I watched Nana by the same creator Ai Yazawa last year and it had a huge impact on my life, I loved it more than anything I had ever seen in the recent years.
That's the sort of expectation I had when I saw there was another anime created by this woman.
Maybe I was just expecting too much of it.
Also, I'll try to keep the explanations rather simple and short.
VERY MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Story (8)
The story itself was very realistic and very relatable. I enjoyed the pacing but at times I didn't feel like there was a clear goal to what the characters were doing. But maybe that's because there's no such thing in real life either.
The ending was great and dramatic, you'll most likely cry.
In fact, I didn't dislike the story at all. But one thing ruined it for me, which is:
Characters (3)
I saw many reviewers saying the characters are very relatable and real but I sadly couldn't see the same in them.
Yukari is a good main character and I enjoyed seeing her development. But besides her, I only really liked Miwako.
That's why I'm especially sad we almost got no backstory on Miwako besides some short scenes related to her old childhood friend. Maybe that's because this is a 12 episode anime. Maybe this is better explained in the manga.
But that's my biggest issue of the show: the lack of character background and depth. I just couldn't get into the characters at all.
My biggest bother was George. Yes, he's hot. But does that justify everyone loving him for his not-so-great actions and how he treats Yukari? I didn't think it was "realistic", it was just too random for me how he got away switching between uwu and you're-so-ugly-and-untalented in seconds.
Also I wish there was more explanation of the studio and how they became friends.
I'm not saying the characters are all bad, I just wish they had more time to gain depth throughout the show.
Art and Sound (both 9)
The opening is on repeat all the time and the ending was a fun way to end each episode. There wasn't that much of a soundtrack as far as I noticed. Or at least nothing really stood out to me. But the opening and ending alone set the mood so well already, I can't help but score it this high.
The art is from Ai Yazawa so I'm pretty biased since I love her style. The chibi drawings are also really cute and I just love how she draws eyes and lips.
The visual character design was also really well done, the clothing was stunning.
The mix of realism and cartoon in some scenes was weird at first but added to the overall mood of the anime.
Enjoyment (5)
I wish I had enjoyed it more. And maybe that's why I struggled to do so.
Maybe my expectations were too high after watching Nana.
Maybe it just wasn't an anime for me.
I enjoyed the story but I couldn't really care about most characters.
This is one of the first times I actually think characters were the main reason I disliked an anime.
Overall (6)
It is a very real anime and that's what I liked about it the most. If you enjoy anime that include serious and realistic themes, you'll most likely like it for this.
Many people here enjoyed the characters a lot so maybe you will too.
Just give it a chance and see if it's for you.
