First, while this is a relatively recent anime 2011 and still being show in Japan with a live action movie in the works, the style of the anime is completely different from a typical post 2005 drawn series. The characters are very westernized and while the females are still Moe-like, there are no blue/silver/crazy hair colors or styles that typically show up in drama/romance anime. So while the backgrounds and many of the social interactions are very Japanese (honorific titles etc) the characters look, well very UN-Japanese save for one or two... but even then its just that they have black hair. Initially the art style bugged me.. it looks like each female character is having a colonoscopy or some other large, steel cold object rammed up their ass ... but after 2-3 episodes it gets a less noticable... mainly because by then I was pretty invested in the plot.
Mabuchi Kō and Yoshioka Futaba were middle school friends.. and in love.. but as you can guess it's the repressed Japanese style relationship style where everyone keeps shit bottled up. Ko then leaves the school due his mother's illness (always gotta throw in a dead mom for the feels) but he then returns, his character significantly altered by his perceived failure to save his mum.. who died of lung cancer. So Ko is all kids of screwed up and distant. When he returns for High School Futaba see him again and wants to fall back in love with the 'old' Ko.. but he does not exist. So the rest of the series is about Futaba bringing Ko back into the world so he passes High School and has a social life... with her.
There are some other minor arcs that really peter out... like one of Futaba friends is in love with Ko's older brother who is a teacher at the school (nothing happens) and the very weak competition between Futaba and Makita Yūri for Ko's attention. It's needed to create some suspense.. but really not worth even remembering.
The ending kinda fizzels out. While they bring Ko back into society, the Futaba / Ko relationship really never solidifies as far as I would have liked it to.. but then again, in Japan just calling someone by their first name is like third base... so it may make more sense to a Japanese view... but for a westerner it never really solidified.
Its a good series.. maybe a little slow but each episode moves things along.
Awww yyyeessss fuck mary kill time!
Left to right:
Yoshioka Futaba: Marry, really nothing wrong with her. Except the 24/7 colonoscopy look on her face
Makita Yūri: Kill, low self esteem, annoying voice, clingy.
Murao Shūko: Fuck. Likes the older men. Reclusive, but probably wild in the sack.
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