime to follow up on every week. And it taking up only 12 minutes of a person’s time as opposed to 24 minutes will make it easier to watch too. 

This story seems like it will mostly be surface-level stuff, but based on the set up from the first episode, there is certainly potential for it to build upon some deeper aspects that could make it an even better little story. I think it’ll be good either way though. 

I get the main concern people will probably have about this anime. The whole poetry thing might throw people off because poetry is seen as boring or complicated by many. Don’t worry about that, senryu poetry is a simple 5-7-5 syllable structure and they never write anything too profound. It’s only how Nanako communicates. So it’s basic conversational language, but in a 5-7-5 structure. It’s not difficult to grasp. Even the person that knows the least about poetry can easily understand it. 

This anime will not be breaking down doors by any stretch. However, it looks like it will at least be an enjoyable watch from week to week. It looks like it is going to be really charming and adorable overall (watch one episode and you’ll want to return each week just based on how adorable Nanako is alone). I personally will continue to watch it every week as I think it is a good use of 12 minutes with how much I liked it based on my first impressions. And if you have 12 extra minutes each weekend or whatever, I’d suggest checking it out too. 

Look out for this anime as it could become one that gains some unexpected popularity. 

How will the Quintessential Quintuplets end?

The Quintessential Quintuplets was my favorite new anime from this past season. It gave me plenty of laughs but it also packed a punch with cute and adorable moments that tugged at the heartstrings as well. 

However, the anime left us off with one very significant cliffhanger. One that was always there. Who does Fuutarou marry?

From the very beginning of this anime, we are set up a promise that Fuutarou will marry one of the quintuplets. We are continually reminded of this and it seems like everything will come together and we will get a solid conclusion with a concrete answer. 

But I think that was the wrong assumption to make. I think the beauty this series will leave behind, both as an anime and even when the manga ends, is that the answer won’t ever be explicitly revealed. 

It’s easy to see how this would be the case. After all, the series plays with the fact that all five of the quintuplets are supposed to be on even ground and giving one preferential treatment over the others in this case would be counter-productive to that. In addition to this, I think it’d be a bad move for the people creating this series to pick one of these five to marry Fuutarou. It wouldn’t feel very fair after tossing the bait for all five for this long. It would cause very divisive fan opinion as well, which would cause some problems. 

But besides the practicality of it all, there are symbolic reasons as to why one won’t be picked over the others. One such reason is that I think the series wants to keep the ambiguity in there purposefully in order to let the person following along to use their own imagination to draw their own conclusion based on what they think will happen. The creators build a base to go off of and then after it’s over, the person watching/reading can fill in the blanks after that to build the conclusion they see fit. 

Another reason is that there is a constant message within this anime that puts all the quintuplets on level ground and that them together are one. This deeper concept cannot be held if one goes off to marry Fuutarou and the other four are left behind. 

Branching off of this a bit, it’s possible the marriage isn’t a real thing. It’s very possible the marriage is only meant to be a symbolic representation of the relationship Fuutarou and the quintuplets share. And since we are given this idea that all the quintuplets together are one, it’s also possible the symbolic marriage is of Fuutarou and all the quintuplets manifested as one being. That’s why when we are actually shown the girl Fuutarou marries in the finale of the anime, we can’t even really begin to try to guess who it is because she has traits pulled from all the sisters. That might be the very point. 

So I think it’s very likely that we won’t know who he marries either way or if the marriage is real or symbolic. But I think this series, to this point, has done an amazing job keeping it open ended, so whatever a person believes is actually the case, there is room to believe that and they won’t technically be right or wrong. I think this truly is what they were getting at with this series. They wanted to create a charming and funny light-hearted story that keeps the people following on their toes and keep things so ambiguous that people can draw their own conclusions as to what’s going to happen after it’s all over canonically. And that is the hidden beauty that I think gets lost in a series that looks rather shallow at first glance. 

Though, for anime fans wanting a season 2 of this one, like me, this idea might soil those desires. The way the season and possibly the part of series the anime will adapt ended, is just the way it needed to end to keep that ambiguity and wonder on the table. The anime ends in such a way that doesn’t give too much away to sway towards one of the sisters winning Fuutarou’s heart but it keeps them all in the game. And at the same time, it doesn’t rule out the idea that Fuutarou’s marriage is just a symbolic representation of something bigger. It gives the watcher room to draw their own conclusions as to what happens next, whether they go on to read the manga or not. And if that, in essence, is just what the series is trying to do like I think, then there’s no better way to end the anime adaptation than the way they did and making a season two wouldn’t add anything drastically different to the series. Season 2 would hold very little value. 

