Time: Kotoura-san

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It's been a while since I've written any sort of review, so bear with me and pray it sticks. Also, I apologize if I don't detail much into the animation portion of the review seeing that I'm not a good judge of art.

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I'm sure we've all wondered as to what it would be like if we could read other people's minds and see what sort of nice, mean, or devious thoughts your friends and family members are saying about you and each other. Well, after consuming the majority of my alcohol in the house, piss-bored, and not very motivated to play any games or read any books that I had stacked in a lonely corner in my house, I decided to do what any normal 23-year old male would do on a quiet evening: I decided to go outside and hit the town. HA. Not likely. Instead, I decided to watch a series that had been sitting on my Netflix queue for about a month now. So without further ado, let's get to it: Kotoura-san.

Story:

Like many people, I was rather impressed as to how the story of Kotoura-san had started and thought it had a lot of promise and hopes. Which it did. Unfortunately, it seems that the writers (or I suppose the original authors of the manga series) took this potential and threw in into the garbage, along with my hopes for the series. However, that didn't stop me from finishing the series because I am a dedicated reviewer (SHUT UP, I AM) and like to see things through. It is rather surprising though to see a story having more potential in the beginning than a 750ml bottle of vodka has of getting me smashed, and then seeing the story taking a heavier downward spiral than the Great Depression. And unfortunately, unlike the Great Depression, this downward spiral just continued until the end of the series.

Characters:

Though the story fell flatter than a pancake on a sidewalk, I will say this: I find the two main characters, Yoshihisa and Haruka, very fluid and entertaining. Both characters are both lovable, colorful, and engaging. On one hand, you have the dimwitted oaf who antagonizes (in a good way) the other main character and on the other you have the straight man who consistently gives the other main character annoyed looks that usually say "I really have to put up with this?" However, in my personal opinion, these two characters were probably the only likable characters in the bunch, but that may be because of the lack of characters to choose from in the entire series.

Art:

Coming from the studio AIC Classic, it doesn't really seem as if they've really gotten their foot much into the anime industry as a main producer of anime itself. However, the animation for this series is very fluid and detailed to an extent as well as the art.

Audio:

With this portion, I'm only going to stick with the two main characters: Haruka and Yoshihisa. In all honesty, I only half-liked Yoshihisa's voice in the majority of the series. Sure, at some points I tolerated it, but at others I kept thinking "maybe I'm gonna need more Jack Daniel's for this". On the other hand, I felt that Hisako Kanemoto was a perfect fit for her character (even though I have very little experience with her) as a klutzy, small highschooler trying to keep her head together.

Now, when it comes to music, it seems that the scores are a bit hit-or-miss. During the first portion of the series, the music manages to hit a bulls-eye. However, during the remainder of the series, the music either barely hits the target or doesn't at all as if you're asking a sniper to hit a target from 2 miles away while blindfolded. And drunk.

Verdict:

As I said before, this show had a lot, and even I'm surprised when I say this, A LOT of promise, but the team who designed this anime seemed to have blown it bigger than the atomic bomb. Watch it if you want, but unless you're a fan of the ecchi/romance/comedy genre, do yourself a favor, watch the first episode, and mark it as done on MAL or AP. Otherwise you'll be without booze for quite a bit in trying to finish this catastrophe.

For those who'd like to watch the only decent part of the series, you can watch this clip below. Not much of a spoiler since it's the first bloody scene in the entire series. Also, no. There is no dubbed version of this.

Spoiler

 

ZZZZ.... Wait what, there's a review! Time to put on my editing boots and go editing.
Pretty good review, though it still sounds like you're a little drunk.

 

Is that a compliment or an insult?

 

Neither, it just seems like you are there.

 

I was trying to be funny and serious at the same time. I guess it worked