Overall, I think this series leads with a promise they were expected to fulfill, even though they knew they weren’t going to fulfill it. Instead, they are placing the task on each individual fan of the series to choose what the ending is. They have no reason to make an ending that is not going to appeal to an overwhelming majority of fans, and with the way they set up this series, that task is near impossible anyways. And they had to know that going in, so they know this task of reaching an ideal conclusion is going to simply be up to each fan. 

Roast or Recommend: Your Lie in April

For this week’s Roast or Recommend, I will be looking at “Your Lie in April.” This is only natural since it is April now after all. 

“Your Lie in April” was a 22 episode series that ran in the fall 2014 season but ran into the winter season given its length (they really missed a chance to debut this during the spring anime season that begins in April). 

This anime revolves around a piano prodigy, Kosei Arima, who gave up piano after he has a mental breakdown on stage following the death of his mother. But when he meets a girl named Kaori Miyazono, his whole life changes. 

The first thing that struck me in this anime was the gorgeous animation. Just looking at previews before I watched it, I was stunned by how gorgeous the animation quality was. A-1 pictures really knocked this one out of the park as the anime looked like a visual masterpiece. The style of it all was very artsy and fit the mood the anime was trying to convey. It’s definitely one of the better looking anime in that regard, especially coming from 2014. 

But this anime hits it awesomely with the stories and characters. The reason I am lumping these together is that I truly think the characters actually are the story in this anime. 

A lot of times in anime and other storytelling, the characters seem to just be placed in a story. Sometimes it doesn’t mesh. In this anime, the story and characters evolve alongside each other, to the point where the two seem synonymous. I feel as though this story couldn’t be told without these specific characters. It’s just not that way with many anime. 

And the characters are dynamic and nuanced. They all bring their own unique quality to the table. They all have different quirks. They all face different internal and external conflicts that force them to adapt and grow to become a better person at the end. They all are forced to figure out a part of themselves by simultaneously facing both the past and the future. 

And because they go through that, the story goes with that. The story reflects the characters instead of the other way around. It’s really nice.

I guess my biggest problem with this anime has to do with one or two specific plot points they tried to cram in there that had no real value and were just shoved away later on. They had tremendous build up and time attached but then were just played off, almost like there was a plan for them they had to cut out later. I don’t want to spoil those plot points, but you likely know at least one of them if you’ve seen the anime or will figure it out quickly if you go to watch it. 

I know what you are thinking if you are on the fence about this: “Why would I want to watch an anime about a pianist?” and I understand that completely. To be honest, I wasn’t sure at first about it either for that reason. Most people think that stuff is boring by itself. However, while this anime has a lot of that, it’s not the main theme of the whole thing. The anime is more about characters and deep concepts than it is about the music. The music is just a catalyst of it all. The music is used as the tool to convey the messages the anime is hitting on. So I wouldn’t think of it as a piano anime. It’s much deeper than that.

This anime is super popular and was one of the top anime from 2014-15, and it still holds up even this long after. It’s still an anime that people want to go back to and one that people still consider as one of their favorites. 

And there’s good reason for that. The anime hits you with every feeling in the book. There’s happiness, sadness, funny, frustration, agony, fear, embarrassment, anger and so many other feelings this anime portrays and it does it in a way that just hits you hard. They reel you in with hard emotions only to set you free again for a little bit so you can breath before they throw you right back in for more. 

And the anime brings its emotional strength from all different angles and in all different ways. Every character, every situation, almost every minute of this anime leaves you feeling some sort of way. And sometimes it lingers and sometimes it leaves and moves on to another feeling. I promise that this anime makes you feel all sorts of ways every time you watch. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel angry and all kinds of other stuff. You’ll feel what the characters are feeling. It’s very powerful that way.

But it also brings with it some insanely deep concepts too. Love is explored from many different angles. Motivation is tackled hard. Planning for the future while escaping the past is a concept dug deep at the core of this series. Death and managing losing someone close is a very powerful concept explored as well. There’s many more concepts explored than that, and they are conveyed with such force that it drives the emotion even further. 

Without a doubt, this is one of the best anime I have watched. While I don’t have the biggest library of anime I have watched, I can tell this one is going to be one that will stand the test of time even as I watch more and more anime series. This one will stick firmly in my head for a very long time. It leaves that imprint on people, including me. 

This anime is gorgeous in just about every single way. While not perfect, it is certainly top-tier and will be for a long time. A series that can take that wide range of emotions out of a person constantly is quite something to behold. We’ll any other anime be able to match up with that? We’ll see I guess.

Score: 88/100

Roast or Recommend: Very Highly Recommend